Homes worth under $500,000 account for only 19 per cent of all properties in Ottawa: MPAC

A new home is displayed for sale in a new housing development in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Prospective buyers have lamented the torrid pace Canada's real estate market has moved at in recent years, but many feel 2023 may be the year their luck changes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Homes valued between $500,000 and $750,000 now account for the largest proportion of the real estate market in Ottawa, as home prices continue to rise across Ontario.

Newly released data from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation shows homes valued between $500,000 and $750,000 account for 43.2 per cent of Ottawa's properties, while only 19 per cent of homes are valued under $500,000.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation looked at the values of residential properties in Ottawa and across Ontario in 2013 and 2023.

The number of properties valued under $500,000 in Ottawa dropped from 79 per cent of all properties in 2013 to 19.2 per cent last year.

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According to MPAC, the number of homes valued between $750,000 and $1 million in Ottawa increased from 3 per cent of all properties in 2013 to 23.6 per cent in 2023, while properties valued between $1 million to $1.5 million increased from 1.2 per cent in 2013 to 11.6 per cent of all homes in Ottawa in 2023.

MPAC says 43.2 per cent of Ottawa homes were valued between $500,000 and $750,000 in 2023, while 23.6 per cent of all homes were worth between $750,000 and $1 million.  The percentage of Ottawa homes worth $1.5 million accounted for 2.4 per cent of Ottawa's real estate market last year.

According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, the average price for homes sold in Ottawa in 2023 was $667,794. A report from Engel & Völkers showed 1,263 residential properties sold in Ottawa for over $1 million in 2023, while 1,872 million dollar properties were sold in 2022.

In Kingston, the number of homes valued under $500,000 decreased from 90.9 per cent of all homes in 2013 to 28.9 per cent in 2023.

Across Ontario, 74 per cent of residential properties in Ontario had a home value of less than $500,000 in 2023. Today, the number has dropped to 19 per cent of all homes.

As of December 2023, the median home value in Ontario was $765,000, with the median value in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area at $1.03 million.

"Ontario’s residential property landscape has continued to evolve over the last decade – communities with homes under $500,000 are becoming increasingly scarce," the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation said in a statement.

MPAC says home values are increasing across Ontario.

"The reality is that current home prices are a reflection of various economic forces at play," Greg Martino, vice president and Chief Valuation and Standards Officer for MPAC, said in a statement. "Factors like supply and demand, increased construction and labour costs plus inflation are all part of what's driving today's house prices.”