Every month we take a closer look and drill down the sales data of Ottawa condos from the previous month. Here are the statistics for May 2024 in the top five "downtown" areas - Centretown, Byward Market and Sandy Hill, Little Italy (which includes Lebreton Flats), Hintonburg, and Westboro. The information will be specific to apartment-style condominiums, and only what is sold through the MLS. Also important to note that DOM (Day's On Market) is calculated to include the conditional period, which in Ottawa is roughly 14 days for almost every single transaction.
In May 2024, the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) recorded 1,545 home sales via the MLS® System, marking a 9.2% decline from May 2023. These sales were 3.7% lower than the five-year average and 13.2% below the ten-year average for May.
Year-to-date figures show 5,673 homes sold in the first five months of 2024, representing a 5.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
OREB President Curtis Fillier noted the market's steady pace in early spring. He pointed out that the rise in new listings suggests sellers are gaining confidence as market activity intensifies. However, some buyers were likely waiting for the Bank of Canada's interest rate announcement to gauge its impact on their purchasing power. The first interest rate reduction in four years is positive news, yet it must be balanced against ongoing supply issues and high home prices. Fillier emphasized that interest rate cuts alone cannot address the affordability crisis exacerbated by rising development fees in Ottawa—a move OREB opposes.
Sales Activity - YTD
Pricing Trends:
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) provides a more accurate reflection of price trends than average or median prices. In May 2024, the overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $651,300, up 1.2% from May 2023. Single-family homes saw a benchmark price of $736,000, an increase of 1.1% year-over-year. Townhouse/row units had a benchmark price of $517,500, up 2.1%, while apartments had a benchmark price of $425,000, up 2.0%.
The average home price in May 2024 was $690,683, a 0.8% increase from May 2023. The year-to-date average price was $679,862, up 1.8% from the same period in 2023. The total dollar volume of home sales in May 2024 was $1.06 billion, down 8.5% from May 2023.
OREB advises caution when interpreting average sale prices, as they are based on total dollar volume and do not necessarily reflect individual property value changes. Prices can vary significantly across different neighbourhoods.
New Listings - YTD
Inventory Insights:
In May 2024, there were 3,034 new residential listings, a 26.2% increase from May 2023. New listings were 23.2% above the five-year average and 10.2% above the ten-year average for May. Active residential listings totaled 3,552 units at the end of May 2024, a 59.4% rise from May 2023. These active listings were 72.2% above the five-year average but 2.9% below the ten-year average for May.
The months of inventory, indicating the time it would take to sell current listings at the present sales rate, increased to 2.3 months in May 2024 from 1.3 months in May 2023.
Important to note is that these statistics can only be as accurate as there are condos sold in Ottawa. The more condos sold in an area, the more accurate the averages will be.
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