Ottawa home sales remain hot amid pandemic, up 51 per cent in March

Home sales in Ottawa remain red-hot amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data from the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), home sales in the capital went up 51 per cent in March compared to the year before. Members of the OREB sold 2,285 residential properties last month, compared with 1,514 in March 2020. 

The average home price also increased 35 per cent from 2020.

Statistics from the OREB show the average price for a residential home in Ottawa for the month of March was $758,802, while the average condo sale price was $437,041 — an increase of 18 per cent over last year.

The OREB president said there are a number of factors that come into play, one of which is the weather. 

“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,” said Debra Wright.

There was also an uptick in the number of new listings on the Ottawa market at 2,798.

“This is higher than the five-year listing average,” said Wright. “Which hadn’t happened since July 2020, when the first lockdown ended.”

Statistics from the OREB show that almost 80 per cent of the March 2021 home sales in the Ottawa area sold for more than the asking price, compared to 60 per cent of homes at the same time last year. 

“These accelerated price growths are purely a result of long-term inventory shortage. I don’t believe that Ottawa’s market is by any means out of control but rather is coming into its own,” said Wright.