Residential

A total of 2,969 condos changed hands in the capital between January and the end of August, down from 3,577 in the same period in 2021, national brokerage network said Thursday.

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,080 residential properties last month, down from 1,601 in September 2021 and 31 per cent below the five-year average.

Firms say a number of factors – including soaring inflation, rising interest rates and new city fees – are causing them to re-evaluate plans for major multi-residential towers in Ottawa's core. 

Ottawa's 2020 CFO of the Year, who helped guide the REIT through a $230-million IPO in 2018, will retain her other role as chief financial officer of REIT's sister company, Minto Group.

The average price of a residential property in the capital was $550,933.75 at the end of August, down 1.1 per cent from a year earlier, real estate network says in its fall market outlook.

Builders in Ottawa-Gatineau started work on 1,374 new housing units last month, well off the all-time monthly high of 2,130 starts set in July.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in August was 267,443 units, down three per cent from 275,158 in July.

In its latest housing market outlook released Thursday, the association said it expects 532,545 properties to trade hands via Canadian MLS systems this year.

“Eventually, interest rates will go back down, and then people are going to (scramble) trying to buy everything up,” Paul Rushforth predicts, adding city could see “a mini version" of 2021's frenzy.

Ottawa realtors sold 1,137 residential properties in August, down 27 per cent from the 1,565 transactions a year earlier and well below the five-year average of 1,603.