Where is Real Estate in Ottawa headed?
by Dave Williams

Back in November of 2012 the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) produced a forecast for 2013 & 2014 price changes for the Ottawa Real estate Market.

With Q1 under our belts I’m dragging it out to take a look.  CHMC predicted 6 months ago that we would see around a 1% drop in home price leading up to this spring, and although March’s real estate prices were up a touch, both January and February were down bringing us to a first quarter total of $350,715 for the average house sold in Ottawa…down .4% from $351,977 for the first quarter of 2012.

Point for CMHC!

So where do they predict our real estate market going over the course of the rest of the year?

UP!  Hurray!  It’s just going to be a slow ride.  The forecast shows our growth for Q2, the spring market staying flat right around the same prices as last year.  By Q3 & Q4 in the summer and early fall we can start to expect some growth, though only a small percentage (1% to 2%).

This trend of slow steady growth is expected to continue through 2014.

So if you are thinking of selling your home, where does that leave you?

The good news is homes are still going to continue to sell, and prices are still going to rise, the challenge will be cutting though the competition as more and more houses linger on the market.