Ottawa’s home prices are expected to continue rising into 2019, according to the latest annual reports from two national real estate brokerages.
In its annual report, Re/Max states that the average residential sale price of a home in Ottawa from January to October was $408,906, up four per cent from the average price in all of 2017. It expects that trend to continue with another four per cent increase in 2019, which would bring the average price to more than $425,000.
Re/Max points to the mortgage stress test and rising interest rates as factors affecting the capital’s housing market this year and expects that influence to continue.
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The report forecasts that first-time buyers will “dominate” the housing market in 2019. Young couples and families will largely be looking at condos and townhomes in the $350,000-to-$500,000 price range, it says.
Seniors are expected to drive demand in the local condo market, however. Re/Max anticipates the average price of an Ottawa condo will rise four per cent to $288,970 in 2019.
The report also noted a trend in the market’s luxury segment of landowners purchasing occupied property and tearing down existing structures for new builds.
In a separate report released today, brokerage Royal LePage also forecasted a modest increase in Ottawa’s home prices come 2019. The company expects a 2.5 per cent increase in the capital’s median home sales price to $487,910.
Royal LePage’s report notes that Ottawa’s housing market benefits from the city’s strong tech and public sectors, but that the capital may see further inventory shortfalls in the new year.
Nationally, Royal LePage says it’s anticipating the national median home price will increase by 1.2 per cent in 2019.
Prices in Toronto and the surrounding areas are expected to rise 1.3 per cent to $854,552, while homes in Greater Vancouver are forecast to increase by just 0.6 per cent to $1.29 million, according to the annual outlook by the firm.
Royal LePage says home prices in Montreal and the nearby region are expected to see the largest rise out of Canada’s biggest cities, with home prices anticipated to jump three per cent to $421,306 in 2019.
– With files from Canadian Press
