Ottawa experienced the fastest price growth nationwide since 2016

Hopeful home buyers looking at Ottawa might find themselves surprised at how costly the market has gotten, as the average pace of housing price growth in the market from 2016 to 2018 was nearly 15%, recent data from the Canadian Real Estate Association revealed.

This considerably outstripped the average increases posted by Toronto (just around 3%) and Vancouver (almost flat), which still held their crowns as the most expensive markets nationwide, during the same time frame.

In real terms, the Ottawa hike represented a $56,300 increase in the average home price, bringing it up to $433,500 as of December 2018, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

The trend exhibited an accelerated pace since then, as the gain from December 2013 to December 2018 was $82,000.

Read more: Ensuring Ottawa’s affordability is already expensive by itself

The Royal LePage House Price Survey released in January cited Ottawa as one of the strongest sellers’ markets anywhere in Canada throughout 2018.

“Homes that come on the market are quickly sold, with multiple offer situations often present,” according to John Rogan, broker of record and branch manager of Royal LePage Performance Realty.

The fourth quarter of 2018 saw the market’s aggregate housing price increase by 9.3% year-over-year. A large part of this elevated performance level was the heightened purchasing power of its workforce, the study noted.

“Healthy employment and wages are propelling higher housing demand in the region. This increasing demand, coupled with Baby Boomers remaining in their homes longer than previously expected, is putting pressure on all housing types and fueling price appreciation.”