OTTAWA, October 3, 2019 – Members
of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold
1,549 residential properties in September
through the Board’s Multiple Listing
Service® System, compared with 1,386
in September 2018, an increase of 11.8
per cent. September’s sales included
1,113 in the residential-property class, up
6.9 per cent from a year ago, and 436 in
the condominium-property category, an
increase of 26.4 per cent from September
2018. The five-year average for
September unit sales is 1,385.
“Despite a challenging year of historically
low inventory, September’s sales
continue to be extremely strong, the likes
of which we haven’t seen in the past 15
years,” acknowledges Dwight Delahunt,
President of the Ottawa Real Estate
Board. “It’s quite amazing, with the limited
supply, that the market is still moving well
with purchasers finding properties that
meet their requirements,” he adds.
“Of course, in this kind of market where
the process can be quite accelerated, you
must be ready to make a decision quickly
and be poised to act straightaway. That’s
why it’s prudent to work with a REALTOR®
— home sellers can expose their properties
immediately, and buyers are able to have
instant access to the latest listings posted
to the MLS® System,” Delahunt advises.
September’s average sale price for
a condominium-class property was
$309,373, an increase of 9 per cent from
last year while the average sale price of a
residential-class property was $487,438,
an increase of 8 per cent from a year
ago. Year to date figures show an 8.4
per cent and 8.1 per cent increase in
average sale prices for residential and
condominiums respectively. *
“Now that condominium prices have
recovered, we see condo sellers jumping
back into the market to take advantage
of that, and as a result, condo sales
have been very robust and have again
led the way in September’s unit sales,”
Delahunt suggests.
The $350,000 to $499,999 price range
was the most prevalent price point in the
residential market, accounting for 43.5 per
cent of September’s transactions while 28
per cent of residential sales were in the
$500,000 to $749,999 range. The most
active price point in the condominium was
$225,000-$349,999, accounting for 56 per
cent of the units sold.
“September to November typically tend to
be busy listing and sales months; however,
there is a federal election coming up,
which normally brings a slowdown in the
market. We haven’t seen that transpire this
year, which suggests that consumers are
highly confident in our local economy and
the Ottawa real estate market.”
When asked to elaborate on the pressing
issue of housing in the upcoming election,
Delahunt states, “We are closely
monitoring the platforms of all parties,
and any proposals that address supply
certainly have our support.”
He continues, “Although Canada needs
a broad-based national housing strategy
which tackles the full range of housing
issues, platforms that are getting it
right understand that real estate is
local, and policies must factor in
regional differences.”
In addition to residential sales, OREB
Members assisted clients with renting
2,117 properties since the beginning of
the year.
* The Board cautions that the average sale
price 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
calculation of the average sale price is
based on the total dollar volume of all
properties sold. Price and conditions
will vary from neighbourhood to
neighbourhood.