From the blog...
OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: MAY 2021
The market in Ottawa right now seems to be in transition. Homes are still selling at record prices but the upward trend in prices month over month seems to be leveling out. The first quarter of this year saw unprecedented price growth. That type of rapid appreciation can happen only over a shorter period of time. Now sellers are pricing at higher numbers to start and still hoping, and in some cases expecting buyers to bid way over the asking price. In many cases that is just not happening. Some sellers are not getting any offers on their offer date and transitioning to a more traditional offer anytime approach should they not get an offer. In some cases, they are raising their price too. List prices don’t mean much right now. If the property is priced right and is attractive to buyers then of course they can still generate many offers on the house. In general, most sellers are still getting multiple offers, but where it was 8-12 offers or more in April, now it is more like 3-5 offers.
There are also fewer viewings, but seller’s prices are also generally higher to start with. It all makes a very confusing market because there are so many strategies at play. I look forward to a time in the future where the price listed is the price the seller expects to sell for. It would make our market a whole lot easier to navigate for both buyers and sellers.
2,296 residential properties were sold in May, compared with 1,342 in May 2020, an increase of 71 per cent. May’s sales included 1,779 in the residential-property class, up 67 per cent from a year ago, and 517 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 85 per cent from May 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in May is 2,123. This is an important number because last May we were in a stricter lockdown and the numbers are skewed.
I predict the market to remain a sellers market for the remainder of the year, however prices are leveling out and there will be more options for desperate buyers out there. Every house and neighbourhood are different.
If you ever want to know about the activity in your neighbourhood or have any questions at all, please reach out to our team.