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The talk of Ottawa the past few weeks has been the cooling real estate market. I just wanted to add some perspective on this. The market is most certainly changing but the first quarter of this year was so hot that we may never see that type of inventory shortage again in our lifetime. It is just not the same offer frenzy that we were used to. Buyers are spreading their offers around on different properties. Hopefully this will lead to more balance in the market.

The market is not the same as what it was and that is ok. It is still very much a seller’s market right now. Prices have stabilized and for the most part, sellers are still trying to achieve prices that comparable houses sold for a few months ago. In some areas that is still very achievable and in other cases those numbers are now out of reach.

Where do we go from here?

Prices have certainly stabilized over the past few months. Buyers still seem to be able and willing to pay the premium prices that sellers are demanding. There are fewer offers on properties but the pricing strategy has really changed. Sellers in many cases are now pricing at the mid to high end of the market. So instead of pricing a home 100k less than what they expect they may price it 20-50k less and if on offer date they don’t get an offer they likely will increase the price to match their expectations. Some sellers are still going way under their desired price and others are pricing right at the most recent comparable. This has created a very complicated marketplace. With so many strategies out there it is important to lean on your Realtors experience to help navigate you through it.

With year-to-date average sale prices at $734,357 for residential and $422,734 for condominiums, these values represent a 33 per cent and 20 percent increase over 2020, respectively. Pretty incredible numbers really.

Every house is unique. If you want to know what’s happening in your area please feel free to reach out.

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.

It is hard to believe that Ottawa has had lockdowns in April of last year and this year! This of course is going to have an impact on real estate sales. We are an essential service and I have had very few clients suspend their search due to the lockdown measures. The market is red hot of course but prices seem to be all over the place depending on the strategy the sellers are using. It is like wheel of fortune out there. You can list low and win a big number on offer day. If you list over actual retail value than your house may not get offers and you will be in a weird limbo that some sellers find themselves in. Finding the sweet spot price wise while not going over or too far under is what you need to do. Think of your Realtor as Bob Barker guiding you to the right price so you can play in the showcase showdown. Pricing has never been more important. Price too high and you could actually get far less for your property. It is not a great pricing system right now in the Ottawa real estate market and I hope it gets corrected. I long for the days of having standard prices where a list price actually means something. Until that happens we need to spin the wheel and play the game.

Stats for this month, which show year over year comparisons with 2020 are very skewed due to the State of Emergency declared in April 2020. April 2021 started off strong, however ended up tapering off due to the stricter lockdown order announcement that came mid-month.

We have had 166 per cent more residential sales this April versus this time last year and the average price for a residential property has seen an increase to $743,204, a 42 per cent increase from April 2020. Condos, also seeing an increase of 154 per cent in sales and average sale prices up 30 per cent at $427,145 compared to this time last year.

To show a true comparison 2,402 residential properties were sold in April, we can look at the 5 year average for April The five-year average for total unit sales in April is 1,830. That represents a sizable increase in sales.

It has been so interesting observing market trends over the past few weeks. There are some homes going way more than what they should be selling for while other ones are not getting offers on their pre-arrange offer date. I think many sellers are starting to list at the higher end of the market but that is not necessarily the right strategy. Buyers are conditioned to pay much more than asking and if they see a price at the high end of the market they assume they would have to pay way more to secure it. Often times those houses end up selling for less than they should be. The showing experience is also becoming more and more important. The well staged and presented homes are the ones going for the crazy prices. These are the ones that are capturing buyers hearts and getting them emotionally committed to the houses and subsequent bids.

We have had 47 per cent more residential sales this March versus this time last year and the average price for a residential property has skyrocketed up to $758,802, a 35 per cent increase from March 2020. This trend is also continuing with condos, seeing an increase of 65 per cent in sales and average sale prices up 18 per cent at $437,041 compared to this time last year.

The pandemic has brought us a once in a lifetime type of real estate market. The challenge I see moving forward is the supply issue could be here with us for the foreseeable future. Our city is growing and everyone wants to have home ownership. Why would you not when you see the type of equity homeowners are building. I do think things will get a bit easier in the next few months for buyers. In the past week I have seen more townhomes come to market than at any other time in the last year. I think townhome owners are seeing the relatively small gap between what their houses would sell for and getting into a larger single home.

As always feel free to reach out to me, or any member of our team if you would like to know what your home is worth or if you are interested in recent neighbourhood activity.

Stay safe and take care!

The market has continued its red hot pace and is favored towards the seller. This seems to be how I am starting these write-ups over the past 13 months! Hard to believe considering we are one year into a pandemic. We have less than one months inventory available to buyers out there. To put it in perspective it is like going to the grocery store a year ago and seeing toilet paper being put on the shelves. How long did that last? If stores were setup for bidding wars I am sure they would sell those rolls for more. Not comparing toilet paper to housing, well kinda. The principals are the same. As a shopper I was legit frustrated last year because of the scarcity of the inventory.  My buyers out there are feeling the same. A few have decided to rent! Eventually things will get back to a more normal market. I predict that to start taking shape by summer. It will be favored to the sellers but prices will plateau. Interest rates may see a slight uptick and that should help cool this market a bit. It will still be hot for the rest of the year but not less than one months inventory hot.

The average sale price of a residential property up 27.2 per cent to $717,914 and the average sale price of a condo up 16.6 per cent to $407,971, compared to February 2020. These numbers are unheard of over the past 50 years. The competition for properties remains fierce!

February’s sales included 1,028 in the residential-property class, up 24 per cent from a year ago, and 362 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 19 per cent from February 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in February is 1,101.

Residential homes are experiencing the quickest turnarounds noticeable in the sharp decline of Days on Market (DOM) from 30 days in February 2020 to 14 days last month. Houses are getting snapped up quickly.

If you ever want to know what your home could sell for, or what the property down the street just sold for, please feel free to reach out to our team.

Even in the midst of a stay-at-home order and a continuation of December’s lockdown, members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 964 residential properties in January through the Board’s MLS System, compared with 778 in January 2020, an increase of 24 per cent. January’s sales included 674 in the residential-property class, up 21 percent from a year ago, and 290 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 31 per cent from January 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in January is 786.

Sellers were waiting until after the holidays to list their properties, causing listing activity to be up at the beginning of the month. This gave way to a restricted supply once the stay-at-home order came into effect mid-month. This of course has put strain on buyers. There is so much pent-up demand.

Inventory is up from December, it is still down substantially from last year at this time with 43% fewer properties on the market. This inventory shortage coupled with strong demand triggered a brisk pace to the market. We would have certainly seen higher sales numbers if there were more properties available because the demand is definitely there.

January’s average sale price for a condominium-class property was $380,336, an increase of 13 per cent from last year, while the average sale price of a residential-class property was $677,197, an increase of 31 per cent from a year ago. Compared to December, the average price for residential-class properties has increased by 12 per cent, and the average price for condominium-class units is 7 per cent higher.

If you are curious to know what’s happening in your Ottawa neighborhood let us know. We are always happy to help.

This is the time of year that we usually see a pretty big slowdown in our real estate market. The recent statistics from the Ottawa real estate board suggest that will not be the case this year. The demand is still extremely high for Ottawa real estate. There are so many buyers who are still out there waiting for the right property to become available. These buyers are starting to see more options.

New listings were up by 400 when compared with November of last year. This is 3-4 months of more inventory when compared with last year. A continuation of this trend may lead to a more balanced market in the 2nd quarter of next year. The prices will stabilize as a result. It has been an amazing run in that department. Prices are up over 20% in the residential class segment with Ottawa prices averaging $602,892 in 2020. Ottawa condos are up 19%. The trajectory of this market is a direct result of the severely depleted housing inventory we experienced in the first half of the year.

There has been an influx in the condo market listings as of late. We have 25% more listing in that segment available right now when compared with November of last year. This is leading to more time on the market for condo sellers. This is an interesting trend to watch.

If you have any questions about what’s happening in your neighborhood feel free to reach out!