Ottawa Real Estate: Sales are Up, Prices are Up!

You may have heard recently about how “tight” the Ottawa re-sale housing market is. When you look at the figures provided by the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), you know that the fall market will continue to be a challenge for those who are looking to buy.

There were 1,220 residential properties sold this September compared to 1,204 from last year. 272 were condos with the balance being residential.

September was another record-breaking month, continuing a “busy and active summer for Ottawa Real Estate members,” according to Rick Snell, President of OREB. Further, he noted “Inventory levels rose from last month but remain lower than in September 2008, and that low supply coupled with continued strong demand for resale housing helped nudge selling prices higher.”

The average resale price of a home in Ottawa has risen to $304,789 which is an increase of 5.7% over last year. Condos are averaging $241,458, up a whopping 17.3% over September 2008! This means that residential properties are actually selling for an average of $322,960, up 4.1% in their own class.

What does this all mean? Buyers are anxious to get into a home while interest rates are still low. The Government of Canada has said they will keep those rates down until June of 2010 but with the continued news of an economic recovery slowly but surely making it’s way through the world markets, people may be worried that interest rates will rise, along with housing prices, and make it a little more difficult to get started on the property ladder.

If you’ve been delaying your search for a home, now is the time to get going! Speak to your mortgage broker who can lock you in to those good interest rates and get you started.