Ottawa’s resale market enjoyed a strong start for the first month of 2017, with sales numbers more than 10 per cent above the first month of 2016, the Ottawa Real Estate Board has announced.
Members of the Real Estate Board sold 667 properties in January of 2017 _ an increase of 11.5 per cent over the number of homes sold in January of 2016 and also above the five-year average for January, which is 614, the Real Estate Board reports.
“The year is off to a great start,” Real Estate Board President Rick Eisert said in a statement.
The Board reports that residential-class (non-condo) properties saw a 16.6 per cent growth over January of 2016. As well, the number of properties listed in January of 2017 is double the amount listed in December, which Rick Eisert says “is very typical of sellers getting a jump over the spring selling season.”
Looking more closely at the sales numbers, Ottawa’s sales in January included 119 in the condominium property class and 548 in the residential property class. The condo class refers to any property, regardless of style, which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class refers to all other properties.
The Board does caution that “while the numbers indicate a positive trend for Ottawa as a whole, “we emphasize that all real estate is local, and prices and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighborhood,” Rick Eisert said. “We encourage buyers and sellers to talk to a realtor for more information about the housing market outlook where they live, or want to live.”
As for prices, the average sale price for a residential-class property in January of 2017 in the Ottawa area was $394,001. That’s an increase of 1.9 per cent over January of 2016. Those prices and the stability on the market over the past year make Ottawa a much more affordable major city in which to purchase a home than cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. First-time buyers in particular who are looking to enter the market will find it much easier to do so in Ottawa than in those other cities.
The average sale price for a condo property for the month of January in Ottawa was $288,655. While that’s an increase of 16.8 per cent over the number in January of 2016, Rick Eisert says it’s important to note that “three properties sold for over $1 million this January, while none were sold (in that price range) in January of 2016.”
So those three sales affected the increase of the average condo price in Ottawa for the month.
That’s an example of why the Board always cautions that while the average sale price in a given month “can be useful in establishing trends over time, they should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.”
As well, the Board says, “while the numbers indicate a positive trend for Ottawa as a whole, we emphasize that all real estate is local, and prices and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood,” explains Eisert. “We encourage buyers and sellers to talk to a realtor for more information about the housing market outlook where they live, or want to live.”
The Board says the most active price point in Ottawa’s residential market in January was the $300,000 to $399,999 range, making up 35.2 per cent of sales that month. In the condo market, the most active price range was properties in the $150,000 to $249,999 range, making up 58.7 per cent of the condo market in January.
If you’re interested in buying, or interested in listing your home for the busy spring-summer period, I’d love to chat with you and tell you more about the Ottawa market. You can reach me through my website, at www.nancybenson.com, or give me a call at 613-747-4747.
Comments(0)