Ottawa’s resale residential market in February continued to see the impact of higher interest rates, but there’s also good news for sellers and buyers.
Compared to a year ago, when inventory was low and the sellers’ market was at its peak, average sale prices in February were down. The total number of properties sold was also down.
But in good news for sellers, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reports average sale prices for residential-class properties in February were up 5% from January of 2023. And properties sold faster in February than they did in January.
Some key numbers:
Average Sale Price, Residential-Class Property: $708,968. That’s down 15% from February of 2022. But it’s up 5% from January of 2023.
Average Sale Price, Condominium-Class Property: $410,927. That’s down 12% from February of last year. But it’s close to the average for January of 2023, which was $412,244.
Average Days on Market, Residential-Class properties: 37 (Down from 43 in January).
Average Days on Market, Condo-class Properties: 43 (Down from 47 days in January).
New Listings in February: 1,366 (Down 22% from February of 2022).
Ken Dekker, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, says the numbers for February are not surprising. Other Canadian cities have seen the same impact.
“We’re going to see declines in transactions and prices when we compare current figures to last February _ the height of the pandemic resale market activity.”
“On the other hand,” he notes, “with the Bank of Canada holding interest rates steady, prospective buyers have more budget certainty to work with as we head into the spring market.”
If you’re Buying:
If you’re planning to buy, in addition to finding lower average sale prices than you would have faced a year ago, there is much more inventory available. That gives you more time to search and less pressure to make instant decisions. The market remains balanced, instead of favouring sellers, as it did a year ago.
In February of last year, there was just 0.7 months’ worth of inventory for both condo properties and residential-class properties. That figure refers to how long it would take for the inventory to sell out if no additional properties were added.
That number increased in February to 2.8 months for residential properties and 2.5 months for condo-class properties.
If you’re Selling:
The reduced number of days on the market in February was good news for sellers.
And Ken Dekker says the 5% increase in the average sale price in February “over January could be an indicator that buyers have normalized to the current interest rates. And perhaps, it’s a glimmer of more activity to come in the months ahead.”
“The best advice for sellers and buyers in today’s market is to pay close attention to the comparison and competition insights only a Realtor can offer,” he says.
“Ottawa is made up of many micro-markets, and neighbourhood-level data is vital to standing out and closing deals.”
The Ottawa Real Estate 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 in Ottawa will 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 an 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.
