Hottest April on Record

Hottest April on record for resale housing market


May 5, 2010 : Hottest April on record for resale housing market
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,841 residential properties in April through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,591 in April 2009, an increase of 15.7 per cent.

Of those sales, 425 were in the condominium property class, while 1,416 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.

“Last month’s sales blew away the record for April, which is always one of the busiest months of the year for our market,” said Board President Pierre de Varennes. “The increased sales activity may be partially due to buyers trying to avoid the impending HST and the mortgage changes that came into effect on April 19, but also demonstrates that consumers feel confident about our local economy,” he added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in April in the Ottawa area was $332,979, an increase of 11.6 per cent over April 2009. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $254,220, an increase of 17.4 per cent over April 2009. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $356,617, an increase of 11.7 per cent over April 2009. 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.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,590 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association.