April 2024 Market Summary
Sales volume rose through April and continued to outpace the numbers from last year.
Median prices rose modestly month-over-month, and year-over-year
Total active listings increased significantly last month providing more options for buyers
A significant increase in buyer activity in March resulted in homes selling much more quickly on average, while the supply and demand balance stayed more or less even, though it trended slightly further in favour of sellers.
Number of Home Sales
| Total last month | vs Previous Month | vs Same Month Last Year | vs 5-Year Average** |
Residential | 1,757 | +5.8% | -9.5% | -11.3% |
Freehold | 1,332 | +4.1% | -9.7% | -12.4% |
Condo | 425 | +11.3% | -8.8% | -7.6% |
* Residential sales include all residential properties; freehold includes detached singles, townhouses, and semi-detached homes; and condos include apartments, row units, and stacked-style dwellings.
** Based on the 5-year average for the month covered in this report.
Last month, members of the Ottawa real estate board sold 1,661 properties, marking a 12.9% increase compared to April of the previous year. Although the sales volume trailed the 5-month rolling average for April by only 4%, it's important to note that this figure is somewhat deceptive. To illustrate, during the lockdown in 2020, only 900 homes were sold skewing the average downward for April. However, despite cautious forecasts from economists earlier in the year, Ottawa's real estate market continues to exhibit robust sales figures.
The graph below shows monthly sales volume data grouped by month since 2018.
Median Sale Prices
| Median Last Month | vs Previous Month | vs Same Month Last Year | vs 5-Year Average |
Residential | $640,000 | +2.6% | +1.5% | +13.1% |
Freehold | $691,000 | +3.9% | +1.6% | +12.6% |
Condo | $409,950 | +2.5% | +0.0% | +10.7% |
The median sale price of a home in Ottawa rose by 2.6% between March and April and remained higher than the 5-year average by 13.1%. Median sale prices are now the highest since May- June of 2022, though they remain lower than the $715k peak we saw before interest rates began to rise.
The following graph shows monthly average sale price data since 2018.
Active Listings by Month
At the end of January, 3,789 homes were available for sale in Ottawa, representing a 594-unit increase from the previous month. This represents a 19% increase over last month and a significant 40% increase over April last year.
The chart below shows the active listing data for the last 5 years.
Cumulative Days on Market (Median)
Cumulative days on market ("CDOM") refers to the number of days a home is available for sale before it is sold firm. CDOM differs from "days on market" (DOM) because it includes the period when a property is conditionally sold and/or the length of time that a property is available before being cancelled and re-listed.
Last month, a home took a median of 20 days to sell, equal to last month's figure. Freehold sold quicker at 17 days, while condos sold slower with a median of 25 days.
Median CDOM data since 2018 can be found in the table below.
Months of Inventory
The months of inventory measure ("MOI") is calculated by taking the number of homes available for sale and assessing how long it would take for those to sell if demand remained constant and no new inventory was added to the market. This measure is a core indicator that helps assess whether we are in a buyer's, seller's, or balanced market.
In April, there were 2.3 months of inventory in Ottawa, marginally down from last month when we had roughly 2.4 months available. There were 2.3 MOI for freehold properties, while condos came in at 2.2. We remain in a seller's market across the board for the moment.
MOI data for residential properties, freeholds, and condos, can be found in the chart below.
The historical average price of a home in Ottawa since 1956 can be found in the chart below.
What This Means for You
It is critical to note that broad aggregate data is useful to establish trends, but significant variability exists at a community and housing-type level. If you are interested in getting a more refined estimate of the value of your home, or if you are interested in beginning your house hunt, we would love to help!
Give us a call at 613-614-2999 for your no-obligation consultation.
* Real estate market data is taken from the Ottawa Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is believed to be accurate but is not warranted.
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