Ottawa home sales down 35 per cent to start 2023
The real estate slowdown continued in Ottawa in January, with home sales dropping for the 11th straight month.
Home sales were down 35 per cent year-over-year last month, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
Condo sales in particular took a steep dive, down 47 per cent from January 2022."
“January’s marked slow down in unit sales over 2022 indicates potential home buyers are taking their time,” OREB President Ken Dekker said in a news release. “While last month saw the culmination of the succession of interest rate hikes announced by the Bank of Canada, affordability remains a factor.
"They may be waiting for a shift in listing prices. They’re being cautious in uncertain conditions.”
Prices are also down year-over-year. The average price of a freehold property in Ottawa last month was just over $676,000, down 12 per cent from a year ago.
The average condo price was just over $412,000, down eight per cent.
“Despite the decrease in average prices, the market should not be considered on a downward slide,” Dekker said. “A hyper COVID-19 seller’s market is now leveling out to our current balanced market state.”
He notes that the average price of freehold properties actually went up three per cent from December to January.
Condo prices fell five per cent, but he said those numbers tend to fluctuate more because it's a smaller data set.
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points last month after raising it seven times in 2022.
Last year at this time, the city had less than a month of real estate inventory, with buyers snapping up homes days after they were listed on the market. That's up to nearly four months this year.
“Ottawa’s inventory and days on market figures are typical for a balanced market and another sign that buyers are no longer racing to put in an offer,” Dekker said.
For many homeowners, increased interest rates are a prime factor in deciding whether to buy or sell.
"It's harder than before, because the prices are going down, but the interest rates are going up," said Nilo Sharif. "If we sold our house last year, it was so competitive, so it was overpriced. But now we have so many upgrades and we need to sell under-market, so it's underpriced."
- with files from Dave Charbonneau, CTV News Ottawa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.