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 November 2020 in the top five "downtown" areas - Centretown, Byward Market and Sandyhill, 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 almost every single transaction to be roughly 14 days.
Well the crazy year that is 2020, is certainly keeping up with its craziness. The good news is that buyers are getting a prime opportunity to buy right now before things pick back up in the spring. Our number of new listings continues to be high, but not as crazy as last month. While our number of new listings are still double (Centretown) or even triple (Byward Market/Sandy Hill) what they were this time last year, they are trending downward from last month. Which is certainly good for sellers. Keep in mind we also need the number of sold properties to continue or to grow, which it isn’t - mostly staying similar to last year (Aside from Westboro - but I will get into that below). We are already seeing the days on market, and list to sold price, both relax in most areas. Which is mainly a by-product of increased supply.
Let’s play a quick game…
OTTAWA CONDO MARKET FACT CHECKER
TRUE OR FALSE? Ottawa condo dwellers are selling and moving to the country! They are selling their overpriced shoeboxes and moving to the rural farmland - buying chickens and preparing for the COVID apocalypse. They woke up one morning and realized they couldn’t survive downtown being in walking distance to everything and needed to move further so they had a lawn (to mow and weed - FUUNNNNN!), extra rooms to do zoom meetings, and even rooms to store avocados for their toast.
FALSE - I have seen a dozen articles in the past month focused on the Ottawa condo market that come to the conclusion that “Millenials moving out of the downtown to have land”. This is based on a guess from senior-level members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board when they broke down the monthly statistics - which caused a small avalanche of reporters to run with the headline. While our team certainly can’t speak to all of those that sold their condo since March 12th, I can guarantee that this is the furthest thing from the truth. Condo living is about lifestyle. This lifestyle seems foreign to non-condo dwellers. While a very small segment of sellers have made this move, the majority of sellers have either moved to another large city/back home, sold their investment property, or have moved into a larger condo to suit their growing needs. Keep in mind, if everyone is selling to move out of the city, then why are people still buying? This narrative is also growing tiring as we get closer to a vaccine.
I am going to do a follow up to the Ottawa Condo Market Fact-Checking where I will go further in-depth to debunk these lies that we are hearing.
WESTBORO aka ” The Unicorn?”
Looking at the stats, it is clear that Westboro is trending in a different direction than the rest of the city. The largest reason is because of the demand for more space by Ottawa condo dwellers. We have seen a huge increase in sellers moving into larger spaces (not for pet chickens), and Westboro is tailored to larger, more expensive, owner-occupied units. A condo building located in Westboro (or an area further from the downtown core) has fewer studio units and an increased number of larger two bedrooms.
Buyers
If you are thinking of buying in the next six months, keep in mind you might have the perfect storm to acquire prices before the spring rush hits. Many of our buyers decided to hold off this fall after hearing about a possible “second wave” which Ottawa has been able so far somewhat avoid. Over the next two to three months, you will have the ability to buy a condo without being in multiple offers which will most likely disappear when the spring market hits. Plus as a buyer, you have more options now, with less pressure. C’est parfait!
Sellers
The headlines make it sound like our condo market is collapsing - which is not true. Most of our neighbourhoods are on par with the number of sold units that we saw last year. If you need to sell now, price correctly, do what you can to show the full potential of the condo, and listen to the market. If you are able to wait, then do it. We are getting to the time of year that holding off listing until early in the new year is part of every listing appointment conversation.
Want to chat about your options? Fill out the form at the bottom of the page, or txt/call me directly 613-286-9501.
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.
