Ottawa real estate market heats up as Toronto cools down

While sales plummeted last month in Toronto, Ottawa's homes sales and prices jumped in June, according to figures released Thursday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

The number of homes resold increased by 10 per cent, to 2,162 in June 2017 compared to 1,985 properties for the samemonth the previous year.

"Since the announcement in April by the Ontario Liberal government of cooling measures in Toronto, it's no surprise that the Ottawa market has been thriving," saidRalph Shaw, president-elect of the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

• In Toronto, home resale numbers plunged 37 per cent last money over June of 2016.

And it's not just the number of sales that's rising prices are going up too.

The average price for a home in Ottawa jumped from $396,266 to $434,502 about nine per centfrom June 2016 to June 2017. And more people are buying houses over $1 million, according to the board.

"(The)numbers are more than double the amount sold last year," saidShaw. "It indicates that home buyers are looking beyond their basic needs to check off more boxes from their wish lists such as view, downtown location, or acreage property."

However, the boardsaid people shouldn't take this as a sign that the market is too expensive. About 35 per cent of Ottawa's houses sell in the $300,000 to $400,000 range.The average price of a homesold in June in the Ottawa was $434,502, whereas in Toronto, the average sale price was $793,915.