The President's Pen column was prepared by the Ottawa Real Estate Board and first appeared in the February 10, 2011 issue of the EMC community newspapers.
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.
Of those sales, 135 were in the condominium property class, while 540 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.
These are normal sales numbers for January in Ottawa — the average number of sales for the previous five Januaries was 662, so 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. Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it's fair game for everyone.
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. 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.
When we say "fair game" we mean it — in a balanced market, everything feels a little calmer in the home buying and selling world. There are more homes listed for sale than there are buyers, so it's more rare to see a large number of bidding wars (though these do occur on certain properties in any market). This means that buyers don't feel the same amount pressure to jump at the first house they view in fear that there won't be another one available. They have more choice available, and if they do happen to miss out on a certain property, they are comfortable in knowing that something else will come up shortly. Sellers may have to wait slightly longer for an offer on their property than they would in a seller's market, but a well-priced, well-maintained, well-presented home will sell no matter what the market is like. So in this quiet season, sellers can really take time to spruce up their home so that it shows all of its best features to potential! buyers.
Another advantage for sellers in the winter is that those buyers who are looking for a new home are generally pretty serious about buying right away, since they are often motivated by a pressing concern (moving for a new job, needing more space for a new baby, etc).
The fact is, any time can be the right time to buy a home; real estate is a four-season business. A member of the Ottawa Real Estate Board can help make your buying or selling experience easier and quicker, no matter the weather. Find us online at www.OttawaRealEstate.org.
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