July housing sales ‘encouraging,’ OREB says, but more action needed to spur supply

August 12, 2024

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Supply and affordability issues persist in the city’s residential real estate market, the Ottawa Real Estate Board said last week in reporting that the number of homes sold in July increased 13.6 per cent from July 2023. According to OREB, home sales in July were 7.1 per cent below the five-year average and 8.8 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of July. On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 8,349 units in July 2024, an increase of 5.5 per cent from the same period in 2023. “As the market pace typically slows in the summer, July’s activity is encouraging and could be a sign of more gains ahead,” said OREB president Curtis Fillier in a news release. “Buyer confidence is slowly but surely catching up while sellers continue to add a steady stream of new listings. Of course, the extent to which that translates into transactions depends on the type of properties and price points available in our communities as supply and affordability issues persist.” Fillier said that recent policy developments could be a boost. “Two consecutive interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, coupled with the federal government’s introduction of 30-year amortization periods on mortgages for first-time homebuyers purchasing newly built homes, will help some buyers. However, these are demand policies and Ottawa — as well as many cities across the country — needs action on the supply side.” In its Monetary Policy Report, the Bank of Canada pointed to municipal zoning restrictions and high development fees as long-standing challenges to supply growth. Recent data from the Ontario government shows Ottawa is behind its housing starts goal, having built 1,593 homes out of its 12,583 target for 2024. According to OREB, the overall composite benchmark price was $648,900 in July 2024, an increase of 0.1 per cent from July 2023. The benchmark price for single-family homes was $734,700, down 0.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis in July. The benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit was $506,100, up 3.4 per cent compared to a year earlier. The benchmark apartment price was $422,800, down 0.9 per cent from year-ago levels. The average price of homes sold in July 2024 was $679,610, decreasing 2.1 per cent from July 2023. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $681,082, increasing by one per cent from July 2023. The number of new listings increased by 17.1 per cent from July 2023. Months of inventory numbered 2.8 at the end of July 2024, up from 2.3 in July 2023.