March resale market springs into action

Article courtesy of the Ottawa Real Estate Board April 20, 2016

OTTAWA, April 19, 2016 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,166 residential properties in March through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,200 in March 2015, a decrease of 2.8 per cent. The five-year average for March sales is 1,220.

“We are definitely seeing a resale market increase from the previous month, with 256 more properties sold in March over February,” says President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, Shane Silva. “Properties are starting to sell faster, indicating that we are heading into our busy spring market.”

 March’s sales included 221 in the condominium property class, and 945 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

“In March, 3,203 homes were listed, up 38.6 per cent since February, and inventory on hand at the end of March also rose by 17.5 per cent from last month,” says Silva. “Although there is a slight dip in units sold compared to last year, average price remains steady keeping the Ottawa resale market healthy and strong. Canada’s capital continues to be a great place to buy and sell real estate.”

The average sale price of a residentialclass property sold in March in the Ottawa area was $394,951, an increase of two per cent over March 2015. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $258,714, an increase of 2.4 per cent over March 2015. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

 “The hottest segments in our market continues to be in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range, followed by the $200,000 to $300,000 price range,” says Silva. “Residential two-storey and bungalow homes, and one level condo properties have the highest concentration of buyers in March. In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members assisted clients with renting 695 properties since the beginning of the year.”