The Fall season is almost upon us. The kids are getting settled into school and everyone is getting back into a routine. Our little man Aiden just had his first day of school. It was pretty hard seeing him board his school bus for the first time! Kids grow up quick.
The Ottawa housing market results are in and the numbers for August are very positive. Our average price for a residential class property was up 7.6% over last August. We are sitting at $420,355. We are up over 7% YTD. Incredible numbers really considering most economists predicted the opposite.
The Ottawa condo market was busy. The prices were down slightly by less than half a percent. The average price of an Ottawa condo was $270,768. Where I see strength is in the units sold. We are up 22% over last years numbers. This has really been a nice turnaround for condos this year.
This fall season will continue to be very active for Ottawa buyers and sellers. There are still many buyers in the marketplace who were unable to secure their home in the Spring/Summer due to increased competition and tight supply. I expect this trend to continue for at least the next 90 days. If you have any questions on the market please let me know.
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. Our local housing market continues to impress. In July the market was once again well ahead of where we were this time last year. Let’s look at the numbers.
These are the average numbers. There are some areas that are experiencing double digit increases over the same period last year. Anything West of downtown to Carlingwood would be in this category. Buyers want to be central and are willing to pay a hefty price to get there. Take Westboro/Carlingwood areas as an example. The average price here for a single is $758,000 that is up 11.5% from a year earlier.
Another reason for the strength in our market is that condo market is making a comeback. Much of the inventory that has been stale the last few years is being sold off. This has really helped to strengthen the market as a whole. Many condo owners (myself included) have rented their condos in the past few years waiting for better selling conditions. The time might be right to list for those condo investors. The condo market sold 332 units in July 2017 which is an increase or 19.4% compared to last years July.
Inventory continues to be an issue in some locations-especially in the central areas. The amount of new listings coming to market is lower than the 5-year average. Buyers are still patiently waiting for properties to come available. We are seeing a more active summer because many buyers were unable to secure their home in the Spring.
Interest Ratescould be a factor moving forward. As our economy strengthens it is natural that our key interest rate will rise. After many years of steady rates, we have finally seen a rise in the Bank of Canada rate. It recently increased by a 1/4 of a percent. Lenders have since followed suit. This will add about $12 more per month on average for every 100k of a mortgage. It will affect affordability but not enough to cool the Ottawa housing market. Something to keep our eye on. Ottawa is such a spread out city. There are different market trends happening in each micro market of the city. If you are curious to whats happening your neighbourhood let me know. I would be happy to provide you with a list of Ottawa homes that have recently sold around you.
Ottawa’s market has been thriving for the first half of 2017. Month over month we are seeing an increase in units sold and average sale prices increasing from last year. Compared to last year at this time, Ottawa homes sales units in both residential and condos property classes are up 13.5%. The average residential sale price for June 2017 was $434,502 up 8.8% from last year’s June and the average condo sale price for June 2017 was $289,950 up 9.4% over last year’s June. The number of Condo units sold per month continues to stay strong with an increase of 23.3% compared to last year’s June. This is the 5th year in a row the number of units sold both residential and condo properties have increased in June. The demand is still high right now in certain neighbourhoods. I predict that in the second half of the year we will continue to see record-setting prices for units sold and average price.
It was raining sales in the Ottawa real estate market last month. Amid one of the rainiest months ever, we also experienced the busiest real estate market in Ottawa history. We absolutely shattered the previous record by over 315 units. The Ottawa residential market has been hot for a while now but the condo market is also coming alive which is leading to this extremely active market. Condos sales activity is up 44.6% over May of last year. In total 2300 units were sold last month! That is up from 1919 units sold in May of 2016. This includes both condos and residential freeholds.
In most neighbourhoods, Ottawa is in a seller’s market. There is just not much inventory and lots of demand. Multiple offer situations are very prevalent in the central neighbourhoods. Freehold prices are up 7.4% over May of 2016 while Condo’s are up 2.4% over May of last year.
Now more than ever it is important to get the advice of an agent. Pricing/marketing strategies are different for every neighbourhood. If you are interested to see what your home would sell for in this market please feel free to get in touch.
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The balanced market of the past few years has seemed to evaporate overnight. The market is extremely competitive right now in Ottawa. A shortage of good inventory and favorable demand has shifted the balance towards the sellers. Bidding wars are once again a common practice here in Ottawa. The exception this year is that some of the bidding wars are escalating high above the listing prices. In one instance I witnessed a home sell for 100k more than a sellers list price. It started in March and was mostly contained to the central urban market. Neighbourhoods like Hintonburg and Westoboro are especially hot. That heat has extended to the suburban market, It is not as active but in some segments of the market, every well-priced home is in multiples. As an example, it took my clients 5 offers to secure a Kanata townhouse. They were over asking on all 4 of the previous bids. Every neighbourhood has different trends. Much it will depend on the available inventory in each area. Comes back to simple economics sometimes. Low supply + high demand = Craziness in the Ottawa market.
Let’s examine the April resale numbers for the Ottawa market:
This upwards push is fuelled by a combination of high consumer confidence and good local economic conditions. Houses sold over 1M doubled this April compared to last year. There were over 83 properties sold in the 7 digits! This is an interesting trend to keep an eye on. If you have questions about your neighbourhood trends feel free to get in touch.
The Ottawa Real Estate market is heating up. Price gains for both residential and condo units are up 5.3% year over year. The average sale price of a residential property was $415,467 and $272,597 for condos. Sales are up 28% over last year and we are just shy of the all-time record for March sales.
The core of the city is as active as I have seen it in years. There are limited inventory and lots of demand. This has created many situations where sellers are getting much more than asking price. In one instance I witnessed a home sell for 100k over asking price. It is a challenging market for buyers right now. Especially in the areas around Wellington village and Hintonburg. These areas are experiencing multiple bids on almost every house!
In the suburbs, the economics are more balanced. There is a reasonable amount of inventory and multiple bid situations are rarer. However, it is more active than in years past. It is going to make for a very interesting Spring market. The traditional busy season is still yet to be upon us.
The market has different patterns depending on your neighbourhood and category of home. If you are interested to know what’s happening in your neighbourhood, feel free to get in touch.
