Low inventory levels marked Ottawa’s resale market in January, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board. At the same time, prices and sales were both up and down depending on the type of home.
Some of those results were consistent with the resale market’s performance through most of 2017, but others were not.
Inventory drops
“While January is typically the month we see the lowest number of listings come onto the market, the numbers for this month are very low,” observed Rick Eisert, 2017 president of the board, in a statement.
He said the five-year average for new listings in January is 1,396 for residential (non-condominium) properties and 500 for condominiums. Listings last month were 994 and 406 respectively.
Some prices jump
As inventory levels drop, prices typically increase, a natural result of supply-and-demand economics, according to the board.
Last month, that meant a jump of 8.8 per cent in residential prices compared to January 2017, with the average price of those properties hitting $427,487.
Condo prices, by contrast, dropped 8.4 per cent from a year ago, to an average of $263,744.
Sales inconsistent
Overall, members of OREB sold 712 residential properties last month through the board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS). That compares to 664 for the same period in 2017 and a five-year average of 638.
However, while non-condominium sales dropped just over one per cent from January 2017, condo sales soared 45 per cent compared to the same period.
“For homeowners thinking of selling, this is a good time to get your property on the market before spring,” said Eisert.
Related
2017 a good year for Ottawa’s resale market
Trends in Ottawa’s resale and rental market in 2018
