Ottawa, March 6, 2007: Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1032 homes in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 764 in January 2007. There were 982 sales in February 2006.
“The average number of days a home spent on the market dropped significantly from January to February, indicating that after the usual winter lull, the Ottawa housing market is picking up again nicely,” said Board President Diane Hatfield. “The average sale price of a home in Ottawa
continues to rise, but the inventory of housing available below the average price remains strong,
allowing plenty of opportunities for first-time buyers to enter the market and take advantage of stilllow interest rates.”
The average price of the homes sold in February through the MLS® system in the Ottawa area was $264,566, an increase of 6.6% over February 2006. The Board cautions that average 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 price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,230 REALTORS® in the Ottawa
area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association and thus are entitled to use the term REALTOR®.
The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board's internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.mls.ca and www.ICX.ca. Information about listings and open houses is also available in the Board's weekly newspaper, Ottawa Real Estate Guide.
