The number of Ottawa residential properties sold in September increased year-over-year as the local housing market continued to gain momentum following a first-half funk.
Ottawa realtors sold 1,119 properties last month, according to figures released by the Ottawa Real Estate Board on Friday. That’s a 12.5 per cent increase when compared to the 995 that were sold in September of 2012.
The effect of new rules introduced by the federal government to make mortgages less available are starting to wear off, OREB officials said.
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“As a result (of) the new mortgage rules introduced last summer, we saw continuous decreases in units sold in the first half of 2013.” said Tim Lee, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, in a statement. “Since July 2013, the Ottawa resale market has started to heat up again.”
Mr. Lee also attributed the increase to the belief that mortgage rates are soon going to increase, which he believes is leading to many first-time buyers getting into the market now.
The average sale price in Ottawa was $346,342, a decrease of 1.2 per cent when compared to the $351,585 price recorded during the same month a year earlier.
