Steady as she goes for September real estate sales in Ottawa

From the Ottawa Real Estate Board September/October 2014

"Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,133 residential properties in September through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,118 in September 2013, an increase of 1.3 per cent. The five-year average for September sales is 1,103.

"Our community is fortunate to enjoy one of the most stable real estate markets in Canada," says Randy Oickle, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board [and President/General Manager of Royal LePage Gale Real Estate]  "This is evidenced by the fact that the units sold and the average sale price in August and September has stayed within a few percentage points from the year before. We are also right on par with sales and average sales price year-to-date compared with 2013."

September's sales included 232 in the condominium property class, and 901 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 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 September in the Ottawa area was $356,915, an increase of three per cent over September 2013. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $254,036, a decrease of 1.2 per cent over September 2013. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $383,406, an increase of 3.2 per cent over September 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.

"The $300,000 to $399,999 price range continues to have the highest concentration of properties sold, followed by the $500,000 to $749,999 range, which is closely followed by the $275,000 to $299,999 price range," explains Oickle. "Condos performed better in September than in August, which could be a contributing factor in the latter price range having a higher concentration of properties sold than in the past."

In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB members have assisted clients with renting almost 2,000 units so far this year. OREB members also assist clients with the sale of building lots, businesses, farms and recreational properties, and the leasing of commercial space."