STITTSVILLE HOUSING MARKET UPDATE, FEBRUARY 2019

Homes sold in Stittsville, January 2019

January 2019 has gone down as the snowiest January on record in Ottawa. You might think that all that snow and bitter cold would cool the market, instead, the Stittsville market remained active. Since the first of the year, 22 homes have sold in Stittsville [1]. That number matches the number of homes sold this past December and is nearly twice the number of homes that sold in January last year. The average sale price for homes sold last month was $474,241. This is 20% higher than the same period last year and a continuation of the upward trend in prices from the last quarter of 2018 [2]. With a limited supply of homes offered to the market and healthy demand,  pressure on prices and competition among buyers is expected to continue in February. Keep in mind the large percentage increase is also due to the small sample size of sold homes in January. That is not a true reflection of increases from last year.

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INVESTORS IN MARKET:

This year will be the year of the investor. There are so many people who are turning to real estate to build their investment portfolio. Especially after many saw their investments plunge in December (myself included). Sittsville is very desirable for investors right now. It is a fast growing community that has lots of future growth planned.  These investors are seeking out properties typically in the $350,000 to $425,000 range. This is the hottest segment of the market right now. They are competing for homes with first time buyers and others and this is putting upward pressure on prices.

ELECTION PROMISES:

For many millennials it has been a real struggle to finance a purchase with the rising home prices. Especially in cities like Toronto and Vancouver. I predict that during the lead up to the election there will be new programs announced or platforms that will ease the mortgage rules or increase the amortization for buyers.  There has been talk of eliminating the stress test but I believe they will keep this in place. This will be an election issue because it is very important to younger buyers who want to be in the market.

PRICES:

Looking at the strong activity in January it is clear to see that prices will be going up again this year. There is just so much pent up demand right now. Many of January’s sales were in multiple bid scenarios. With every multiple offer sale a new price benchmark is established. There is simply a shortage of good available Stittsville homes right now to satisfy this demand- especially under $500,000. This will make 2019 a very competitive year for homebuyers.

HIGHLIGHTS

Number of Homes Sold (January 2019 vs January 2018)

• 22 – all (↑ 83.3%)
• 16 – detached (↑ 77.8%)
• 6 – row & semi-detached (↑ 100.0%)

Average Sold Price (January 2019 vs January 2018)

• $474,241 – all (↑ 20.8%)
• $504,956 – detached (↑ 21.7%)
• $392,333 – row & semi-detached (↑ 20.5%)

Total Days on Market3 (January 2019 vs January 2018)

• 34 – all (↑ 6.3%) o 39 – detached (↑ 5.4%)
• 23 – row & semi-detached (↑ 21.1%)

Number of Active Listings (January 2019 vs January 2018)

• 36 – all (↑ 20.0%)
• 30 – detached (↑ 11.1%)
• 6 – row & semi-detached (↑ 100.0%)

Number of Months of Inventory (January 2019 vs January 2018)

• 2 – all (↓ 33.3%)
• 2 – detached (↓ 33.3%)
• 1 – row & semi-detached (↔ 0.0%)

[1] Excludes condominiums, homes on leased land and homes under construction.

[2] All data courtesy of the Ottawa Real Estate Board MLS® System. The above Information is believed to be accurate but not warranted.

[3] Total days on market includes all days between the listing date and the firm sale date of the property.