
Ottawa Real Estate News Release (OREB) – Ottawa MLS® Home Sales Stable in November Amid Growing Supply

December 5, 2023
The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board totaled 724 units in November 2023. This was a small reduction of 1.6% from November 2022.
Home sales were 31.8% below the five-year average and 27.4% below the 10-year average for the month of November.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 11,421 units after 11 months of the year. This was a decline of 11.7% from the same period in 2022.
“Sales are performing as expected with the arrival of colder months, and an uptick in new and active listings is bringing more choice back into the market,” says OREB President Ken Dekker. “While more choice may mean the pace of buying and selling has slowed, that doesn’t mean people looking to enter or upgrade in the market should sit back. Prospective buyers or those looking to upgrade have an opportunity to collaborate with their REALTOR® to carefully explore the market, identify the ideal property, and negotiate an attractive deal at their own pace. Sellers will have to manage their expectations regarding the quantity of offers and speed of transactions, and their REALTOR® is the best resource to help them confidently price and prepare their home for a quality sale.”
By the Numbers – Prices:
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures.
- The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $628,900 in November 2023, nearly unchanged, up only 1.4% from November 2022.
- The benchmark price for single-family homes was $708,900, up 1.6% on a year-over-year.
- By comparison, the benchmark price for a townhouse was $492,300, nearly unchanged, up 0.8% compared to a year earlier.
- The benchmark apartment price was $424,300, up 1.2% from year-ago levels.
- The average price of homes sold in November 2023 was $633,138, decreasing 0.8% from November 2022. The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $669,536, a decline of 5.7% from 11 months of 2022.
- The dollar value of all home sales in November 2023 was $458.4 million, down 2.4% from the same month in 2022.
- The number of new listings saw an increase of 2.7% from November 2022. There were 1,428 new residential listings in November 2023. New listings were 8.4% above the five-year average and 10.4% above the 10-year average for the month of November.
- Active residential listings numbered 2,752 units on the market at the end of November, a sizable gain of 15.8% from the end of November 2022.
- Active listings were 53.9% above the five-year average and 6.7% below the 10-year average for the month of November. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of November in more than five years.
- Months of inventory numbered 3.8 at the end of November 2023, up from the 3.2 months recorded at the end of November 2022 and above the long-run average of 3.3 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
Architecture – Islamic architecture

I thought we’d explore Islamic architecture. Found in different areas including western Africa, Europe and eastern Asia the style has generalities found in each country but also has specifics developed in the area.

Gate Bad Al-futuh, Cairo


Mihrab and maqsura area of the Great Mosque of Cordoba

Walls and Minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra

Panel of stucco decoration from Abbasid Samarra



Umayyad Era Mshatta facade from a palace near Amman

Mosque of the Prophet Denina

Dome Selimiye Mosque Edirne, Turkey


First Step Towards Safety

Royal LePage Shelter Foundation is marking its 25th anniversary of contributing to helplines for women experience domestic abuse.
The phone number for Assaulted Women’s Helpline in Ontario is 1.800.863.0511. Click here for the phone numbers in other provinces.
Ontario Real Estate Law – Open Bidding & Representation

Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA) came into effect December 1, 2023. There are many changes, but for today I’d like to focus on 2 changes. The first one is that Ontario will now allow open biding. The seller may choose to allow in a multiple offer situation bids to be be shared with others. The comments on this seem to be both positive and negative. I see it as a positive. Sometimes buyers will bow out of a multiple offer situation as they can’t handle the stress and don’t want to overpay. As a Realtor when you have a client successfully bid you wonder how much more did we offer. Did we offer too much! Sometimes, the other Realtor will say you did well! Your offer was correct. But now you’d be able to offer just enough to get the home.
The other change is representation. Where a brokerage represents the seller and the buyer, in the past the Realtor would then act as a facilitator providing information but not advice. Now a designated agent can provide the needed advice.
Architecture – New York City Co-op Apartments

The San Remo
1929
Renaissance Revival
Emery Roth
Today’s blog post is about the most famous New York City Co-op apartments. The quintessentially desirable addresses in Manhattan! The most storied addresses of the city.

720 Park Avenue
1928
Neoclassical architecture
Cross & Cross / Rosario Candela

740 Park Avenue
1929
Art Deco
Rosario Candela & Arthur Loomis Harmon
Considered a legendary address
“at one time considered (and still thought to be by some) the most luxurious and powerful residential building in New York City”

960 Fifth Avenue
1927
Warren & Wetmore / Rosario Candela
Considered along with 820 Fifth Avenue & 834 Fifth Avenue of the three top buildings on Fifth Avenue

211 Central Park West
The Beresford
1928
Renaissance Revival

834 Fifth Avenue
1931
Art Deco
Rosario Candela
It has been called “the most pedigreed building on the snobbiest street in the country’s most real estate-obsessed city”

435 East 52nd Street
River House
1930
Art Deco
Bottomley, Wagner & White

1 West 72nd Street
The Dakota
1884
German Renaissance
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh
Oldest remaining luxury apartment building in New York City
One of five top-tier apartment buildings on Central Park West the others are 88 Central Park West, 101 Central Park West, The San Remo, The Beresford

1040 5th Avenue
1920s
Rosario Candela
Along with 1020 Fifth Avenue and 998 Fifth considered the most luxurieous and prestigious co-operative buildings in the upper east side

998 5th Avenue
1912
Italian Renaissance
McKim, Mead & White
The building was the first super-luxury apartment house on Fifth Avenue. The architect was given unlimited permission to create whatever was necessary to lure the very wealthy into the building.

101 Central Park West
1929
Neo Renaissance

88 Central Park West
The Brentmore
1910

820 Fifth Avenue
One of the most expensive and exclusive apartment
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