The Latest Ottawa Real Estate Statistics

Ottawa’s MLS® Home Sales Healthy Amid a Shifting Market

The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) has released its latest market update for September 2024. 

“As we navigate a shifting housing market, Ottawa’s fall outlook is healthy,” says OREB President Curtis Fillier. “Activity is robust with an uptick in sales and prices remaining steady. Meanwhile, both buyers and sellers are rethinking their purchasing power amidst news about additional interest rate cuts on the horizon, longer amortizations, and increased price caps for insured mortgages.” 

“There have been encouraging policy developments recently that will stimulate demand,” says Fillier. “But Ottawa’s market does not typically have demand problems — we have chronic supply issues. We’re not building enough homes in the city, and we’re not building enough of the right homes to address the ‘missing middle."

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently reported that Ottawa’s “population-adjusted construction is at its lowest level in nearly 10 years.” A City of Ottawa progress report shows that Ottawa is only at 22 per cent of its annual housing target at the end of August.  

Overview

• The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) totaled 1,047 units in September 2024. This was an 11.4% increase from September 2023.  
• Home sales were 17.4% below the five-year average and 15.4% below the 10-year average for the month of September. 
• On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 10,485 units in September 2024 — an increase of 6.4% from the same period in 2023.  

By the Numbers: Prices

• The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $642,800 in September 2024, an increase of 0.2% from September 2023.  
• The benchmark price for single-family homes was $729,000, up 0.5% on a year-over-year basis in September.  
• By comparison, the benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit was $500,000, down 1.7% compared to a year earlier.  
• The benchmark apartment price was $414,200, down 1.3% from year-ago levels.
• The average price of homes sold in September 2024 was $685,551 increasing 1.4% from September 2023. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $679,082, increasing by 0.9% from September 2023.  
• The dollar volume of all home sales in September 2024 was $717.7 million, up 12.9% from September 2023. 

By the Numbers: Inventory and New Listings

• The number of new listings saw an increase of 3.9% from September 2023. There were 2,343 new residential listings in September 2024. New listings were 4.7% above the five-year average and 11.6% above the 10-year average for the month of September. 
• Active residential listings numbered 3,529 units on the market at the end of September 2024, a gain of 16.9% from September 2023. Active listings were 43.3% above the five-year average and 4.6% above the 10-year average for the month of September. 
• Months of inventory numbered 3.4 at the end of September 2024, up from 3.2 in September 2023. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. 

Conclusion

The Ottawa real estate market continues to gain momentum, as the latest September 2024 monthly statistics from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show an 11 percent increase in sales volume compared to last September.  

Inventory continues to build slowly as more Sellers put their properties on the market, giving buyers more choice. Recent announcements of interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with a number of positive changes to mortgage rules announced by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), will almost certainly continue to accelerate market demand going into the fall market.  

If you are thinking about buying or selling your home, we would be happy to discuss with you how to take advantage of these latest market developments.

Contact us today!