February new home sales stayed strong in Ottawa despite measures that could have cooled the market.
There were 348 new home sales, according to a Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association monthly new home report, which is compiled by industry analyst PMA Brethour Realty Group. That was down 0.6 per cent from February 2017, which saw 350 sales, but three per cent higher than the 10-year average.
Sales were also down 12 per cent from January, when 396 new homes were sold.
“In spite of the airing of the Olympic games, Winterlude activities, and a two-week stretch of bad weather, February results are on track for another strong year of sales for Ottawa new home builders,” PMA Ottawa president Cheryl Rice said in a release.
Demand is ‘alive and well’
“The new mortgage rules and higher interest rates have had minimal impact on new home buyers, even with continuously rising new home prices. Buyer demand is clearly alive and well.”
(Under a new rule that came into effect Jan. 1, home buyers looking to make a down payment of 20 per cent or more must pass a financial “stress test” to ensure they will be able to continue making mortgage payments if interest rates rise. Until now, the stress test applied only to those making a down payment of less than 20 per cent. Meanwhile, for the first time in seven years the Bank of Canada started increasing its benchmark lending rate last summer, which affects mortgage interest rates.)
For the year to date, sales are 744, up 5.5 per cent compared to the 705 sold last year.
Townhomes rule
Townhomes continue to lead the market with 43 per cent of the share, followed closely by singles at 38 per cent. Although there is often jockeying between towns and singles in Ottawa, towns have proved most popular in the past year with a 45-per-cent share for 2017.
And the east and central regions lost ground to the popular south and west ends. Between the two of them, the south and west grabbed 70 per cent of market share in February.
Richcraft is also continuing its strong run of sales, bumping perennial frontrunner Minto to take second place in market share behind Mattamy. Mattamy claimed 19.3 per cent, Richcraft 15.2 per cent, Minto 12.4 per cent and Tamarack also did well with 9.5 per cent.
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