April 9th, 2021 | Real Estate News

Real Estate in Ottawa Market Update-March 2021

The March Real Estate Market had another great month thanks to the weather, plenty of resales on the market, and lapping the stay-at-home orders of March 2020, which largely contributed to the 51% increase in transactions.

March’s sales included 1,705 in the residential sales, +47% from a year ago, and the average sale price for a home was $758,802, an increase of 35% from a year ago. Homes stayed on the market for just ten days, which was 60.1% fewer days than 2020.

Condominiums also performed well. 580 sold in March, +65% from a year ago, with the average sale price was $437,041 +18% vs. last year. As well, condos stayed on the market for just 14 days, averaging 11.2 few days in 2020.

Year-to-date average sale prices for homes sold at $729,897, a 32% increase from 2020. The year-to-date average sales prices for condos sold at $415,054, a +17% increase over 2020.

Market Snapshot in Ottawa March 2021

The Big Impact on March’s Ottawa Real Estate Performance

“A few factors contributed to the high number of resales in March,” states Ottawa Real Estate Board President Debra Wright.

“Typically, real estate is heavily influenced by the weather, and we had remarkable and unseasonably warm temperatures last month, which facilitated buyers’ ability to view and purchase homes.”

“Also, there was a significant uptick in the number of new listings that came onto the market. This total (2,798) was higher than the 5-year listing average, which hadn’t happened since July 2020, when the first lockdown ended. Ongoing Buyer demand meant that most of the properties that came on the market in March were quickly acquired.” Said Real Estate Board President.

Multiple Offer Trends Continue

Multiple offers continue to increase property values. For example, last month, close to 80% of the Ottawa area resales sold for more than the asking price compared to 60% in 2020. 6% of the homes sold at the list price, and the other 14% sell for less than the list price.

Like previous months, this price growth is driven by the long-term inventory shortage of homes in Ottawa.  Debra Wright points out, “I don’t believe that Ottawa’s market is by any means out of control but rather is coming into its own. However, until there is action at all three levels of government to resolve our supply challenges, our housing prices are not going to stabilize. And this phenomenon is not occurring in our market alone; housing stock scarcity is a nation-wide issue.”

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Note: The Ottawa Real Estate Board cautions that the average sale price can help establish trends over time but should not be used to indicate the value of homes and condominiums. Average sales prices are calculated on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Of course, pricing and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.