Ottawa Real Estate Market Update: April sales return to pre-HST levels

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,536 residential properties in April through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,814 in April 2010, a decrease of 15.3 per cent. The five-year average for home sales in April is 1,612.




Of those sales, 316 were in the condominium property class, while 1,220 were 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.



"Sales in April 2010 soared well above average in advance of the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax in Ontario last July. Normally in Ottawa, we see a brisker sales period beginning at the end of April or early May, but last year's spring market started earlier by about three months due to the HST. That surge in sales pushed April's five-year average up significantly; it's not out of the ordinary for about 1,500 homes to be sold in April in our market," said Board President Joanne Tibbles.



"Home prices still continued to rise at the usual moderate rate last month, demonstrating a solid demand for resale homes in Ottawa. Re-sale housing inventory is up 17.2 per cent from this time last year, indicating that Ottawa is clearly in a healthy, balanced market," Tibbles added.



The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in April in the Ottawa area was $351,226, an increase of 5.4 per cent over April 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $255,232, an increase of 2.1 per cent over April 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $376,090, an increase of 5.4 per cent over April 2010. 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

Hunt Club/Greenboro Property Report: This place works for everyone.

Hunt Club/Greenboro is an area that is perfect for everyone families and young professionals alike. With a variety of properties available from condo apartments to large luxury single family homes Hunt Club/Greenboro should appeal to all types of buyers. This area has all the park space you could ask for so if you are a dog lover, have young kids, play an outdoor sport whether it be hockey, baseball or football you can find a spot for all of these. Dog lovers will love taking there “best friends” to Conroy pit for a run in the off leash part of the park. You can also find all types of shopping whether it is retail or groceries. If you or your children need public transportation there is plenty including access to the O-Train.

Property values in this area continue to rise at a steady rate and offer a great compromise instead of moving out to Orleans, Kanata or Barrhaven you have all that the suburbs offer for comparable prices. Last year Hunt Club/Greenboro saw 204 properties change hands. Of these properties 124 of them were residential properties and 60 being of the condo class. The average price for residential properties in Hunt Club/Greenboro is $321,733 and the average days on market is 17. The average price for condo class properties is $195,141 with the average days on market is 15. For both types of the property sold on average for 98% of asking price.

All this being said if you are an outdoors person or if you want to be fairly close to the city Hunt Club/Greenboro is an area that would work great for you.