Ottawa home prices increase $37,800 year-over-year

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 sale price for a new home in Ottawa increased $37,834 in July compared to a year ago, the first year-over-year increase in home prices in the capital in 10 months.

New statistics from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show the average sale price for a freehold-class property in July was $754,188, up 5 per cent from July 2022. Sale prices for a new home increased one per cent from June, when the average sale price for a new home was $746,445.

The average sale price for a condominium in Ottawa was $435,094 in July, up 2 per cent from a year ago.

"July’s average prices are showing positive gains over last year, and year-to-date numbers, as expected, are still closing the gap from the peak pandemic market activity of early 2022," Ken Dekker, Ottawa Real Estate Board president, said in a statement.

"Additionally, inventory continues to climb steadily as new listings are added to the housing stock, creating more options for homebuyers. August may be a slower month in Ottawa, but I wouldn’t take a vacation from shopping for your home."

A total of 1,263 residential properties were sold in Ottawa in July, up from 1,102 in July 2022. The sales included 979 homes and 284 condominiums.

"Both transactions and average prices are up from last July indicating consumers remain confident in the market notwithstanding the two recent quarter per cent interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada," Dekker said.

"We’re only a month into the third quarter, but based on July’s positive indicators, we are likely to see solid year-over-year results in the second half."

The Ottawa Real Estate Board says there were 2,234 new listings for homes and condos in July, 6 per cent lower from July 2022.  The months of inventory for the freehold-class properties have decreased to 2.7 months from 2.8 months.

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"Although we are in a sellers’ market again, the pandemic’s frenzy has calmed considerably. Sellers need to manage their expectations with true market activity — not every property will automatically see multiple offers or immediate sales," Dekker said.

"Ultimately, a property’s price is determined by how much a buyer is willing to pay."

A look at the average monthly sale price for a home in Ottawa (data from Ottawa Real Estate Board)

• July 2023 - $754,188 (up 5 per cent from 2022)
• June 2023 - $746,445 (down 4 per cent from 2022)
• May 2023 - $745,902 (down 7 per cent from 2022)
• April 2023 - $747,123 (down 10 per cent from 2022)
• March 2023 - $719,070 (down 17 per cent from 2022)
• February 2023 - $708,968 (down 15 per cent from 2022)
• January 2023 - $676,272 (down 12 per cent from 2022)
• December 2022 - $655,839 (down 7 per cent from 2021)
• November 2022 - $680,031 (down 5 per cent from 2021)
• October 2022 - $677,873 (down 5 per cent from 2021)
• September 2022 - $706,658 (up 0.5 per cent from 2021)
• August 2022 - $707,712 (up 5 per cent from 2021)
• July 2022 - $716,354 (up 5 per cent from 2021)