If you follow real estate market trends, then you don’t need us to tell you how hot the Ottawa market has been for the last couple of years. Despite the pandemic, there are still buyers and sellers in our city. Just in December (which is typically a slower month) there were over 1000 real estate transactions compared to 757 in December 2019. In 2020, residential sales went up by 3% compared to 2019. What do these numbers mean to you as a buyer or a seller? It means, there are properties out there and there are buyers out there; however, as we know, properties are moving at lightning speed!

We are still in a sellers’ market, which is great for sellers, but challenging (not impossible) for buyers. The average sale price in December increased by 20% from 2019 at just over $600,000 per residential transaction. The key here is that only 16% of sales were under 400k.

According to many experts, Ottawa has been insulated from the pandemic because of a high percentage of federal government employees and many high-tech companies, such as Shopify. As a result, Ottawa is rapidly growing, and the real estate market is working hard to keep up with the demand.

What does this mean for you? If you’re looking to buy and/or sell, don’t wait!

Here are the facts:

  1. Houses are selling for over asking
  2. There are hardly any houses (excluding condos) on the market under 400k
  3. There are a lot of buyers and very few properties
  4. Ottawa’s housing market hasn’t been greatly impacted by the pandemic

So why should you care?

As a buyer (especially if you are looking at something under 400k), you need an experienced agent who will help you navigate the world of bidding wars and offer presentations. A good agent will tell you what the property is worth and write the offer for you. A great agent will tell you what the property will sell for and will work nonstop to make sure you walk away a winner! Not to toot our own horns, but here at STYFiRE, we like to think of ourselves as great agents (toot, toot)!

Want to win your next bidding war? Want to sell your property for more than asking? We are real estate nerds, so this means we LOVE to talk all things real estate! Give us a call and we will gladly tell you what your house is worth and help you find your next (or first) home.