Housing Affordability in Ottawa-Gatineau Hit Historic Lows: Desjardins – Ottawa | The Canadian News

Homeownership is becoming less and less affordable in the National Capital Region as home prices and associated costs rise, while median household incomes decline, according to Desjardins’ latest housing market assessment.

Desjardins’ quarterly affordability index assigns the Ottawa-Gatineau real estate market a value of 1.26, down 3.5 percent from the previous quarter and the lowest since the financial services company began tracking sales. statistics 15 years ago.

The affordability index is derived from a series of values ​​that include household income and general house prices in a region.

The median sale price of a home in Ottawa-Gatineau in the third quarter of 2021 was $ 558,896, a slight increase from the prior period. Homeownership costs, which include mortgage payments, as well as property and utility taxes, increased 1.6 percent.

Median household income fell 2.6 percent during the same period, exacerbating the decline in affordability in the region.

Desjardins said declines in home affordability were largely felt across the country, with Kingston, Toronto and Montreal also reporting affordability lows in the third quarter.

The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) also said this week that home prices continued to rise in the city in October.

Residential-class properties sold for an average of $ 716,378 for the month, up 19 percent from October 2020. The average condo sold for $ 404,760, up 10 percent year-over-year.

OREB President Debra Wright said in a statement that while overall home buying activity returned to pre-pandemic norms in October, a lack of supply continues to put pressure on prices.

There is currently a month-long supply of residential properties in Ottawa and a little longer when it comes to condo stocks, he said.

The lack of available homes makes it more difficult for entry-level home buyers to enter the market, as existing homeowners stay in place longer.

“Low inventory and a lack of adequate housing options restrict movement across the housing spectrum. The up and down buyers have nowhere to go, so they stay in place, but we need that exchange of properties on the market to free up supply for entry-level home buyers, ”Wright said.

“The only way we will find balance in the Ottawa market is to exponentially increase the housing stock.”

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