Ottawa Real Estate Market Report for October 2018

 

The resale market for Ottawa real estate continued to improve in October 2018.

The number of condos sold was dramatically higher in October compared to that month last year, and, more significantly, also up dramatically year-over-year.  (The larger the statistical population and timeframe, the more likely it is to be correct.)  Prices were up moderately.

As we’ve mentioned before, condos have been hit hard by changes to mortgage rules that the federal government has made since 2012.  Hopefully this good news won’t cause them to fiddle with the rules again!  (But Vancouver and Toronto are still having headaches with the foreign buyer taxes, so condos in Ottawa may be spared for a while yet.)

Look at the numbers for freehold properties in Ottawa for October!  Over 8% more properties sold for more than 7% higher than October 2017!  However, when you look at the 12 month comparison, the number of sales is only up 1%.  The price increase of almost 6% in the 12 month comparison is more significant.  As you can see, only 1% more properties sold in that comparison period, reflecting the “sellers market” that the Ottawa Market has been in where demand is greater than supply.

How long will this last in Ottawa?

It’s impossible to predict what any of the governments are going to do next.  Hopefully further changes will be more locally targeted, such as the foreign buyers tax in Vancouver and the “Golden Horseshoe” of Toronto.  Changing the mortgage rules to moderate those markets has significant negative impact on smaller, calmer cites like Ottawa and down east…

 

 

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