Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 936 residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,030 in February 2010, a decrease of 9.1 per cent. 213 of those sales were in the condominium property class, while 723 were in the residential property class.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $338,408, an increase of 6.7 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $260,112, an increase of 6 per cent over February 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $361,475, an increase of 6.9 per cent over February 2010. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
Once again we're seeing sales numbers very close to the five-year average for February, which is 962 sales. It's important to note that the homes that sold last month did so far more quickly than in January, spending an average of just 33 days on the market. As well, prices rose slightly more than they had in the previous two months which indicate we still have a very steady market here in Ottawa. This tells us that there is a demand for resale homes in Ottawa, and that when buyers see the home they want, they're going after it, perhaps even going up against other bidders.
If you are in the market for a new home, and think you might encounter a multiple-offer situation, don't be nervous: be prepared! Having a real estate professional working on your behalf is a great place to start. He or she knows the ropes, can act as your negotiator with the seller or their agent, and can offer advice on how to proceed if another offer does compete with yours.
You'll want to make sure you have your mortgage financing pre-approved before submitting an offer, so that you know what you can afford and still maintain your lifestyle. In a multiple-offer situation it's easy to get swept up and try to win the offer at any cost, but you don't want to overpay, get yourself into financial hot water or find out that it won't pass an appraisal.
Next, get the name of a registered home inspector to call when you find a property you want to make an offer on. Making your offer conditional upon a satisfactory home inspection by an accredited professional is always a good idea. Also, talk to your insurance provider to make certain you can get home insurance on the property you're interested in bidding on. Your mortgage provider won't release your funds if the property that acts as collateral for your mortgage loan is uninsurable.
When you enter into a multiple-offer situation well-prepared, with professional advice and a solid strategy, you'll be able to make your best offer with confidence.
To view archived articles, click on the Newsletters, Guide & Useful Articles button on Ottawa's REALTOR Link® home page. From the blue left-hand menu, click on Useful Articles, and you will see a list of the last ten articles. Click "more" to see older articles.
The President's Pen column was prepared by the Ottawa Real Estate Board and first appeared in the March 10, 2011 issue of the EMC community newspapers.
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