Ottawa's resale market lands softly in January's deep freeze

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 589 residential properties in January through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 594 in January 2013. "Residential sales this January were virtually identical to January 2013. Our members sold five more freehold residential properties and 10 fewer residential condos. Statistically, the difference is less than one per cent," says President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, Randy Oickle. "The market activity is encouraging for homeowners considering the deep freeze Ottawa experienced this past month - a time when people are more apt to stay in and stay warm instead of venturing out to search for a home." January's sales included 126 in the condominium property class, and 463 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties that are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties. "The number of properties listed in January more than doubled the amount from the previous month - a normal occurrence at the beginning of the year as the holidays draw to a close and people begin to plan for the year ahead," explains Oickle. "Interest rates continue to be low, with some whisperings of the rates decreasing and not increasing, as had been predicted in the last half of 2013. The Ottawa resale market has remained steady. There have been no major increases or decreases in sales or prices notwithstanding the government's intervention in mortgage rules over a year ago." The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $346,744, an increase of one per cent over January 2013. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $265,775, a decrease of 1.1 per cent over January 2013. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $368,779, an increase of 0.9 per cent over January 2013. 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. Courtesy of the Ottawa Real Estate Board