May in Review

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,659 residential properties in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,686 in May 2010, a decrease of 1.6 per cent.

Of those sales, 369 were in the condominium property class, while 1,290 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.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in their Spring 2011 Ottawa Housing Market Outlook, the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) transitioned from a seller’s market to a balanced market in 2010 and will remain in that territory in 2011. CMHC analysts define Ottawa’s resale housing market as balanced when between 35 and 55 per cent of the number of homes listed for sale (new listings) in a given month are sold.

“Sales numbers for May were virtually unchanged from 2010, but prices continued to rise at about the same rate as we have seen for the past few months, demonstrating solid demand for resale housing in our area,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “A balanced market offers no distinct advantage to either buyers or sellers, so I’d advise anyone thinking of buying or selling to work with a local REALTOR® to help them achieve their goals. There are different strategies for marketing a home or making an offer to purchase in a balanced market versus a buyer’s or seller’s market. An Ottawa REALTOR® can help make the process easier for consumers,” Tibbles added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in May in the Ottawa area was $352,347, an increase of 5.6 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $261,871, an increase of 6.4 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $378,228, an increase of 6 per cent over May 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.