The Ottawa Real Estate Board on Jan. 7 said that its members sold 610 residential properties in December through its Multiple Listing Service system, compared with 615 in December 2012, a decrease of less than 1%.
In 2013, the total number of homes sold through the board’s MLS system was 13,873, compared with 14,326 in 2012, a decrease of 3.2%, the association said in a statement.
The average sale price for residential properties, including condominiums, sold in 2013 was $357,348, an increase of 1.6% over 2012.
“Looking back at the 2013 market, home sales in the first part of the year were, for the most part down, in comparison to the year before,” the Ottawa Real Estate Board President Randy Oickle said.
“The introduction of tighter mortgage rules in July 2012 largely affected the market well into 2013.However, as the year progressed the market began to pick back up, and then leveled out in November and December. Impending mortgage rate increases may have caused the increase in the second half of 2013, as many first-time home buyers jumped into the market in advance of these increases,” Oickle added.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board represents about 3,000 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area.
