MARKET UPDATE

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 703 residential properties in December through the Board's Multiple Listing Service®, compared with 638 in December 2014, an increase of 10.2 per cent. The five-year average for December sales is 653. The total number of residential and condo units sold through the Board's MLS® System throughout all 2015 was 14,658, compared with 13,919 in 2014, an increase of 5.3 per cent. Separately, residential and condo unit sales each outperformed the 2014 numbers.

The listing inventory for both residential and condos trended higher all year, showing signs of tapering off in October. Increased inventory levels contributed to the market favouring Buyers for much of the year; however as the inventory leveled out in the fall, we moved into more balanced conditions. Cumulative days on market increased to 109 days in December, while the average for the year comes in at 86 days. Average residential sale prices are up slightly over last year.

The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in December in the Ottawa area was $386,961, an increase of 5.5 per cent over December 2014. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $250,393, a decrease of 7.5 per cent over December 2014. The year-to-date numbers for the average residential sale price in 2015 was $391,940, an increase of 1.9 per cent over 2014. While the average condominium sale price was $259,691, a decrease of 1.5 per cent over 2014. The average sale price to average list price ratio combined was 96.2%. Finally, the Sales to Inventory Ratio is 13% (12% in December 2014) which indicates a Buyer Market.