For years people in the Ottawa region have believed the real estate market somehow died every September and was reborn in May. It simply isn’t true, especially this past year. While overall sales numbers are lower during the winter months, with people taking homes off the market to wait until spring, there is often a shortage of inventory in the fall and winter months. IE Buyers have fewer homes to pick from which is good news for sellers.
In the past we have done sales on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Right now, we sold one in Kemptville last night which had four offers. That was just three days before Christmas! It has been our experience over the last 5-6 years that the fall market and winter market has remained very active.
Let’s look at the 2019 numbers which included a very long, hard winter.
Using the Ottawa Real Estate Board numbers:
WINTER MARKET
Month New Residential and Condo Listings Residential and Condo Sales
January 1373 820
February 1369 1005
March 2210 1511
Total 4952 3336
SPRING MARKET
April 2753 1594
May 3224 1869
June 2559 2105
Total 8536 5563
No matter how you look at it, a seller going on the market in the spring is faced with a lot of competition. While there are a lot of buyers shopping around in a Spring market they generally are in a good position when negotiating with sellers as they have a lot of homes to choose from.
In our experience while fewer in numbers, Fall and winter buyers are very determined to find a home. In many cases they have sold one and have to find one, apartment leases are coming up or they have transfers due in the new year. With fewer homes to choose from, the seller is in a better position.
Are You Thinking About Selling? Are you waiting for the spring market? Stop! Check out this short video!
Brought to you by Bev and Keith Beardsley, Sales Representatives AND ALSO “Seniors Real Estate Specialists” with Century 21 Action Power Team ltd (Brokerage). Call or text 613-897-6839. Web Page www.BeardsleyTeam.ca.
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