Why Average Residential Resale Prices in Ottawa Increased Significantly in September?

Low inventory of properties available for sale in the market combined with high demand for real estate in Ottawa and the surrounding areas.

These factors affected housing sales and this what happened.

New Property Listings Decreased

• New property listings decreased by 10.9% with 3,298 listings available in the market compared to 3,701 new listings that existed in September 2020. 

Reduced Sales Continue In Residential Resale Market 

• 1,244 residential resale properties were sold, a decrease of 28.8%, compared to 1,748 properties sold in September 2020. 

• Residential resale properties did not sell quickly on average from 25 days to 24 days on the market, which is a 3.3% increase from September 2020. This was a similar trend in August 2021.

• Based on the number of properties sold, buyers purchased residential properties in the $500,000 - $800,000 price range and over $1,000,000 price range which accounted for 68.7% of the residential resale property sales.

• Despite lower residential sale numbers compared to September 2020, buyers purchased mostly: 
  • Two-storey properties - average sale price - $727,158 (previously $651,170 in September 2020)
  • Bungalows (1-storey) - average sale price - $693,024 (previously $563,295 in September 2020) 

• Most of the residential properties were purchased in:
  • Downtown/Central Ottawa - average sale price - $837,823 (previously $780,791 in September 2020)
  • Kanata/Nepean/Barrhaven - average sale price - $743,657 (previously $620,218 in September 2020)
  • Orleans - average sale price - $665,798 (previously $608,643 in September 2020)
  • Casselman/Rockland/Hawkesbury - average sale price - $528,350 (previously $446,107 in September 2020)

Reduced Sales In Condo Resale Market 

• 363 units were sold compared to 566 units sold in the same month in 2020, a 36.9% decrease. 

• Similar to the residential market, condos did not sell quickly. They were sold on average from 20 days to 28 days on the market, which is a 38% increase from the same month in 2020. This trend was consistent in August 2021.

• Based on the number of units sold, most buyers purchased condo units priced in the $250,000 - $500,000 price range, accounting for 79.6% of the condo market. 

• Despite lower condo sales compared to September 2020, the most sold condo units were:  
  • Two-storey units - average sale price - $427,065 (previously $348,633 in September 2020)
  • One-level units - average sale price - $410,836 (previously $390,651 in September 2020)

• Most of the condos purchased were in:
  • Downtown/Central Ottawa - average sale price - $461,250 (previously $405,798 in September 2020) 

Other Real Estate Trends

• Residential resale prices in rural areas increased at a faster pace than Ottawa’s city limits from Kanata to Orléans. (see results in the tables below)

• Average prices in Ottawa Valley were at $537,000 in September, a 20% increase compared to September 2020. 

• The rural areas that generated the largest average resale values were Pakenham, Almonte and Embrun (see results in third table below).

• Average resale values in Arnprior and Renfrew County generated a modest 10% gain to $489,000. (see results in third table below).

 Source: James Bagnall, Ottawa Citizen, @JamesBagnall1, October 5, 2021