Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Ephraim Vecina
The latest data from the Ottawa Real Estate Board showed that the total number of homes sold in Canada’s capital last year went up by 10% on an annual basis, from 15,526 properties in 2016 to 17,083 residences in 2017.
This represented the highest level in at least 9 years, the Ottawa Business Journal reported. The Board’s analysts noted that this increase was spurred by a rebound in the condo market (condo sales went up by 22%), along with a year-end mad dash ahead of new, tighter mortgage rules.
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December, usually one of Ottawa’s slower months, saw an 8.4% year-over-year increase, up to 771 properties sold.
“This could very well be attributed to the changes in the mortgage qualification rules” that came into effect at the beginning of the year and force borrowers to prove they can handle an interest rate hike, according to OREB president Ralph Shaw.
Shaw emphasized, however, that while the number of new property listings declined each month in 2017, the Ottawa market remains “stable and balanced” due to the pace of new home construction.
The average sale price of a home in the city last month stood at $434,098, up by 3% over December 2016.
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Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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