The average sale price for homes in Ottawa continues to rise over last year’s numbers. In September we saw a 7.9% increase in the residential class property and in the condo property class we saw an increase of 7.6% over September 2017. These are very impressive numbers. Even with a continued low inventory in Ottawa, the number of homes sold is at an all-time high over the past 5 years. If we had more listing for sale we would have shattered the record in September. In September the residential and condo property classes there were 1,393 homes sold.
The $300,000 to $449,000 range remains the most active price point in the residential market contributing to 46% of homes sold. The $175,000 to $274,999 price range was the most active price point for the condos market in Ottawa, accounting for almost 57% of the units sold. If you are interested in finding out the market trends in your neighbourhood, please feel free to get in touch.
The Ottawa summer real estate market was busier than normal. No surprise to see strong August numbers coming through from the Ottawa real estate board. I think this trend will continue in the fall months ahead. The city continues to have low inventory which has put an upward pressure on prices. Even with the rising prices by all economists measures we still do live in a relatively affordable city. I am not sure how much longer I will be able to say that. A couple years at the most I believe. People are catching on to just how great Ottawa is.
The 300k to 450k price range in residential properties remains to be the most active price point. The condo market continues to be a great story. Sales are up over last year over 10%. The condo market continues to fill in the gap as we deal with the low residential inventory
If you are curious to know what’s happening in your neighbourhood please get in touch.
As an owner of Ottawa investment properties, the upcoming legalization of marijuana is another element that needs to be considered when finding tenants. When this law is passed it would grant the right for individuals to grow up to four plants in their home. I certainly don’t want them growing those plants in my investment properties. It can pose health risks from the potential growth of mould, fire risk, and the significant damage due to high humidity requires. Most importantly your property value could plummet if the house was deemed to be a “grow op” This is not a label you want. Also, smoking marijuana can be worse than cigarette smell in terms of getting rid of the bad odours.
It remains for the courts to determine if a tenant’s right to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes is greater than a neighbour’s right to not smell it, and a landlord’s right not to have it happen in their property. Especially since there are alternative forms of medicinal marijuana including pills, capsules and oil. I am sure there will be lots of upcoming cases that examine this complicated legal question. Something to watch for.
So how can you protect yourself?
Having strong clauses in your lease agreement is important. Here is one example:
Smoking, which includes tobacco and marijuana, any electronic versions and anything smoked for medicinal, recreational or remedial purposes, and growing plants of any type or quantity which includes marijuana, cannabis and hydroponics, are not permitted to be grown or cultivated anywhere in or on the premises, including common areas and the tenant’s rented unit.
I also am a big believer that the due diligence process is an important step. To be honest, if I suspect they are smokers I will not rent it to them. Even if they say they would never smoke in the house. I just don’t take the chance. Besides the credit checks, I will ask previous landlords if they were smokers and I often try to find pictures of them through facebook etc to get a sense of who they are. Might sound excessive but once your tenants are in they are hard to get out! For the record there is nothing wrong with smoking weed, I just don’t want people to smoke or grow it in my investment properties.
I think everyone should have at least one real estate investment. Something brick and mortar in their portfolio. I have learned that many of the high net worth people I have met include real estate as an integral component.
I am a big believer in Ottawa real estate. I truly believe that in 25 years from now people will be reflecting back on 2018 and saying “We should have bought a few investment properties, they were so cheap back then!”. Much like if we look back and see that a house in Ottawa 25 years ago was only $150,000.
Ottawa is a growing city with awesome economic fundamentals and lots of future growth. Our city ranked number 2 in Canada as the best places to live in the country. It was number 1 last year.
I hope people who live here understand just how amazing Ottawa is for the quality of life. We are so fortunate to live here. It can be easy to take it for granted. It also means there are some great real estate investment opportunities here. Especially as Ottawa grows with light rail and other major projects like Lebreton Flats.
As investors outside of Ottawa look for new opportunities many are turning to Ottawa. I am seeing lots of investors in our market especially in the $300k-$400k price range. Many from Toronto and overseas. Unfortunately, these investors might eventually spoil it for the rest of us. The timing is now. Prices are still reasonable and the vacancy rate is the lowest it has ever been. There are multiple bids in the rental market!
If you are thinking of investing in real estate, please feel free to reach out. Always happy to help!
It was another robust month of sales in Ottawa real estate. Over 1600 properties changed hands. That is a big number considering the 5-year trend is at about an average of 1500 units sold in July. Sales are up 6% compared to last year same time. Residential prices are up 5% over July of last year in both the condo and residential property markets. Nice gains for Ottawa homeowners for sure. Here is look at the numbers:
The 300k to 450k price range in residential properties accounted for 45% of all sales. This is a very active price range right now for Ottawa real estate. So hot right now! The condo market has made a great comeback and there are lots of factors to remain bullish on our local economy. It is a complex real estate market right now. Lots of moving parts on almost every deal. Including new financing requirements, shorter conditional periods, foreign buyers, and multiple offers. Lots to navigate right now. It is more important now to have the expertise of a great Realtor if you plan on buying or selling real estate in Ottawa.
If you are curious to know what’s happening in your neighbourhood please feel free to get in touch.
The Ottawa real estate market continues to impress. We are certainly the leader in Canada right now in terms of market activity.
Let’s look at the numbers. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 3.4% over last June, sitting at $449,200. In the residential-class property segment, there were 1,615 units sold which is a decrease of 8% over last June. In the condo market, 455 units sold, which is an increase of 11.5% from last June. The condo prices in Ottawa increased by 1.2% with the average sale price at $293,303.
The increase in condo unit sales is due to the lack of inventory in the residential-class property segment. The increasing prices have also pushed Ottawa buyers towards more affordable condo options. In previous years we had an oversupply of condos in Ottawa but they are now helping with the overall shortage of the residential-class properties. The average consecutive days on market for condos is down 39.4%.
There are still lots of bidding wars happening in the Ottawa market but it seems to be a little bit less competitive in the suburban neighbourhoods when compared with say 2-3 months ago. Inventory is still tight but there are signs that the market is settling down a bit. This will be welcome news to some buyers. If you are curious to know whats happening in your area please feel free to get in touch.
I was having this discussion with a client last week. We were talking about what I think the future might hold for Ottawa real estate. Ottawa is a very spread out city and commuting is becoming more challenging every year. This has made areas close to the city core especially desirable for home buyers. This, however, could change if your commute was in a self-driving car. This technology that will be upon us before we know it. You are already seeing this technology on the roads in some places. How will this impact the real estate market? I think buyers will be ok living further from work if their car will whisk them away to the office while they read a book or catch up on some emails. Commuting may be the most enjoyable part of their day. Imagine reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee as you drive-in. Further, what if your car dropped you off at work and then become a ride-sharing car or uber and made some money for you while at the office. These ideas might sound far-fetched but I can tell you this might become reality sooner than we all think. The future is both exciting and a bit scary at the same time.
Housing inventory has been a concern this year and is so far not keeping up with the insatiable demand for Ottawa real estate. Our inventory is at historically low levels. Especially in the central locations. This will continue to put upward pressure on prices. In May I witnessed a few houses sell for way over their already high list prices in extremely competitive offer situations. Both were staged impeccably but were very small inside. Some buyers are getting desperate and will pay a huge premium for the right location.
Let’s look at the numbers. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 6.3% over last May, sitting at $464,401. In the residential-class property segment, there were 1,794 units sold which is a decrease of 3% over last May. In the condo market, 485 units sold…. which is an increase of 9.2% from last May. The condo prices in Ottawa increased by 3.4% with the average sale price at $281,247.
As prices rise up in this market it is so important to have the right representation. On the buying side, you need to make sure that you are making a prudent investment. For sellers, you want to make sure you are taking advantage of the hot conditions.
Everyone knows that Toronto prices are crazy but it is always hard to put it in context in terms of what something similar here in Ottawa would sell for. I decided to dig a bit deeper and figure this out. I wanted to find something in a similar suburban-style community in each city. The easiest way to accomplish this was to find something built by the same builder, in this case, Mattamy Homes.
I used the suburban communities of Milton in the GTA and Stittsville in Ottawa.
VERDICT: The price gap between these properties was even more than what I was expecting. I really think that if a buyer in Toronto is willing to pay those prices right now it is only a matter of time before Ottawa gets to that level. I have said it for years and I believe now people are starting to realize that Ottawa is a very undervalued real estate market. Just this week we were named the #7 city in the world for quality of life. Number 1 in North America (Wellington NZ was #1 in the world). If you want some assistance with your real estate needs our team is always happy to help!
Ottawa is now the hottest real estate market in Canada! Move over Toronto and Vancouver. The market strongly favours sellers in most neighbourhoods. It is a good time to be a seller! Inventory has been tight most of the year. This past week I have seen a glimpse of hope as we are starting to get some new listings in the suburban neighbourhoods. Hope this will help balance the market a little. It is a challenging for buyers right now (and buyer agents).
Let’s look at the numbers. The market statistics for April are in. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 4.2% over last April, sitting at $455,212. In the residential-class property segment, there were 1,616 units sold which is an increase of 9.5% over last April. In the condo market, 416 units sold…. which is an increase of 33.3% from last April. The condo prices in Ottawa increased by 0.3% with the average sale price at $269,294.
