The average resale price of residential homes and condos in Stittsville was down by about 3% overall in August on a year-over-year basis compared to 2013.
(Note: Stittsville North = north of Hazeldean, Central = between Hazeldean and Abbott, South = south of Abbott)
Ottawa-wide, prices were up by 1.1% compared to 2013. Other communities with a high degree of new construction such as Orleans, Barrhaven, Riverside South/Findlay Creek are recording similar results to Stittsville.
Only 12 properties have sold this year over $600,000 in Stittsville. As of this week, there were 31 properties listed at over $600,000.
Gord McCormick with Stittsville-based Oasis Realty says that new construction is having a big impact on real estate in Stittsville.
“For example, with Tamarack and Tartan opening up their Poole Creek Development this month, those selling in Jackson Trails may be competing with the identical house being sold by the builder but with upgraded features,” he says.
“New construction in the area may also negatively affect the demand for existing resale housing, depending in how the new development is expected to affect traffic, density, and other factors.”
McCormick says that a slow year for new home developers has led to more buyer incentives being offered, which can impact resale homes in suburbs like Stittsville.
Other factors at play in Stittsville are federal government and DND personnel moves (“we have heard that the number of moves may be down by 20 or even 25% this year”, says McCormick), and an overall excess inventory of homes in the Ottawa area.
“We have 39% more residential listings than the average at the end of August over the 5 year period 2009-2013. Condo listing inventory is even more acute with 71% more condos currently listed for sale than the five-year average,” said McCormick.
It does look like the excess inventory is pushing prices down. McCormick says a study in North Stittsville showed that 55% of listings had some form of price decrease while they were on the market.
Meanwhile, the number of homes sold remained fairly consistent overall year-over-year, with fewer re-sales in the central area but more re-sales in the south.
