October home sales jump despite election
A federal election in the middle of the month failed to spook resale or new home buyers in October.
New-home sales saw a healthy jump of more than 30 per cent over a sluggish September and when compared to October 2014. Sales hit 398 units, versus 306 in September and 305 last October, according to the latest report from industry analyst PMA Brethour Realty Group.
That was the highest monthly total this year, beating even the normally busy spring market. And the numbers helped push the yearto-date total sales (3,361) even with last year’s (3,358).
“Looking at total sales for the past three months, we are slightly above the five-year average, which has not happened for a couple years,” says Patrick Meeds, who heads PMA’s new home division.
The launch last month of Greystone Village on the former Oblate lands between Main Street and the Rideau River contributed to the jump, with 55 condos, townhouses and single-family homes sold to help give builder eQ Homes a 15-per-cent share of the market for the month, which is comparable to the market share of bigger builders Minto (12.8 per cent) and Mattamy (19.3 per cent).
Calling the Greystone launch “hugely successful,” Meeds also attributed the sales hike to a continued slow return of the mid- and highrise condo market and firsttime buyers.
“With two months remaining in the year, Ottawa should sell slightly more new homes in 2015 than 2014, and finally end the four-year trend of ever-decreasing sales.”
On the resale front, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reports 1,161 homes sold in October, a four-percent increase over October 2014, when 1,119 were sold. That’s also up from the five-year average of 1,100 for the month.
“Buyer activity was expected to taper off leading up to the federal election, but it didn’t seem to affect our overall performance by very much,” board president David Oikle says in a release.
October’s sales included 202 condos and 959 other residential properties. Oikle says the year-todate sales trend is “solid” compared with last year, with residential sales up almost six per cent and condo sales on par with last year.
“Ottawa’s resale market continues to be a stable environment. Inventory has continued to decline since the busy spring market last May, bringing us back into balanced territory,” he says.
The average sale price of a home other than a condo was $380,075 in October, an increase of 2.8 per cent over October 2014. The average sale price for a condo dropped 13 per cent — from $290,739 to $251,177 — but the year-to-date average price of $258,995 is more in line with the current average, the board says, which is why it cautions that while average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, it shouldn’t be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value.
Housing starts, meanwhile, were trending at 5,398 units in October compared to 5,547 units in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC). The trend is a six-month average that is adjusted each month to remove seasonal ups and downs to offer a more accurate month-to-month comparison while projecting the starts for the year.
“Housing starts trended lower across all housing types in October compared to the previous month, especially among row and apartment homes,” CMHC market analyst Anne-Marie Shaker says in a release.