'Correction' in local market continued in October, Ottawa Real Estate Board says – Ottawa Citizen

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The Ottawa Real Estate Board says the “correction continues” from pandemic-era highs as its members sold 987 residential properties last month — a 41 per cent drop from 1,670 in October 2021.

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October’s sales included 758 in the residential class, down 40 per cent from a year earlier, and 229 in the condo class, a decrease of 44 per cent.

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The five-year average for total October sales is 1,554.

“After the volatility of the past two pandemic years, which was unsustainable, the market is correcting and adjusting,” Ottawa Real Estate Board president Penny Torontow said.

“The slowdown is compounded by Bank of Canada interest rate increases, which further exacerbates buyer hesitancy and weakens people’s purchasing power — especially first-time homebuyers.”

Demand is still high and inventory increasing, Torontow said. Buyers have more choices and time to shop but speculation about where both prices and interest rates are going has made some adopt a “wait-and-see approach.”

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Meanwhile, homeowners looking to sell “may be understandably concerned about market fluctuations, which have been more drastic lately,” Torontow said, adding that  “a longer-term perspective is important.

“The significant year-over-year gains of the last two years were not sustainable. If you have owned your property for any length of time, your equity has increased significantly and will buffer price corrections.

“If you buy and sell in the same market, it is all relative.”

There were 2,047 new listings in October, up four per cent from October 2021. The five-year average for new listings in October is 1,971.

The average sale price for a condominium-class property in October was $445,691, up nine per cent from 2021. The average sale price for a residential-class property was $677,873, down five per cent from a year earlier.

Year-to-date average sale prices were $780,390 for houses, up eight per cent over 2021, and $456,470 for condos, up nine per cent.

OREB members have also helped clients rent 5,186 properties so far this year — up from 4,012 last year at this time.