Some Ottawa resale homes selling in just one or two days

With some Ottawa homes selling in just one or two days, Ottawa’s resale market seemed overdrive-bound in February, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The fevered activity suggested a return to 2019’s record breaking numbers after a slight dip in sales in the first month of this year.

Board members sold 1,141 residential properties in February through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) System, an increase of almost 14 per cent over the 1,002 properties sold in the same month last year. February sales were also well ahead of the five-year average of 1,006 for that month.

Continuing a long-running pattern, condos saw a sales increase of almost 23 per cent last month compared to February, 2019, while residential properties jumped 10.9 per cent.

A 15-year record

Ottawa’s resale market saw the highest number of transactions in over 15 years, said board president Deborah Burgoyne in a statement. She said days on market also plummeted, with residential properties sitting at 30 days and condos at just 19 days.

“As a matter of fact, in specific highly sought-after neighbourhoods, sold signs are going up after only one to two days.”

A long-running lack of inventory is behind much of the frantic buying.

Prices jump again

Market conditions continued to put upward pressure on prices last month.

Both condominium and residential-class properties saw huge price jumps of more than 21 per cent in February compared to the same month last year. Condo sales averaged $349,813, while residential-class properties hit $563,694.

It was less than a year ago, in June 2019, when Ottawa residential properties broke an average selling price of more than $500,000 for the first time.

“These increases are a direct result of the sustained lack of inventory putting upward pressure on prices, and this trend is likely to persist until supply recovers and is bolstered with newly constructed units,” said Burgoyne.

She added that board statistics show roughly 58 per cent of properties now selling for over asking price compared to 32 per cent a year ago.

Ottawa resale market slips in January