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Ottawa home sales and prices up from last July: OREB

August 3, 2023

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The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales and prices ticked up in July compared with the same month last year – but transactions and new listings have been slowing as summer goes on amid further interest rate hikes. Members of the board sold 1,263 properties last month, OREB reported Thursday, up 14.6 per cent from July 2022. Freehold-class sales jumped 18 per cent, while condo sales increased six per cent from a year ago. The five-year average for sales in July is 1,621. OREB president Ken Dekker said the year-over-year sales increase is a sign that the Ottawa housing market remains healthy despite the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to resume raising interest rates in a bid to combat persistent inflation. “Both transactions and average prices are up from last July, indicating consumers remain confident in the market notwithstanding the two recent quarter-per-cent interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada,” Dekker said in a news release. “We’re only a month into the third quarter, but based on July’s positive indicators, we are likely to see solid year-over-year results in the second half.” The average cost of a freehold-class property in Ottawa rose five per cent year over year to reach $754,188, while the average condo price edged up two per cent to $435,094. But sellers have been seeing few price gains lately, with freehold properties up about one per cent compared with June and condo prices down about three per cent. Overall, July sales declined 24 per cent from the previous month and 35 per cent compared with May. New listings have also been on the decline. There were 2,234 new properties put on the market in July, down six per cent from a year earlier and a 19 per cent drop from June. While overall inventory is down from 2022, it was up compared with June, and properties are staying on the market longer. It took 26 days for the average freehold property to sell in July, up from 20 days a year earlier and 23 days in June. Meanwhile, the average condo changed hands after spending 28 days on the market, up from 20 days in July 2022 and 27 days in June. “Although we are in a sellers’ market again, the pandemic’s frenzy has calmed considerably,” Dekker said. “Sellers need to manage their expectations with true market activity – not every property will automatically see multiple offers or immediate sales. Ultimately, a property’s price is determined by how much a buyer is willing to pay.”