October 2024 | Ottawa Real Estate Market Update

October 2024 Market Summary

• Sales volume unexpectedly increased significantly in October, both from a month-over-month perspective and compared to last year.

• Median prices fell slightly but remained higher than last October

• The number of active listings fell slightly, though inventory remains significantly higher than the 5-year rolling average.

• In October, new listings trailed the number of homes sold, resulting in a moderate decrease in the number of Months of Inventory available in the market.

Number of Home Sales

	Total last month	vs Previous Month	vs Same Month Last Year	​vs 5-Year Average**
​Residential	1,358	+13.0%	+45.6%	-6.7%
​Freehold	1,079	+15.0%	+51.8%	-2.9%
Condo	279	+5.7%	+25.7%	-19.0%

* 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.

The Ottawa real estate market experienced a 46% increase in property sales compared to October last year, with 1,358 properties sold last month. This marks the most substantial year-over-year sales volume surge since May 2021 (+69%), when the market was recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19 in spring 2020. While interest rates likely affected the pace of sales in October, the fall market last year was also particularly slow, which is also an important factor fueling this increase in sales volume.

The graph below shows monthly sales volume data grouped by month since 2018.

SOLD PROPERTIES BY MONTH (2018-2023)

Median Sale Prices

	Median Last Month	vs Previous Month	vs Same Month Last Year	vs 5-Year Average
Residential	$607,888	-3.5%	+2.2%	+12.4%
Freehold	$680,000	-3.6%	+1.4%	+11.5%
Condo	$401,500	-3.9%	+0.1%	+7.5%

The median sale price of a home in Ottawa fell by 3.5% compared to last month while remaining above average year-over-year and compared to the 5-year average for October.

The following graph shows monthly average sale price data since 2018.

MEDIAN SALE PRICE BY MONTH (2018-2024)

Active Listings by Month

At the end of October, 4,334 homes were available for sale in Ottawa. This represents a 5.5% decrease from last month and a 42% increase year-over-year. Inventory levels have climbed over the last two years, meaning buyers can choose from a wide variety of options. This underscores the need to differentiate your home from the competition when looking to sell.

The chart below shows the active listing data for the last five years.

ACTIVE LISTINGS (2018-2024)

Cumulative Days on Market (Median)

Cumulative days on the market ("CDOM") refers to the days a home is available for sale before it is sold firm. CDOM differs from "days on the 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 35 days to sell, on par with last month's figure. Freeholds sold in 34 days, while condos sold slower, with a median of 43 days.

Median CDOM data since 2018 can be found in the table below.

MEDIAN CUMULATIVE DAYS ON MARKET (2018-2024)

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.

During October, Ottawa's inventory decreased to 3.2 months, down from around 3.8 months in the previous month. Normally, the market shifts in favor of buyers from October through the end of the year. So, this statistic is rather unusual. If buyers continue to enter the market in November and December, we could see a more seller-friendly market than usual for this time of year.

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.

HISTORICAL AVERAGE HOME PRICES IN OTTAWA (1956-2024)

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.