The biggest decliner was bungalow sales, off 26 per cent. Two-storey houses and condominium apartments fell 16 and 17 per cent respectively but condo townhouses rose 16.7 per cent.
The average price of resale housing rose 1.5 per cent to $288,105 as a decline in condo apartment prices weighed down price increases for townhouses, bungalows and two-storey houses.
Ottawa Real Estate Board president Richard Snell said "while the market in Ottawa may not be booming, it's certainly not a bust either. Sales declined the same amount in January as they did in December, which tells me that buyer confidence is holding steady."
Average prices had declined 1.2 per cent in December to $272,192 as sales of more expensive two-storey houses dropped off.
Some analysts are predicting that Ottawa house prices should at least hold their own this year despite weaker sales here and predictions of more price declines in Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere.
Last year, Ottawa housing resales fell 5.7 per cent but prices rose an average of 6.3 per cent to $289,766 largely on the strength of healthy market conditions in the first half of the year.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen