The president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) believes that it's still very much a seller's market, despite last month showcasing housing transactions just slightly over the five-year average making it one of the weakest performing April months in quite some time. 

Members of the OREB sold 1,889 residential properties in April of 2022, compared with 2,394 in April of last year, a decrease of 21 per cent. April’s sales included 1,419 in the residential property class, down 23 per cent from one year ago, and 470 in the condominium property category, a decrease of 13 per cent from last April. The five-year average for total unit sales in April is 1,849. 

“There are measures being taken that are changing people’s purchasing power,” said OREB president Penny Torontow on The Rob Snow Show on May 5, 2022. “The rising interest rates, measures the government is taking to curb inflation could be affecting buyers. It's still a great time to sell, and the market is still good.”

Torontow said agents are watching the rest of the spring market closely to determine if there is a  shift in the market.

“Since April is only one month, we will be monitoring to see if it becomes a trend moving forward,” she added. 

The average sale price for a condominium-class property in April was $473,702, an increase of 11 per cent from 2021, while the average sale price for a residential-class property was $829,318, an increase of 12 per cent from a year ago. With year-to-date average sale prices at $830,588 for residential and $469,603 for condominiums, these values represent a 13 per cent and 12 percent increase over 2021, respectively.

“Limited supply and high demand will continue to place upward pressure on prices,” added Torontow.  “And as long as there are buyers willing to pay, average prices will reflect the inventory shortage. However, it is conceivable that price growth may moderate as we do not see the level of price escalations that occurred earlier in the pandemic.”

Torontow noted that although the number of new listings in April at 2,846 was down by 11% from 2021, the number of properties that entered the market was still 10 per cent over the five-year average (2,600), and 214 units more than what was added to the housing stock in March. This has increased Ottawa’s months of inventory to just under a month’s supply. In March, it was just over two weeks.

“This is good news for potential buyers as they will have more options and more opportunities to enter the market,” she added. 

Listen to the full interview with Penny Torontow on The Rob Snow Show below: