Home Sales in Ottawa Hit New Record in 2006

Ottawa Realtors sold a record number of homes in 2006 as the region enjoyed a strong employment market.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board reported that Realtors sold 682 homes in December, up from 615 in December 2005, making for a year end total of 13,783. That broke the previous record set in 2004 of 13,152 homes sold.

Overall, it was a very healthy year for Ottawa's residential real estate market. The average sale price of a home continued to trend upward, and the still-growing condominium market drove sales numbers all year long. Condos are also selling more quickly than they did in 2005, while residential sales stayed on pace with the previous year.

The average price of the homes sold in December through the MLS system in the Ottawa area was $247,833, while the average for the year was $255,889.

Also on Tuesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported construction starts on new homes totaled 5,875 last year, up almost 18 % from 2005. CMHC Ottawa market analyst Pascal-Yvan Pelletier attributed the increase to a strong employment market and greater demand for more affordable housing types such as row housing and condos.