Ottawa Housing Sales Rebound After Half-year of Weakness

Housing sales recovered in May as Realtors sold more single-family homes, after months of declines or weak growth.

Sold more than 1,900 residential units in total last month, up 2.6% from a year earlier, purely on the strength of a 3.3% increase for the single-detached housing segment, which saw 1,529 sales.

Multiple-unit housing sales, however, edged down by 0.3% to 371 units.

Ottawa's home sales have been declining since November, although there was a very slight rebound of 0.4% in April, following a 16.7% plunge in sales in March.

Just when you think condos are going to drive the market forever, freehold properties make a comeback. We saw the most growth over last May in the two-storey detached and three-storey row unit categories, though apartment-style condos are holding steady.

The average price of all residential properties continued to climb, rising by 7.4% year-over-year to $296,373. The increase was largely driven by a 12.4% jump in condominium prices to $221,069, although there was also a significant 6.3% gain in the average price tag of single-family homes, to $314,645.

Prices are nudging upwards, but at a sustainable pace. In fact, Ottawa is Canada's most affordable big-city housing market right now, so buyers and sellers can both feel confident about this market.