Steady growth in million-dollar-plus homes played into the picture of Ottawa’s January 2022 resale market, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
In 2020, homes selling for over $1 million represented three per cent of residential sales. In 2021, that tripled to nine per cent. So far in 2022, that number is close to 14 per cent, said the board.
As well, homes from $650,000 to $900,000 represented 47 per cent of sales last year. That was up from 33 per cent in 2020.
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“Average prices continue to rise steadily with the lack of inventory pushing prices to levels previously unseen,” said board president Penny Torontow in a statement.
Those levels meant non-condos went for an average $771,739 in January, a growth of 14 per cent from a year ago. Condos were $447,943, up 18 per cent from the same month last year.
Transactions steady in January 2022 resale market
While average prices grew significantly, the number of resale transactions reported by the board remained steady. In January, Realtors sold 936 residential properties through the board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS), marginally lower than last January’s 963.
As always, the bulk of sales (661) were non-condo properties, with the balance of 275 transactions being condos. The five-year average for total unit sales in January is 840.
“January’s sales, almost identical to 2021’s, were very strong for a traditionally slower month, especially given the frigid temperatures and increased government COVID-19 restrictions we experienced,” said Torontow.
She said while the pandemic has accelerated market activity in some ways, the housing shortage that’s characterized the Ottawa resale market for over five years continues to create pent-up buyer demand. Echoing the board’s often-repeated position, she said price increases reflect buyer demand and will continue “until the housing stock grows.”
A recent market analysis by the Ottawa branch of real estate consultancy PMA Brethour Realty Group predicted resale housing prices will rise by about nine per cent this year, a number in keeping with other forecasts.
