Ottawa home prices drop $82,000 in one-year but prices on 'upward trajectory', OREB says

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

The average cost of a new home in Ottawa dropped by $82,195 year-over-year last month.

However, the Ottawa Real Estate Board says home prices have jumped nearly 14 per cent since the end of 2022, as the resale market springs back in favour of sellers.

New statistics from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show the average sale price for a new home in April was $747,123, down 10 per cent from April 2022. The average sale price of a new home in Ottawa was $829,318 last year.

The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $435,875 last month, down from $473,702 a year ago.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board says the average price for a new home has increased 13.9 per cent in the four months since the market hit a low in December of $655,839.

"Upward pressure on sales prices continues with average prices increasing for the fourth month since the market low in December," Ottawa Real Estate Board President Ken Dekker said in a statement.

"Additionally, multiple offer situations have returned to certain neighbourhoods and overall days on market are maintaining their downward trend. There continues to be low inventory in certain property classes and new product is coming to the market at a slower rate, which is affecting supply."

A total of 1,488 residential properties sold in Ottawa in April, down from 1,876 in April 2022.  The five-year average for home sales in Ottawa in April is 1,739.

Dekker says Ottawa's resale market is on an "steady upward trajectory, narrowing the comparison gap to peak pandemic activity in 2022."

"However, with new listings not keeping pace, the available housing stock is declining, and with less than two months of inventory — we’re back into seller’s market territory," Dekker said.

There were 2,144 new listings in Ottawa in April, down 25 per cent from April 2022. According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, there is 1.9 months of inventory for the freehold-class properties and 1.9 months of condo inventory available for sale.