Ottawa homebuyers and sellers are adjusting to measures aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19, returning a level of normalcy to the local real estate market, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
“The resale market has rebounded to meet pent-up demand,” OREB president Deborah Burgoyne said in a statement.
OREB members sold 2,052 residential properties last month, down just two per cent from the 2,096 homes that traded hands in June 2019.
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That modest decline is in stark contrast to the dramatic slowdowns this spring, when year-over-year sales were down 55 per cent in April and 44 per cent in May.
OREB says the rapid market turnaround is further depleting an already limited supply of homes listed for sale – a characteristic of Ottawa’s market in recent years that’s been cited as a significant factor in pushing up prices.
In June, the average price of residential-class properties – a category that includes detached, semi-detached and multi-unit homes – jumped to $575,623, a year-over-year increase of 15 per cent.
Average condo prices, meanwhile, soared 17 per cent to $360,922.
“We continue to be in a strong seller’s market,” Burgoyne said, speculating that the local market would maintain its momentum through the summer.
