Ottawa’s resale residential real estate market in March continued to see the impact of higher interest rates, with fewer total sales than a year ago and lower average sale prices, the Ottawa Real Estate Board has reported.

But on a positive note we begin the busy spring market, with average sale prices in March  up from where they were in January, and properties are selling faster than at the beginning of the year.

Here are some of the key numbers from sales in the Ottawa area for March 2023:

Average Sale Prices:

Residential-Class Properties: The average sale price of a residential-class property in March was$710,070.That’s 17% below the average price of March 2022. But it’s up from the average in January of this year ($676,222) and February ($708,968).

Condominium-Class Properties: Average sale price in March was $418,670. That’s13% below the average sale price in March of 2022. But as with residential-class properties, it’s up from the average in January ($412,244) and February ($410,927).

Days on the Market:

Residential-Class Properties: In March, residential-class properties were on the market for an average of 34 days. That’s down from 43 days in January and 37 days in February.
Condominium-Class Properties: In March, condo-class properties in Ottawa sold in an average of 39 days. That was down from 47 days in January and 43 days in February.

More inventory Available:

Residential-Class Properties: In March, there was 2.3 months’ worth of inventory on the Ottawa market. That’s the time it would take to sell all properties if no new homes were added. That was up from just 0.6 month’s worth in March of last year.
Condo-Class Properties: In March, there was 2.8 months’ worth of inventory in Ottawa’s condo market. That’s also up from just 0.6 month’s worth in March of 2022.

Whether you’re buying a house or condo, this means you have more listings to choose from than buyers did a year ago, with less pressure to make instant decisions.

Total number of Properties Sold:

In March, members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,194 properties through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) System.

That was down 40% from the total in March of 2022. Other Canadian cities saw similar drops. But that total was up from Ottawa’s totals in January (606 properties) and February (855), as we enter the busy spring season.

Ken Dekker, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, says “the recent rise in transactions is a sign of typical spring activity, even if we are behind the pandemic peaks of 2022. As spring unfolds, so too will a clearer picture of Ottawa’s balanced market state.”

“Well-priced and well-prepared homes are selling. Realtors have up-to-the-minute statistics to ensure sellers are positioning themselves at the current market value, based on recent sales and hyper-local market comparisons. Buyers can benefit from the same data, along with their negotiation expertise to guarantee they are receiving the best value for their dollar.”

As always, the Ottawa Board cautions that while average sale prices for specific months can be useful in establishing trends over time, they should not be used as an indication that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. As with all cities, prices and price changes in Ottawa vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

If you’re considering selling or buying property in Ottawa, I’d love to tell you more about the current market and conditions in your area of the city, and the expertise I can offer, with more than 30 years of experience as a Realtor in Ottawa.

If you’re considering selling, I can show you the sale prices that have been accepted recently for similar properties in your neighbourhood, so we can determine a realistic asking price that reflects the current market.

You can read more about me and my team at www.nancybenson.com. Feel free to give me a call, at 613-747-4747.