I Like Balance*

1,659 residential properties sold in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,686 in May 2010, a decrease of 1.6 per cent.
Of those sales, 369 were in the condominium property class, while 1,290 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties, which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in May in the Ottawa area was $352,347, an increase of 5.6 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $261,871, an increase of 6.4 per cent over May 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $378,228, an increase of 6 per cent over May 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
*Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board

Bob’s Takes
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in their Spring 2011 Ottawa Housing Market Outlook, the Ottawa area moved from a seller’s market to a balanced market in 2010 and will remain in that territory for 2011. CMHC analysts define Ottawa’s resale housing market as balanced when between 35 and 55 per cent of the homes listed for sale (new listings) in a given month are sold. A balanced market does not particularly favour buyers or sellers and this along with continued low interest rates make the timing excellent to purchase a home in Ottawa . . . especially first time buyers looking to get out of the rental cycle. The real estate market feels like it is running about 30 days behind this year so I am also expecting strong sales numbers for the summer months as well.

PS: I’m never too busy to take good care of your referrals.

Bob Fraser has been a residential realtor in Ottawa for over 22 years. He remains dedicated to helping great people buy and sell great properties.

Sometimes Boring is a Good Thing*

1,536 residential properties sold in April through the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® compared with 1,814 in April 2010, a decrease of 15.3 per cent. The five-year average for home sales in April is 1,612.

Of those sales, 316 were in the condominium property class, while 1,220 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties, which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in April in the Ottawa area was $351,226, an increase of 5.4 per cent over April 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $255,232, an increase of 2.1 per cent over April 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $376,090, an increase of 5.4 per cent over April 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
*Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board

Bob’s Takes
Listing and sales activity continued through April in much the same vein as in March. Volume was down from the pre HST April of last year but very consistent with the 5 year average for the same month. A nice treat for buyers is that listing inventory is up 17.3% from last year so the market, while strong, is starting to swing into balanced territory. I am seeing this most clearly in the suburban communities and not so much in the core, where multiple offer situations are still occurring. My good friend and mortgage broker extraordinaire, Dana Mason at Mortgage Alliance tells me a 5 year fixed rate mortgage can be had for 3.96%, which is a bargain. May and June will be strong months for sales and carry us into a steady summer.

PS: I’m never too busy to take good care of your referrals.

Bob Fraser has been a residential realtor in Ottawa for over 22 years. He remains dedicated to helping great people buy and sell great properties.

Spring has Sprung*

1,232 residential properties sold in March through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,495 in March 2010, a decrease of 17.6 per cent. The five-year average for home sales in March is 1,256.
Of those sales, 296 were in the condominium property class, while 936 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in March in the Ottawa area was $346,148, an increase of 4.9 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $253,763, an increase of 6.5 per cent over March 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $375,364, an increase of 5.6 per cent over March 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
*Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board

Bob’s Takes
It was around this time last year that we started to sense a bit of a buying frenzy as home buyers were starting to jump into the market ahead of the implementation of the HST. No doubt, many wanted to avoid the HST on the services associated with a house purchase and this resulted in skewed sales figures for March, April and May of last 2010. This year’s March sales are showing a return to normal spring sales numbers for the Ottawa region. Prices continue to rise moderately. The central communities seem to be receiving the most interest with greater selection of properties in the suburban areas. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a great spring for home buyers and sellers.

PS: I’m never too busy to take good care of your referrals.

Bob Fraser has been a residential realtor in Ottawa for over 22 years. He remains dedicated to helping great people buy and sell great properties.

Business as Usual

936 residential properties sold in February through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service^® system compared with 1,030 in February 2010, a decrease of 9.1 per cent.

Of those sales, 213 were in the condominium property class, while 723 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $338,408, an increase of 6.7 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $260,112, an increase of 6 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $361,475, an increase of 6.9 per cent over February 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

*Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board

Bob’s Takes
Two interesting tidbits can be gleaned from the February home sales figures. One is that, like January, the 962 sales last month are almost bang on the 5 year average for the previous 5 Februarys, so it really is business as usual.  The second is that at 33 days on the market on average, homes sold much more quickly in February than in January.  This suggests to me that there are willing and qualified buyers out there and when they see the right home come up, they are ready to buy, but they are not buying out of a sense of urgency. This can only lead to a healthy, balanced market which is exactly what Ottawa home buyers and sellers have to look forward to.

PS: I’m never too busy to take good care of your referrals.

Bob Fraser has been a residential realtor in Ottawa for over 22 years. He remains dedicated to helping great people buy and sell great properties.

No big surprises in January resale home sales*

675 residential properties sold in January through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service^® system compared with 719 in January 2010, a decrease of 6.1 per cent.

Of those sales, 135 were in the condominium property class, while 540 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $329,657, an increase of 3 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $236,065, a decrease of 8.7 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $353,055, an increase of 4.7 per cent over January 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

*Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board

Bob’s Takes

The average number of sales for the previous five Januaries was 662, so 675 for this past January is a pretty good month.  January is never a stong month for sales.  It’s hard to get out to shop for homes when you can hardly get out of your driveway! It never ceases to amaze me though how people’s buying habits follow the weather. The retailers want that first snowfall in December to get the Holiday shoppers out to the stores and in home sales, it takes some sunshine and that first February thaw to get the phones ringing and the home viewings going.  Followers of the Market Snapshot will likely be reading the word “balance” a lot this year as I am of the belief that in Ottawa we will have a healthy balanced market in 2011.  Now bring on that February thaw!

PS: I’m never too busy to take good care of your referrals.

Bob Fraser has been a residential realtor in Ottawa for over 22 years. He remains dedicated to helping great people buy and sell great properties.