OTTAWA, ONTARIO
Market Update : February 2025
If you’re a homeowner in Ottawa, or are planning to become one, I’m going to be sharing an update on the latest real estate market trends from February 2025. Make sure to stick around to the end of the video so you don’t miss my market trends insight, which looks beyond the stats and gives you some insight on what to do if you’re looking to buy or sell today.
Things are fairly stable despite the chaos in the world these days. People need to buy and sell. If you are someone who needs to make a move, then read on!
If you’re a seller and you need to sell, you need to present your home in its best light and price your home correctly right from the start. You don’t want to be overlooked and be left behind.
If you’re a buyer serious about getting into the market, then the higher inventory levels means there are overlooked homes, and you may be able to take advantage of this!
1. Months of Inventory
In February 2025, we saw 2.8 months of inventory across all property types and areas.
Months of Inventory is the number of months that it would take to sell all of the homes currently on the market at the current rate of sales if no more homes were listed for sale.
There was, however, a bit of discrepancy between the 2.8 months that I’m reporting and what the Ottawa Real Estate Board reported for the same month. Their report was for 4.6 months of inventory, which doesn’t make sense. I’ll tell you why.
Months of Inventory is calculated by dividing the number of active listings, which sits at about 2300/2400 by the number of sales in the given month. For February, that was approximately 730 sales. That gives us a Months of Inventory of just over three.
Months of Inventory typically drops throughout the spring, as sales pick up faster in proportion to the number of new listings. Our MOI last month was in the mid-3s, so jumping to 4.6 just doesn’t make sense.
2. Average Sales Price
The average sale price of all properties across the City of Ottawa in February 2025 was $681k. This was up 1.4% from January, but virtually unchanged from the February 2024’s average sale price.
I like to break it down into the three major property types, since averaging all types of homes is not very helpful. The average price for detached homes across the city was $884k, freehold townhomes were $637k, and condominiums were $430k.
And, remember that even these values are for the entire city, so the prices differ vastly depending on which area you’re looking at. It is essential to talk to your trusted Realtor and learn about the specifics for the type of property you’re looking at buying or selling, and make sure you’re looking at the pricing that is specific to the area you’re working within.
3. List to Sale Price Ratio
The next thing to look at is the List to Sale Price Ratio, which is a measure of how close the asking and selling prices are. Throughout February, the List to Sale Price ratio was at 99%. This is up just slightly from the 98% it has been sitting at since July of 2024.
This ratio has been very steady throughout the last year and a half to almost two years. Like the other metrics, the List to Sale Price Ratio can differ by property type and specific location, so speak to your trusted Realtor to know what’s going on for the market you’re looking at.
4. Days on Market
Now you might be wondering how long it’s taking for properties to sell?
Well, it depends.
If we look at all of the properties that sold in February, the average time on the market was 39. Those averages are different for the various property types, however, with detached being close to the overall at 37 days on the market. Freehold townhomes saw an average of only 28 days on the market, while condominium properties saw an average of 50.
The average for all properties last month was 51, which means that homes are selling more quickly this month than last, and the Days on Market is nearly the same as last February, which was at 38 days.
However, I need to point out a couple things about Days on Market.
1. These averages are made up of all sales. So, you’ve got places that sell within just a few days mixed with those that have been on the market for months.
2. With our new MLS system, this stat of DOM is for the current listing only. If a home is listed for 6 months, cancels and relists, but then sells within 5 days, then the DOM for that property shows up as 5 days.
5. Intrest Rates
If you’re thinking about buying real estate in the near future, mortgage rates are ranging between 3.89% and about 5% right now.
This follows the Bank of Canada’s recent 0.25% drop, bringing the overnight lending rate to 2.75%. The Bank of Canada rates affect prime rate and variable rate mortgages that the lenders set.
If you’re looking for a new mortgage at this point, the variable rates and fixed rates are quite similar, which has not been the case for years.
Your actual rate will depend on your unique situation and which lender you work with so I would recommend speaking with a mortgage broker to discuss your options and have them check with various lenders to see what solution will be best for you.
