Buyers and sellers still ‘exercising caution’ in Ottawa’s housing market, OREB says

OBJ staff

April 8, 2025

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The local housing market is gaining momentum, but sales are still behind their pace of a year ago as buyers and sellers remain cautious amid ongoing economic turbulence, the Ottawa Real Estate Board said this week. OREB said 1,103 housing units were sold last month, down 6.2 per cent from March 2024. Meanwhile, 2,221 new homes were put on the market, a 4.1 per cent increase from a year ago. Home sales were 24 per cent below the five-year average and 19.3 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of March, OREB said. New listings were 0.7 per cent below the five-year average and 2.2 per cent below the 10-year average. While acknowledging that sales activity was “slightly lower than last year” in March, OREB President Paul Czan said he’s seeing signs that the market is gaining traction as interest rates continue to fall. The Bank of Canada has cut its key interest rate seven times since last June, bringing it down to 2.75 per cent. “Both buyers and sellers are exercising some caution – likely due to economic uncertainty and the upcoming (federal) election – but the current lower interest rates are encouraging more activity as they step off the sidelines,” Czan said in a news release. Active listings were up more than 60 per cent in March compared with the previous year to 4,319 units. But Czan cautioned that ongoing tariff and trade concerns “could affect new construction and further exacerbate supply challenges” in the Ottawa market. “So, it’s critical that the City of Ottawa continues collaborating with key stakeholders,” he added. “We were pleased to take part in discussions around the proposed new zoning bylaw, which prioritizes housing options and opportunities to maximize options for Ottawa’s residents.” The overall composite benchmark price was $626,200 last month, a 2.2 per cent increase compared with March 2024. The benchmark price for single-family homes was $698,700, up 2.7 per cent year-over-year, while the benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit was $431,200, a decline of eight per cent from a year earlier. The average price of homes sold in March was $685,866, unchanged from a year ago. The total dollar volume of all home sales was $756.5 million, a drop of 6.2 per cent compared with the same period last year. – With files from The Canadian Press