Ottawa Real Estate Highlights December 2019

Record-Breaking 2019 Closes Out Decade

Another record breaking year in both the number of sales & average prices! The average sale price of a residential property crept up over $500K during several months in 2019, with the annual average sale price settling at just below $490,000. As we head into 2020 we anticipate that the prices will continue to increase, however even then, the Ottawa area real estate market remains one of the most affordable major cities in Canada.

Highlights from the Ottawa Real Estate Board January 6th , 2020

December's UNIT SALES

• Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 761 residential properties in December through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,161 in December 2018, an increase of 15.3  %.
• Residential: 534 Up 13.9 % from December 2018
• Condo: 227 Up 18.8  % from December 2018.
• The five-year average for December unit sales is 720.

“December’s statistics reflect the same story we’ve seen all year – historically low supply yet higher unit sales than in previous years. Days on market continued to decline, especially in certain pockets of the city, as properties that came on the market were snapped up by prepared buyers,” Ottawa Real Estate Board’s 2019 President. “Unit sales in the condominium class consistently led the way, offering lower price point options for home buyers that simply weren’t available in the residential category,” 

December's  AVERAGE SALE PRICE

• Condo: $310,675, an increase of 11.5 % from December 2018
• Residential: $500,306,, an increase of 10.3  % December 2018.
• Year to date figures show an 8.9 % and 9.3 % increase in average sale prices for residential and condominiums, respectively.*

2019 highlights

The total number of residential and condo units sold throughout 2019 was 18,622, compared with 17,467 in 2018, an increase of 6.6% Residential property class sales went up by 4.7 % with 14,038 properties exchanging hands last year compared to 13,411 in 2018. Condominium property class sales increased 13 % with 4,584 units sold in 2019 versus 4,056 in the previous year.

Year-end figures show an average sale price of $486,590 for residential-class properties in 2019, an 8.9 per cent increase from 2018 and $304,203 for condominium properties, up 9.3 per cent from last year.

*Average sale price can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Price and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.