Record-breaking 2021 for Ottawa real estate
Ottawa’s real estate market set new price and sales records in 2021 despite a December slowdown.
A record 20,302 residential and condo units were sold last year in Ottawa, the Ottawa Real Estate Board said Thursday. That’s up seven per cent from 2020.
The average residential sale price in Ottawa in 2021 was more than $719,000, a 24 per cent increase from 2020. Condos went for an average of more than $419,000, a 16 per cent increase.
“I have never seen it like this,” Ottawa Real Estate Board president Penny Torontow said. “Typically in Ottawa, historically, the market goes up three per cent, a real increase would have been 5 per cent. We’ve never seen increases accelerating like this in such a short span.”
The new records were set despite a slower December, which saw 14 per cent fewer home sales than December 2020.
Low inventory continues to drive price increases in the city. In December, 600 new listings entered the market, a 58 per cent decrease from November and 15 per cent lower than the five-year average.
“We have less than a month’s supply of inventory, which makes it a sellers’ market,” Torontow said. “There’s probably about 1,500 actual active listings right now on the market, but it’s not enough.”
Torontow said January through March are typically slower months, but it’s difficult to predict what the market will look like amid another pandemic wave.
“Buyers are fatigued, parents are focusing on remote learning, interest rate hikes are looming – I don’t expect we will see the first quarter increases as we did in 2021,” she said. “We are unlikely to see the true outcome of these macro factors until the spring.
But the market will continue to favour sellers as long as there are more buyers, she said.
“Until we get more inventory, until we have 60 to 90 days at least of supply, then it will continue to be a sellers’ market.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.