Looks like the spring market may be starting a little earlier than expected. Take a look at February’s Ottawa real estate stats and what this means for the rest of the year.
Here are the February 2022 numbers:
- Total number of units sold: 1,421 – up 3% from 1,385 in February 2021.
- Five-year average unit sales for February: 1,184.
“Although February’s resales were only 3% higher than last year at this time, we saw a 52% increase in the number of transactions compared to January’s figures (936). While a month-to-month increase is typical for this time of year, the gradation of this increase is higher than previous years, which could be an indication that our spring market may ramp up earlier this year,” states Ottawa Real Estate Board President Penny Torontow.
“Whether this has to do with the easing of government pandemic restrictions and the opening up of the economy or perhaps due to apprehension of the (then) upcoming interest rate increase, which is now in effect, we can’t entirely be sure,” she adds. “We are watching intently to see how the 2022 spring market will play out considering not only the higher interest rates and inflation but also other macro factors in our global environment that could affect our local economy.”
Here are the specifics for each property class:
- Number of residential-class properties sold: 1,095 – up 7% from 1,018 in February 2021.
- Average sale price of a residential-class property: $837,517 – up 17% in February 2021.
- Number of condominium-class properties sold: 326 – down 10% from 359 in February 2021.
- Average sale price of a condominium-class property: $466,682 – up 15% in February 2021.
“The number of new listings in February (1,762) offers a slight glimmer of hope for prospective Buyers. At 4% higher than the five-year average and 12% higher than February 2021, it resulted in an almost 10% increase in residential-class property inventory compared to last year at this time. Condominium supply, however, is down 20%. Overall, we are now at a 0.7 month’s supply of inventory which means that most listings that enter the market are going to be snapped up very quickly, as evidenced by the continuous decline in Days on Market (DOM). We certainly hope this trend of increased new listings will continue to supplement the housing stock going forward,” Torontow acknowledges.