Nothing unusual about January resale home sales

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 675 residential properties in January through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 719 in January 2010, a decrease of 6.1 per cent. The total number of residential properties sold through the Board’s MLS system in 2010 was 14,199, down 3.6 per cent from 2010. The average price for 2010 was $327,225, an increase of 7.7 per cent over 2010. Of January’s sales, 192 were in the condominium property class and 428 were in the residential class.

“These are normal sales numbers for January in Ottawa – the average number of sales for the previous five Januaries was 662, we we’re even a little ahead of that, and prices continued to rise incrementally. Winter is usually a quieter time of year in the resale market and 2011 appears to be no exception,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it’s fair game for everyone,” she added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $329,657, an increase of 3 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $236,065, a decrease of 8.7 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $353,055, an increase of 4.7 per cent over January 2010.

With particular reference to single level condominium apartments, MLS statistics for January 2011 show a total of 74 sales of apartments while in January 2010 the total was 75. January 2011’s average sale price was $251,790, a decrease of 17 per cent over the previous January. Of course these figures are averages for the entire city.  If you would like more specific statistical information, just call me. 

My personal observation is that the number of listings is on the increase and with a healthy balance of buyers and sellers, I anticipate a busy spring.