Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 870
residential properties in February through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service®
system, compared with 903 in February 2013, a decrease of 3.7 per cent.
“February sales are down slightly year-over-year, despite the less than
favourable weather, and possible distraction of the Olympics,” says
President-Elect of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, David Oikle. “Typical of a
burgeoning spring market, Ottawa’s resales gained momentum in February. Looking
at this month’s sales, in comparison to last month’s sales, the market has
picked up as we approach the busiest time of the year – 282 more homes were sold
in February, over January.”
February’s sales included 197 in the
condominium property class, and 673 in the residential property class. The
condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e.
detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a
condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and
timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential
properties.
The average sale price of residential properties, including
condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $353,407, an increase of
two per cent over February 2013. The average sale price for a condominium-class
property was $257,752, a decrease of 2.3 per cent over February 2013. The
average sale price of a residential-class property was $381,407, an increase of
2.1 per cent over February 2013. 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.
“The hottest segments of our market in February are
sales between $175,000 to $225,000 and $275,000 to $400,000. This could be
indicative of first-time homebuyers being active buyers,” explains Oikle. “With
an increased inventory of listings going into March, we could see this momentum
transfer to other market segments as first-time sellers re-enter the market as
buyers and help contribute to continued market stability.”