Thursday, September 13, 2007

August Housing Market Calmer, But Still Active

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,316 residential units in August through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,245 in August 2006, an increase of 5.7 per cent. There were 1,455 sales in July 2007.
“After a sizzling July, the August market settled down a bit, but remained steady, with year-to-date home sales now edging close to the 11,000 mark,” said Board President Diane Hatfield. “Also, people buying homes have plenty of choice – at the end of August there were almost 4000 homes on the MLS® market in Ottawa,” Hatfield added.
The average price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in August in the Ottawa area was $267,014, an increase of 2.5 per cent over August 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 2,300 sales representatives and brokers 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,
available free at 700 locations across the Ottawa area.