Exciting news for the Ottawa real estate market! May has been a fantastic month for home sales. For the first time since February 2022 there has been a year-over-year increase in the number of homes sold in both residential and condominium class properties. Although sale prices in May remained similar to those in April, they are significantly higher than the end of 2022.

“Typically the highest-selling month, May’s transactions did not disappoint,” says Ken Dekker, Ottawa Real Estate Board President. “It is a promising year for sellers barring any interest rate adjustments, as we saw a correlated drop in sales every time there was an interest rate hike in 2022.”

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“However, with only five to six weeks of inventory, we are in a strong seller’s market. With the pent-up high demand and sales volume increasing, we are likely to see upward pressure on prices as demand continues to outstrip supply.” States Dekker.

Residential average sale prices decreased by 7% to $745,902 compared to May 2022. Condominium average sale prices decreased by 6% to $442,859.

The average days on market in the residential class experienced a 106% increase to 23 days and a 99% increase to 26 days for condominiums.

1,477 residential properties were sold in May 2023, an increase of 8% since last year. Condominiums sold reached 462 which is a 1% increase.

“We are not seeing steep price escalations yet. May’s average prices stayed on par with April’s, although prices are well over what we saw at the end of 2022. With demand mounting in Ottawa’s chronically undersupplied market, I expect the average sale price will surpass last year’s figures for a month over the same month in the latter half of 2023 again—provided we do not see interest rate hikes.” States Dekker.