Hello and Welcome to our Ottawa Real Estate Market Stats Update!
In this edition of the January 2024 update, we will go over the trends that happened within the Ottawa Real Estate Market.
A Thawed Market But With Slow Sales
The Ottawa real estate market kicked off 2024 with promising yet cautious strides, showcasing both growth and lingering challenges. Let’s delve into the latest statistics and insights provided by the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) to understand the dynamics shaping the local housing landscape.
Market Activity & Trends:
In January 2024, the number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board reached 629 units, marking a notable 16.5% increase from the same period in 2023. Despite this uptick, home sales stood 10.7% below the five-year average and 3.9% below the ten-year average for the month.
OREB President Curtis Fillier noted that while the market has shown positive gains compared to the previous year, it remains relatively subdued, even by pre-pandemic standards. He emphasized that although there’s increased showing activity, translating it into actual sales is proving challenging, indicating a cautious approach from buyers. Fillier highlighted the shift in buyer behavior, with individuals now taking advantage of the slower market to find their ideal properties, unlike the rushed decisions made during the pandemic.
Brandon Reay, OREB’s policy and external relations manager, echoed Fillier’s sentiments, emphasizing the persistent issue of low housing supply in Ottawa. Reay stressed the need for more suitable and affordable homes to address the housing crisis, advocating for policy changes to streamline processes, eliminate exclusionary zoning, and promote densification to meet growing population demands.
Price Trends
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI), a more accurate measure than average or median prices, revealed a 3.2% increase in the overall benchmark price, reaching $621,600 in January 2024. Single-family homes saw a 3.7% year-over-year increase, with a benchmark price of $703,500, while townhouse/row unit prices experienced a slight decline of 2.1%, settling at $462,200. Conversely, apartment prices rose by 3.7%, reaching $418,500.
The average price of homes sold in January 2024 was $631,722, indicating a 1.8% increase from the previous year. The dollar volume of all home sales also surged by 18.6% year-over-year, totaling $397.3 million.
OREB emphasized that while average sale prices offer insights into long-term trends, they should not be viewed as indicators of specific property values due to variations across neighborhoods.
Inventory & New Listings
New residential listings saw a 7.3% increase from January 2023, totaling 1,271 new listings in January 2024. Active residential listings at the end of January 2024 reached 1,961 units, up by 4.5% compared to the same period in 2023. However, despite this increase, active listings remained significantly below the ten-year average.
Months of inventory, a key indicator of market balance, decreased to 3.1 months in January 2024, down from 3.5 months in January 2023. This suggests a tightening of supply relative to demand, potentially exerting upward pressure on prices.