2007 Breaks Resale Home Sales Record With One Month Left to Go!

Ottawa, December 11, 2007:

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 889 residential units in November through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 874 in November 2006, an increase of 1.7 per cent. There were 1,094 sales in October 2007.

"This brings the total number of homes sold by Ottawa Real Estate Board members to 13,995 as of November 30, solidly trouncing 2006's record of 13,783 in just eleven months," said Board President Diane Hatfield.  "With just under 3400 properties on the market at the end of November, inventory is down from the same time last year - we're certainly not seeing the backlog of properties that some markets in the U.S. are experiencing, and there are still many homes for buyers to choose from," Hatfield added.

The average price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in November in the Ottawa area was $270,723, an increase of 4.6 per cent over November 2006. The Board cautions that average 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 price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,375 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association and thus are entitled to use the term REALTOR®.

The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board’s internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.mls.ca and www.ICX.ca . Information about listings and open houses is also available in the Board’s weekly newspaper, Ottawa Real Estate Guide, available free at 700 locations across the Ottawa area.