Ottawa Housing Market Outlook

Seller’s market conditions expected, prices to rise 6%

RE/MAX is forecasting conditions favouring sellers for the Ottawa housing market in 2020. The average residential sale price is expected to rise by six per cent, thanks to existing market momentum, despite the region experiencing greater market stability in the past. Low inventory and a strong buyer pool should put upward pressure on prices going into 2020.

Demand for properties will be driven by move-up, first-time and move-over homebuyers, with Kanata and Orleans being the neighbourhoods to watch in 2020, particularly due to the fact that the LRT is expected to eventually expand to those regions.

Ottawa is currently experiencing a seller’s market due to its low inventory. While the city is generally affordable, higher prices and low inventory is putting pressure on the market, affecting first-time homebuyers. The up-and-running LRT has resulted in surrounding development, particularly high-rise condominiums. Condominiums and townhomes tend to see the most activity in the region, due to their relative affordability compared to other property types.

From a national perspective, RE/MAX anticipates a leveling out of the highs and lows that characterized the Canadian housing market in 2019, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto, as we move into 2020. Healthy price increases are expected, with an estimated 3.7-per-cent increase in the average national residential sales price, according to the RE/MAX 2020 Housing Market Outlook Report.

Most individual markets surveyed across Canada experienced moderate price increases year-over-year from 2018 to 2019. However, some regions in Ontario continue to experience higher-than-normal gains, including London (+10.7 per cent), Windsor (+11 per cent), Ottawa (+11.7 per cent) and Niagara (+12.9 per cent).

“Southern Ontario is witnessing some incredibly strong price appreciation, with many regions seeing double-digit gains,” says Christopher Alexander, Executive Vice President and Regional Director, RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Thanks to the region’s resilient economy, staggering population growth and relentless development, the 2020 market looks very optimistic.”

Click to read the full RE/MAX 2020 Housing Market Outlook Report.

This article was originally published on December 16, 2019 by Lydia McNutt of RE/MAX Integra