February Real Estate Statistics and what they mean for Ottawa
Karen’s View
“Here’s what the Ottawa Real Estate Board has to say:The article below is put out by the Ottawa Real Estate board and it does not necessarily apply to your home. Each area of Ottawa has been affected differently and if you are selling or buying it is very important to understand the numbers in your particular area. What I can tell you is over time we know that each month of the year represents a certain % of sales. We know that January represents approx. 4% of the years sales and February represents 5 % of the years sales so February should have picked up over January. One very important item no one seems to be talking about is every month since Jan of 2012 we have had rising inventory including Jan and February of 2013. What does this mean if you are a Seller? You should be pricing to reflect the market in your area . If you are a buyer, I would think twice about multiple offers and buying before selling. It is virtually impossible to time the market for the highest selling price and the lowest buying price- life gets in the way. Ask some one who bought their first home when interest rates were 18% . A house is first a home, and second a good long term investment. Work with an agent who knows the market well and has your best interests as a priority.”
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 914 residential properties in February through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,008 in February 2012, a decrease of 9.3 per cent.
It is clear that the Ottawa resale market has slowed down in comparison to this time last year,” says Tim Lee, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “The government was successful in its quest to “cool down” the market. However, if we look at this month’s sales, in comparison to last month’s sales, the market seems to be picking back up as we approach the busy spring season – 315 more homes were sold in February, over January, even with three fewer days.
February’s sales included 224 in the condominium property class, and 690 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $346,774, a slight decrease of 1.1 per cent over February 2012. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $264,953, a decrease of 3.1 per cent over February 2012. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $373,337 a slight decrease of 0.6 per cent over February 2012. The Board cautions that average sale price information 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 average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
Even with the slight decline in sales year-over-year, Ottawa continues to be a great place to buy and/or sell your home,” says Lee. Talk to an Ottawa area REALTOR® for more information about the housing market outlook where you live, or want to live.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of over 2,900 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.