Ottawa real estate market heats up as Toronto cools down
The average price for a home in Ottawa jumped 9% in a year
While sales plummeted last month in Toronto, Ottawa's homes sales — and prices — jumped in June, according to figures released Thursday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
The number of homes resold increased by 10 per cent, to 2,162 in June 2017 compared to 1,985 properties for the same month the previous year.
"Since the announcement in April by the Ontario Liberal government of cooling measures in Toronto, it's no surprise that the Ottawa market has been thriving," said Ralph Shaw, president-elect of the Ottawa Real Estate Board.
And it's not just the number of sales that's rising — prices are going up too.
The average price for a home in Ottawa jumped from $396,266 to $434,502 — about nine per cent — from June 2016 to June 2017. And more people are buying houses over $1 million, according to the board.
"(The) numbers are more than double the amount sold last year," said Shaw. "It indicates that home buyers are looking beyond their basic needs to check off more boxes from their wish lists such as view, downtown location, or acreage property."
However, the board said people shouldn't take this as a sign that the market is too expensive. About 35 per cent of Ottawa's houses sell in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. The average price of a home sold in June in the Ottawa was $434,502, whereas in Toronto, the average sale price was $793,915.