Ottawa home prices continued their steep upward climb in the final three months of 2021, according to data from Royal LePage.
The city’s aggregate home price jumped 17.2 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of last year, rising to $739,700, the real estate firm said Friday in its latest price survey.
The median price of a single-family detached home in the capital rose 20 per cent year-over-year to $876,600 in the quarter, while condo prices increased 11.5 per cent to $417,700.
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John Rogan, broker of record at Royal LePage Performance Realty, said he expects the looming threat of interest rate hikes to fuel continued demand for housing throughout the first half of 2022.
“Although we are seeing fewer multiple-offer scenarios than earlier in the pandemic, competition remains tight due to a shortage of supply,” he said in a statement.
Rogan said the frothy market is being driven by millennial households with double incomes that can afford to pay escalating prices.
However, he cautioned that it’s becoming more and more difficult for many would-be buyers to cobble together the necessary down payments.
“With inventory reaching historic lows, navigating the housing market has become increasingly challenging for both buyers and sellers,” Rogan said. “If this level of demand continues without a significant increase in supply, Ottawa will remain in a firm seller’s market through 2022.”
Nationally, Royal LePage said aggregate home prices increased 17.1 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, explaining that “strong buyer demand continues to outpace supply in almost every market from coast to coast.”
The company forecasted late last year that Ottawa’s aggregate home price is expected to top $806,000 by the end of 2022, a jump of nine per cent compared with a year earlier.