OTTAWA, July 6, 2020 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 2,052 residential properties in June through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 2,096 in June 2019, a year over year decrease of 2 per cent. June’s sales included 1,622 in the residential-property class, up 1 per cent from a year ago, and 430 in the condominium-property category, a decrease of 12 per cent from June 2019. The five-year average for June unit sales is 2,072.

“With safety protocols firmly in place, and Buyers and Sellers more accustomed to our new normal, the resale market has rebounded to meet pent up demand,” states Ottawa Real Estate Board President Deborah Burgoyne. “While unit sales were down 55% in April and 44% in May, June’s sales results are within 2% of figures from this time last year.”

“June’s new listings doubled compared to April and increased 45% from the number of listings that came onto the market in May. A consequence of these rapid sale turnarounds is that housing inventory does not have an opportunity to build. Residential inventory is now 52% lower than last year at this time, and condominium supply is down 42%. We continue to be in a strong Seller’s Market, with less than one month’s supply currently available.”

June’s average sale price for a condominium-class property was $360,922, an increase of 17 per cent from this time last year while the average sale price of a residential-class property was $575,623, an increase of 15 per cent from a year ago. With year to date average sale prices at $554,256 for residential and $351,353 for condominiums, these values represent a 14 per cent and 18 percent increase over 2019, respectively. *

“The manifestation of the Seller’s Market is certainly evident when you look at average property prices, which continued to increase, albeit less significantly, in the past couple months. We are once again witnessing double-digit percentage growth over last year, and the average residential price is now in the high five hundreds,” Burgoyne acknowledges. “Additionally, multiple offer situations are influencing market values as statistics show approximately 56% of properties sold over asking in June.”

When asked what to expect from the resale market moving forward, Burgoyne speculates, “We are seeing what I call a reverse slope. The market understandably experienced a bit of a valley, and now it is moving up the other side. Usually, it’s the other way around, and by July we would start to see a slow down as Buyers and Sellers turn their attention to summer activities. I anticipate that along with our region’s exceptionally hot summer forecasted by the Farmers’ Almanac, the Ottawa real estate market is likely to parallel that prediction.”

In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members assisted clients with renting 1,512 properties since the beginning of the year compared to 1,314 at this time last year.