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 October 2022 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 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.
This month in Ottawa, members of the real estate board sold 987 residential properties. This is down nearly 41% from October’s sales in 2021, which were 1670. Residential properties are down 40%, and condominium properties are down 44%. This is also down a similar percentage from the 5 year average of 1554.
Penny Torontow, OREB President, explains that after the rush of the pandemic, the market is correcting itself. This, with the added stress of increased interest rates, has changed the market drastically over the past few months. It has caused buyers to be more hesitant and has taken the purchasing power away from plenty of people, especially first time home buyers.
However, Torontow explains that demand is still high. Despite this, with larger inventory than before, buyers are able to take their time and have more options available when they look to purchase a home. Buyers are taking a “wait and see” approach in some instances, making sure they’re monitoring the interest rate situation.
It is reasonable for sellers to feel concerned about the quickly changing housing situation in Canada. Despite this, Torontow explains that real estate is a long term investment. The growth we saw in our market over the past 2 years was unsustainable. She explains “if you have owned your property for any length of time, your equity has increased significantly and will buffer price corrections. If you buy and sell in the same market, it is all relative.”
In terms of inventory, we are looking at 3.3 months for residential and 3 months for condominiums. That is up significantly from 2021 where we saw 1 month of inventory for residential, and 1.2 months for condominiums.
Listings this month were actually higher than October 2021. We saw 2047 listings this year versus 1960 last year. This is also higher than the 5 year average of 1971.
Torontow explains that buyers and sellers should be aware of their own circumstances. It is important not to fall for a one size fits all approach when it comes to the market right now. Torontow says that “real estate has been and continues to be a good investment over time. They don’t have a crystal ball, but mortgage brokers and REALTORS® have the education, expertise, and most importantly, the data - to help people make an informed decision for their specific situation.”
Rentals are also up considerably this year. Last year we saw 4012 rentals in the month of October. In 2022, we saw 5168.
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.
Want to chat about your options? Fill out the form at the bottom of the page, or text/call us directly 613-900-5700 or fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Do you have any questions about how this information affects your investment or looking for more information to make the best decision about your purchase? Let’s chat! Fill out the form on the bottom of the page.
