Steady-As-She-Goes in Ottawa’s Housing Market

Although housing affordability deteriorated across the board in the second quarter, conditions continue to remain fairly stable with little by way of affordability changes in the past decade. House price gains in Ottawa have been relatively more modest than in other markets in the past few years and have slowed to the 0-5% yearly range in every key housing class. Furthermore, the market is well-balanced between buyers and sellers with a sales-to-listings ratio of 0.6. Income growth has helped to offset the impact of rising mortgage rates, utilities costs and house prices. Except in the standard two-storey segment, qualifying incomes sit comfortably below average household income.