Ottawa home sales were up in April as a strong housing market helped to offset a relatively low supply of condos and residential inventory in the capital.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 2,032 residential properties last month, an increase of 13.6 per cent year-over-year. That’s also more than April’s five-year average of 1,704 home sales.
Condos accounted for roughly 20 per cent of April’s sales.
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The average sale price for residential-class properties in Ottawa last month was $455,212, up 4.2 per cent from 2017. Condo prices averaged around $269,294, a slight bump over last year’s figures.
OREB president Ralph Shaw pointed to strong employment and reasonable housing prices in the region as drivers in the market, calling Ottawa “one of the more affordable cities in Canada” in a statement.
Shaw added, however, that Ottawa’s hot market is offset by restricted supply, as both condo and residential inventory were down 23.7 per cent year-over-year. He suggested that April’s unseasonably cool temperatures, along with a new mortgage stress test limiting homeowners’ ambitions of upsizing, may have caused some to hesitate in putting their homes up for sale.
“With our low inventory, potential sellers are reluctant to put their home on the market if they are uncertain of their ability to acquire another property,” he said.
A lack of serviceable land, resulting in fewer new build opportunities, is further restricting Ottawa’s supply levels, Shaw added.
