Ottawa home sales down 30 per cent in December

House for sale in Ottawa on Feb. 24, 2011. (THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES / Sean Kilpatrick)

It was a quiet end to 2022 for Ottawa's real estate market, as home sales dropped for a 10^th straight month in December.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board reported a 30 per cent year-over-year drop in home sales last month, while the average price for a residential property dropped 7 per cent at the end of the year.

"As interest rates and inflation both climbed, buyers retreated to the sidelines and began taking a wait and see approach," Ottawa Real Estate Board president Ken Dekker said in a statement.

"However, while it's quieter than the frantic pace we experienced in 2021, it is now a balanced market."

 A total of 601 residential properties were sold in Ottawa in December, down from 857 in December 2021. The 30 per cent drop in home sales in December followed a 42 per cent decrease in November and a 41 per cent drop in October.

The average sale price for a residential property was $655,839 last month, down 7 per cent from December 2021. The average price of a condo was $434,973 last month, up nine per cent from 2021.

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates seven times in 2022, including a half a percentage point increase in December to 4.25 per cent.

"Although market activity tapered off in later 2022, there was an immense amount of activity in the spring at high prices," Dekker said. "This will be an important caveat to consider as we begin comparing 2023 numbers to the previous year."

The average price of a new home in Ottawa dropped by nearly $200,000 over 10 months. Statistics from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show the highest average sale price for a home in Ottawa was $853,615 in March, with the average price dropping to $655,839 in December.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board says 15,288 residential and condo properties were sold in 2022, compared to 20,289 in 2021.  Total sales volume was approximately $10.5 billion.

The average sale prices in Ottawa in 2022 was $769,623 for a home, up 7 per cent from 2021, while the average condominium price of $453,770 increased 8 per cent over the year before.