The frigid February that Ottawa residents just endured was one of the coldest on record, with many people doing their best to stay inside, keep warm and count down the days to spring.
It was not exactly the kind of weather that’s ideal for shopping for a new home, but in good news, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reports that resales for the month were actually only slightly lower than February of last year and the five-year average numbers for February sales.
A news release on the board’s website reports that members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 853 residential units in February of 2015 through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service. That was down only 1.7 per cent from February of 2014, which saw 868 units sold. The five-year average for February sales is 914.
There is other interesting news in the numbers for the month.
“Looking at residential properties alone, 13 more properties were sold this February over last February a 1.9% increase, while the condo market, on the other hand, has been a little slower to gain momentum,” says David Oikle, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, in the release.
In good news, the 853 units that sold in February of 2015 was up substantially from the 627 that sold in the Ottawa area in January. Of the 853 units that sold in February 2015, 168 were in the condominium property class and 685 were in the residential property class. The condo numbers were up from January of 2015, when 114 condos sold.
The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (detached, semi-detached, apartment, etc.) that is registered as a condominium, as well as properties that are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class refers to all other residential properties.
If you’re wondering about prices, the average sale price for residential properties, including condominiums, which sold in Ottawa in February was $358, 206. That’s an increase of 1.3% over the average price in February of 2014.
The board says the average sale price of a residential-class property, not including condos, for February was $380,358, a decrease of 0.3% over the numbers from February of 2014.
The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $267,880, representing an increase of 3.8% over the figures for February of 2014.
As it always does when announcing monthly sales numbers, the board cautions that while average sale price information for a specific month “can be useful in establishing trends over time, it should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value, because the average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.”
Which price ranges were most popular in February?
The board reports that the largest numbers of properties sold were homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, followed by units in the $200,000 to $300,000 range and then the $400,000 to $500,000 range.
“These price ranges continue to have the highest concentration of properties sold, while residential two-storey homes and bungalows continue to have the highest concentration of buyers,” David Oikle says.
The board says that in addition to the sales, members of the board have helped clients with renting 366 properties since the beginning of the year.
As “telling signs that the spring market is fast approaching,” the board points to the fact that residential and condo sales for February increased by a total of 226 combined units since January, and to the fact that the Ottawa market has a total of 6,519 residential listings in the early days of March.
As the busy spring-summer market will be here soon, if you’re considering selling your property or shopping for a new home, it’s a good idea to contact me as soon as possible.
If you are selling, an early start is really a good idea, so that we can go over your property, take care of any touch-ups that are necessary before we sell, and establish a price, so we can be ready to start showings immediately in the busy season. Many sellers make the mistake of waiting to contact an agent until the warm weather has already arrived. They are then often surprised at the time it can take to get their home cleaned up and ready for the market.
You can reach me through my website, at www.nancybenson.com, or by calling my office at 613-788-2556. Let’s all look forward to the warmer weather ahead!
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