Home, condo sale prices in Ottawa jump during COVID-19 pandemic

OTTAWA -- The price to buy a new home or condominium jumped more than 10 per cent in Ottawa last month despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board reports the average sale price of a residential-class property increased 11.2 per cent in May, compared to the same month last year. The cost of a condo increased 15.5 per cent in Ottawa compared to May 2019.

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,345 residential properties in May, compared with 2,410 in May 2019.

“This spring market is performing more like a fall market with the number of new listings and resales on par with what typically occurs in late October and November,” said Deborah Burgoyne, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

“Around mid-May, we started to see a restrained uptick in our numbers with monthly unit sales only 44 per cent lower than May 2019, compared to the 55 per cent year over year decrease in April’s figures.”

Burgoyne says Ottawa is still in the midst of a “seller’s market” during the COVID-19 pandemic.