Buyers Get a Jump on the Spring Market

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,660 residential properties in March through the Board's Multiple Listing Service System, compared with 1,478 in March 2017, an increase of 12.3 percent. The five-year average for March sales in 1,339. March's sales included 358 in the condominium property class and 1,302 in the residential property class.

Inventory continues to fall below normal average, but we are still seeing more sales than last year because listings are not staying on the market. Homes that are priced well are selling quickly with days on market dropping to an average of 43 days from an average of 54 days on market in March 2017.

The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in March in the Ottawa area was $447,561, an increase of 8 percent over March 2017. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $275,592, an increase of 0.7 percent from March 2017.

The most active price point in the residential market continues to be the $300,000 to $449,999 range, accounting for 46 percent of the market. In addition, the $500,000 to $750,000 market is a price point that us showing robust growth representing 21 percent of the residential homes sold in March.

Year to date, there have been 3,349 MLS real estate transactions which represents just over a 6 percent increase compared to this time in 2017. The sale to list ratio increased to 98.6 percent versus 97.9 percent by March 2017.