Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold
1,141 residential properties in August through the Board’s Multiple Listing
Service® system, compared with 1,328 in August 2011, a decrease of 14.1 per
cent. The five-year average for August sales is 1,193.

August’s sales included 248 in the condominium property class, and 893 in the
residential property class.

“The number of residential properties sold has decreased compared to
August 2011, while the average price has slightly increased,” indicates
Ansel Clarke, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “The new mortgage
rules came into effect in early July, and this could be an explanation for the decrease
in properties sold. Potential home buyers may be waiting to save a bit more
money before purchasing a property. This summer, we also experienced
exceptionally hot weather, which may be a factor in the market slow down. This
August’s sales are still in line with the five-year average, so the Ottawa
market remains steady despite a small dip in units sold.” Clarke also
notes that the total number of year-to-date properties sold is up 2.8 per cent
and the average sale price is up 2.2 per cent from this time last year.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold
in August in the Ottawa area was $346,949, an increase of 2.5 per cent over
August 2011. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was
$272,367, an increase of 7.6 per cent over August 2011. The average sale price
of a residential-class property was $367,661, an increase of 1.7 per cent over
August 2011. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be
useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator
that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale
price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

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