OTTAWA, April 3, 2019 – Members of
the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,511
residential properties in March through the
Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System,
compared with 1,654 in March 2018, a
decrease of 8.6 per cent. March’s sales
included 1,136 in the residential property
class, a drop of 12.4 per cent from a year
ago, and 375 in the condominium property
class, an increase of 5 per cent from March
- The five-year average for March unit
sales is 1,402.
“Lack of inventory is responsible for March’s
deficiency in residential unit sales,” states
Ottawa Real Estate Board’s President,
Dwight Delahunt. “This tightness of supply
is manifesting in significant reductions in
DOMs (days on market) and properties
selling very quickly. Residential DOMs are
down 14%, and condo DOMs are down 36%
from last year.”
“In some pockets of the city, buyers are facing
multiple offer situations, and properties are
often selling over list price. These dynamics
of low inventory, reduced days on market, and
multiple offers are signs of a seller’s market
in these areas. While a benefit to those
sellers, it’s stressful and time consuming
for buyers. The experience and guidance of
a REALTOR® is essential in these types of
market conditions,” he adds.
“A major factor contributing to the lack of
housing stock is the shortage of quality
options for those who might list their homes.
Move-up sellers feed the market for first-time
homebuyers. Another issue which adds to a
seller’s reluctance to put their home on the
market is the B-20 stress test which affects
their purchasing power,” Delahunt asserts.
“In Ottawa, we have a population base that’s
increasing year over year with a growth rate
of 8.8 percent, which is higher than Ontario
(5.7%) and Canada as a whole (5.9%).
Immigration and high employment levels
are bringing residents to our desirable and
affordable city,” he suggests.
Delahunt continues, “With high demand
and limited supply, prices will continue to
be pushed upwards – it’s a simple and
fundamental economic principle. Although
we appreciate the recent measures the
federal government has taken towards
affordable homeownership, all three levels
of government need to work together at
implementing mechanisms that will also
restore the supply side of the market.”
The average sale price of a residentialclass
property sold in March in the Ottawa
area was $480,143, a rise of 7.2 per cent
over March 2018. The average sale price
for a condominium-class property was
$290,181, an increase of 5.2 per cent from
this month last year.*
The $300,000 to $449,999 price range
continued to represent the most active price
point in the residential market, accounting
for 43 per cent of March’s sales while 1 in
4 residential sales was in the $500,000 to
$749,999 range. The most prevalent price
point in the condominium market increased
to the $225,000-$349,999 price range,
accounting for 49 per cent of the units sold.
“The condo units in the entry-level range are
near depletion as first-time homebuyers are
trying to get into the market at the lowest
possible price. Moreover, previous renters
may have been pushed into condo ownership
with rental vacancy rates in Ottawa at less
than 1%. If there were concrete incentives
for investors to purchase properties to
lease or develop purpose-built rentals – it
could certainly stimulate the rental market,”
Delahunt concludes.
In addition to residential and condominium
sales, OREB Members assisted clients with
renting 550 properties since the beginning
of the year.
* The Board cautions that the average sale
price can be useful in establishing trends
over time but should not be used as an
indicator that specific properties have
increased or decreased in value. The
calculation of the average sale price is based
on the total dollar volume of all properties
sold. Price and conditions will vary from
neighbourhood to neighbourhood.