Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,339 residential properties in
July through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,376
in July 2012, a decrease of 2.7 per cent. July’s sales are just below the
five-year average of 1,347.
“Although the number of residential
properties, including condominiums, is down since last year, residential-class
units sold increased 0.5 per cent from this time last year,” says Tim Lee,
President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “The market has definitely cooled
down since last year, as a result of the introduction of new mortgage rules by
the Government. However, Ottawa remains balanced, and we are not seeing major
fluctuations that other large Canadian cities sometimes
experience.”
July’s sales included 273 in the condominium property class,
and 1,066 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 July in
the Ottawa area was $359,551, an increase of 6.6 per cent over July 2012. The
average sale price for a condominium-class property was $275,189, an increase of
3.7 per cent over July 2012. The average sale price of a residential-class
property was $381,156, an increase of 6.3 per cent over July 2012. 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.
“In July, there were
14 properties sold over $1 million,” says Lee. “This is an 80 per cent increase
in this price range over July 2012. The fact that this many properties were sold
over $1 million in July definitely increases the average sale
price.”