March 2011 Ottawa Real Estate Market Update

Hi Ottawa,

Ryan Cole here from the coleconenction.ca Team at Royal LePage. Here today for a quick market update. A question I get a lot is how's the market doing in Ottawa? In February there were 1030 sales in Ottawa which is a decrease of 9.1 percent over February of last year. Keep in mind though that last year was a record year so we're not surprised to see sales down. As far as pricing goes though, we're still seeing a solid increase. Residential properties increase an average of 6.7% over February of last year. Specifically condominiums rose by 6.0% and freehold properties by 6.9%. Overall we are expecting prices to increase moderately over the year, with a slight decrease in the number of sales over last year. We are still in essentially a balanced market which makes it a great time to buy or sell. If you have any questions you can always email me at ryan@coleconnection.ca.


See the Ottawa Real Estate Board report below for all the statistics.

Resale homes sold more quickly in February March 3, 2011 : Resale homes sold more quickly in February [2011] Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 936 residential properties in February through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,030 in February 2010, a decrease of 9.1 per cent. Of those sales, 213 were in the condominium property class, while 723 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked 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. “Once again we’re seeing sales numbers very close to the five-year average for February, which is 962 sales. It’s important to note that the homes that sold last month did so far more quickly than in January, spending an average of just 33 days on the market. As well, prices rose slightly more than they had in the previous two months which indicate we still have a very steady market here in Ottawa,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “This tells us that there is a demand for resale homes in Ottawa, and that when buyers see the home they want, they’re going after it, perhaps even going up against other bidders,” Tibbles added. The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $338,408, an increase of 6.7 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $260,112, an increase of 6 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $361,475, an increase of 6.9 per cent over February 2010. 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 Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,600 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association. The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board’s internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.REALTOR.ca and www.ICX.ca.