Condo sales drive Ottawa resale market in October

There were a total of 1,062 residential properties sold in October compared with 1,038 in October 2010, an increase of 2.3 per cent. The five-year average for October sales is 1,071.

Of those sales, 253 were condominiums while 809 were Freehold residential properties. Condos include 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. Freehold includes all other residential properties.

“Condos were the main driver of resale home sales in October, with condo sales up 14.5 per cent from the same month in 2010, whereas residential property sales numbers were near-identical to last year’s,” said Ottawa Real Estate Board President Joanne Tibbles. “We’ve been hearing a lot about the rising popularity of condos in Ottawa and these numbers certainly support that, but it’s just one piece of our steady resale market, with sales very near the five-year average for October. Also, listing inventory and days on market are both up slightly as we move towards the end of the year,” she added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in October in the Ottawa area was $337,797, an increase of 2 per cent over October 2010. The average sale price for a condominium was $259,316, a decrease of 1.5 per cent over October 2010. The average sale price of a Freehold residential property was $362,341, an increase of 3.7 per cent over October 2010.