ANALYSIS: Rising home prices puts pressure on affordability

A story on the hot Ottawa housing market was recently featured in the Globe and Mail. I have been a Realtor for 14 years and I have never seen an article in this paper about Ottawa’s market. This national coverage is usually only reserved for the big markets of Vancouver or Toronto.

Our housing market right now is just hard to ignore. Multiple offers are now the norm for home buyers. This is pushing prices up and will continue to put pressure on affordability in the capital. Some first time home buyers are being priced right out of the market.

The Sittsville market is certainly newsworthy in its own right. We are about 75 days into the year and we decided to compare the stats so for in 2018 with the first 75 days in 2017. It is an interesting study.

Interesting to note townhouses/row units are selling for 101.16% of asking price. This segment of the market is as hot as it has ever been in Stittsville with less than a months inventory. A clear seller market. On the detached side, the market remains right on the borderline of becoming a sellers market. We have about three months of inventory available.

(Months of inventory refers to the amount of time it would take to sell all the current inventory without new homes coming to market. Statistic show that between 0-3 months would be considered a seller’s market; 3-6 months is a balanced market, and over 6 months is a buyer’s market.)

Nice price gains over last year. The number of sales are down slightly but that is only due to the lack of inventory this year. All of this activity and its not even spring time yet! Many buyers are hoping that sellers are waiting for the snow to melt before listing. If we don’t see more listings soon we will see much more multiple offer situations in the upcoming few months.

(Chris is a sales representative with Keller Williams Integrity Realty.)