The average home sale price of $ 853,615 is up 13 percent from last year and $ 16,000 higher than last month, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Council.
“The housing shortage will continue to push up prices until this is rectified,” OREB President Penny Toronto told a news conference.
A balanced home market has about four months of stock. Ottawa’s has been supplying for just over half a month, according to OREB. As a result, real estate on the market is “rapidly absorbed due to high demand,” Toronto said.
The average sale price of an apartment in Ottawa last month was over $ 479,000, up 10 percent from the previous year.
The number of homes sold in March is actually down 12 percent from the previous year. Toronto said this may be because March 2021 was unusually hot or because more people were vacationing in March this year with loosening restrictions on COVID-19.
However, the number of transactions in March was still 12 percent higher than the five-year average.
“March tends to be the early indicator of spring resale, so we expect the April figures to be a better indication of how the spring market will perform, which tends to be the peak time for resale.” , said Toronto.
The Ontario government introduced legislation last week to increase the province’s housing supply, including raising the foreign buyer tax to 20 percent and extending it nationwide.
“We are optimistic that with these and further measures in place, many potential Ottawa home buyers waiting on the sidelines will finally be able to gain a foothold in our local market,” Toronto said.
