The March 2025 resale market saw the third month in a row of slipping sales, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board. Sales were also well below multi-year averages for the month.
The first-quarter slowdown followed on the heels of growing sales numbers in the last few months of 2024.
Realtors sold 1,103 homes through the board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) last month, down 6.2 per cent from the same month last year. Sales were 24 per cent below the five-year average and more than 19 per cent below the 10-year average for March.
MORE: February resales down for the second month in a row
Taking a positive approach to the news, board president Paul Czan said in a statement that March was “relatively stable.” Buyers and sellers, he added, “are exercising some caution — likely due to economic uncertainty and the upcoming election — but the current lower interest rates are encouraging more activity as they step off the sidelines.”
Prices, listings & inventory both up and down
The benchmark price for a single-family resale home in March was $698,700, up 2.7 per cent year-over-year.
By comparison, the benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit was $431,200, a drop of eight per cent from 2024.
The benchmark condo price last month was $400,900, down 4.3 per cent from last March.
Year-to-date prices were not available in the March 2025 resale market report.
There were 2,221 new residential listings last month, up more than four per cent from a year ago and just marginally below the five- and 10-year averages.
Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — was 3.9 months in March, up from just 2.3 a year ago.
Tariffs, supply and affordability
“Looking ahead, the ongoing trade and tariff concerns could affect new construction and further exacerbate supply challenges,” said Czan.
He and CEO Nicole Christy presented several housing concerns last month when they addressed Ottawa’s Joint Planning and Housing Committee & Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee regarding Draft 2 of the city’s new zoning bylaw. With affordability and supply on their minds, the two pointed out that, among other challenges, the average home now requires 52 per cent of household income and only 27,000 of the 151,000 homes needed by 2031 are under construction.
