Resale buyers brave the February
freeze
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 853
residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service®
system, compared with 868 in February 2014, a decrease of 1.7 per cent. The
five-year average for February sales is 914.
"Even though we had one of
the coldest months on record, resales for the month of February are only
slightly down from last year," says President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board,
David Oikle. "Looking at residential properties alone, 13 more properties were
sold this February over last February - a 1.9 per cent increase; while the condo
market on the other hand, has been a little slower to gain momentum. That being
said, both residential and condo sales are up a total of 226 combined units
since January and there are a total of 6,519 residential listings going into
March - both telling signs that the spring market is fast
approaching."
February's sales included 168 in the condominium property
class, and 685 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 February
in the Ottawa area was $358,206, an increase of 1.3 per cent over February 2014.
The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $267,880, an
increase of 3.8 per cent over February 2014. The average sale price of a
residential-class property was $380,358, a decrease of 0.3 per cent over
February 2014. While average sale price information can be useful in
establishing trends over time, it should not be used as an indicator that
specific properties have increased or decreased in value, because the average
sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties
sold.
"The hottest segments of our market in February were sales between
$300,000 to $400,000, followed by the $200,000 to $300,000 range and $400,000 to
$500,000 range," says Oikle. "These price ranges continue to have the highest
concentration of properties sold, while residential two-storey homes and
bungalows continue to have the highest concentration of buyers. In addition to
residential and condominium sales, OREB members assisted clients with renting
366 properties since the beginning of the year."
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