1232 homes were sold in Ottawa during the month of March, as compared with 1495 during March 2010.  This represents a decrease of 17.6 percent.

The 1232 Ottawa homes that were sold consisted of 296 Ottawa area condominiums and 936 Ottawa residential homes.

Ottawa Real Estate Board Joanne Tibbles explains this decrease as a result of factors such as the introduction of the HST that affected the 2010 sales.  “Years in which there are unusual market forces, such as the HST in 2010, tend to create skewwed comparisons with subsequent years.  Ottawa’s housing market is ticking along much as it usually does in early Spring,” said Tibbles.  The five-year average of Ottawa home sales in March is 1256.

With respect to Ottawa area condos, the average sale price of the 296 condos that were sold was $253,763, which represents an increase of 6.5% over 2010.

The average sale price of an Ottawa residential unit was $375,364, which was an increase of 5.6% over the same period last year.

For more details on today’s housing market statistics, visit our Ottawa real estate website at http://www.ottawaproperties.com or call one of our experienced, professional Sales Representatives at 613-288-0090.

According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board, resale homes sold more quickly during the month of February.

A total of 936 homes were sold in February, which represents a reduction of 9.1% over the 1030 homes that were sold in February 2010.  It is, however, very close to the 5 year average of 962 homes.  Also, these homes sold in an average of just 33 days, which is quicker than in January.

“Once again we’re seeing sales numbers very close to the five-year average for February, which is 962 sales. It’s important to note that the homes that sold last month did so far more quickly than in January, spending an average of just 33 days on the market. As well, prices rose slightly more than they had in the previous two months which indicate we still have a very steady market here in Ottawa,” said Board President Joanne Tibbles. “This tells us that there is a demand for resale homes in Ottawa, and that when buyers see the home they want, they’re going after it, perhaps even going up against other bidders,” Tibbles added.

Of the 936 sales in February, 213 were condos, while 723 were Ottawa residential homes.  The average sale price of the 213 condos in Ottawa was $260,112, while the average sale price of a residential unit was $361,475.  Both of these amounts are up over 6% from the same period in 2010.

For more up-to-date statistics, contact our Ottawa real estate team at 613-288-0090.  Visit our Ottawa real estate website to see photos and videos of our hottest Ottawa listings.

Now that Winterlude is over, you may be looking for something to do this weekend. We are hosting a number of open houses in the Ottawa area on both Saturday, February 26 and Sunday, February 27.

Visit our Ottawa real estate website’s Open Houses web page for details on each of our upcoming open houses, including:

• photo of the property
• address of the property
• details of the open house date and time
• link to a web page with more details, photos, virtual tours and a feature sheet of the property.

Come out and see us this weekend. If you don’t see the right house or condo for you and your family, we will find it for you!

Have a great weekend!

January 2011 Statistics

January 2011 Ottawa home sale statistics

The number of homes sold in January 2011 is slightly down from the same period last year.  675 residential homes were sold in Ottawa during the month of January, compared to 719 in January 2010. Of those Ottawa homes that were sold this January, 135 of those were Ottawa condos, while 540 were residential homes.

The average sale price for both residential and condominium combined was $329,657, which is an increase of 3% over January 2010.

Ottawa residential home sales for January 2011

The average sale price of a residential home in Ottawa for January 2011 was $353,055.  This represents an increase of approximately 4.7% over the sale of residential homes in Ottawa for the January 2010 period.

Ottawa condominium sales for January 2011

Condominiums in the Ottawa area sold at slightly lower prices (on average) as compared to the same period in 2010.  The average sale price for an Ottawa condo in January 2011 was $236,065, which is a decrease of 8.7% over last year.

2010 Statistics

2010 Ottawa home sale statistics

In 2010, Realtors in the Ottawa real estate board sold a total of 14,199 residential homes.  This is decrease over the number of Ottawa homes sold in 2009 of approximately 3.6%. 

As far as Ottawa home prices go, the average price of a home sold in 2010 was $327,225, which is an increase over the average home sale price in 2009 of approximately 7.7%.

For more information on Ottawa home statistics and what you can expect to receive on the sale of your Ottawa area home, contact Ray Otten or one of our professional Sales Representatives at 613-288-0090 or email mail@ottawaproperteis.com

We will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Winterlude has officially arrived!  For the next three weekends, you can get out and enjoy all that Canada’s winter has to offer, right in your backyard.

Take the family for a visit to Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques Cartier Park to see the Snow Hog family, various acts of entertainment, craft stations, snow and ice slides and more!

Visit Confederation Park for world class ice sculptures, Crystal Garden.  Which one will be your faviourite?

Of course, spend some time on the Rideau Canal, the world’s longest skating rink, all the way from Dow’s Lake Pavillion to the Rideau Centre.  If you don’t have skates, you can rent them, as well as sleighs for pushing those in your family who are not able to skate the length of the canal.  There is always something going on, from photos taken, draws for trips, snack giveaways and don’t forget the hot chocolate and beaver tails! They are definitely a true Canadian winter tradition.

So, have fun enjoying all that Ottawa has to offer!  If you are yearing for the sun, don’t worry – the groundhog did not see its shadow and spring is just around the corner!

We all know Ottawa is a great place to live, but now the Province of Ontario has given us another reason why – we have the purest air in southern Ontario!

The EMC report last week that an air quality report was issued by the Province of Ontario listing the best and the worst cities in the Province with respect to air pollutants.

Ottawa ranked near the top for the entire Province and the best of all of the southern Ontario cities.  Sudbury and Petawawa had the best in the Province, while Windsor and Sarnia had the worst.  For the complete report, visit:

http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/publications/8035e.pdf

Looking for something to do on a chilly Ottawa day? We have three open houses today. They are all on Sunday, January 23 from 2-4 p.m. and are at the following locations:

- 209 First Avenue

- 216 Pendra Way

- 21 Langford Crescent

You can preview photos and feature sheets of these properties (and others!) at our Ottawa real estate website:

http://www.ottawaproperties.com/property-list

See you soon!

Here at the Renaud Otten Team, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our new OttawaProperties.com website.  With much easier navigation and valuable information for buyers and sellers, we are sure that you will enjoy our new look.

We are also happy to be able to offer visitors to our site a free subscription to Ottawa at Home magazine.  Each issue is packed full of beautiful home decorating ideas, delicious recipes and articles abou Ottawa area people, businesses, restaurants and properties.  Check out a free issue today!

The Renaud Otten Team would like to wish you all a very joyous and safe holiday season!

Ho ho ho!

A Conference Board economist stated in a recent article for the Ottawa Business Journal that the Ottawa real estate market will be “pretty decent”.

These comments came after the Board’s October resale index was released, showing that the average housing price increase of 3% was just below the rate of inflation, which was 3.3% in October.

The index also showed that for every 1,000 homes listed for sale, 570 were sold in October.  This represents a sales to new listing ratio of 0.570.  A balanced market range is defined as anywhere between 0.393 and 0.709.

For more information on this trend, read the entire Ottawa Business Journal article on the stability of the Ottawa housing market.

For more up to date market statistics, visit our Ottawa real estate website or contact one of our Ottawa Sales Representatives at 613-288-0090.