This standard form was created by the Ontario Real Estate Association. It is completed by the listing party and contains information about the house being sold based on the Seller’s knowledge and experience in the house. Some Ottawa home buyers will ask for this as part of an offer.
Sellers are not required by law to complete this form. If you do, then your agent is required to acknowledge its existence and inform all potential Buyers. If the Buyer, however, makes an offer conditional upon having an SPIS, then the Seller either has to complete one, scratch it off the offer or decide not to sell to that Buyer.
There are legal implications associated with an SPIS. If a Seller has completed an SPIS, he/she could be held accountable if the information is incorrect or misleading.
Agents are obliged to make Sellers aware of the implications of an SPIS and the importance of accuracy and also that the Sellers are not legally required to provide this information. However, sellers must disclose all material facts with or without an SPIS.
April turned out to be the best month for unit sales since 2010! Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,714 residential properties in April through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,567 in April 2015, an increase of 9.4%. The five-year average for April sales is 1,568.
Also in April, 3,644 homes were listed – up 13.8% since March but down 2.8% over April, 2015. Inventory levels remain healthy heading into what is normally the most active month of the year. April seemed extremely busy so if May is expected to be even busier, hold onto your hats!!
The average sale price of a residential class property sold in April in the Ottawa area was $403,603, an increase of 0.2% over April 2015. The average sale price for a condominium class property was $261,017, a decrease of 1.8% over April 2015. The hottest segments of our market for April were sales in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range. Residential 2-storey and bungalows had the highest concentration of buyers in April.
If you, or someone you know, is thinking of buying or selling, please give me a call. I’m happy to help.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,166 residential properties in March through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,200 in March 2015, a decrease of 2.8%. The five-year average for March sales is 1,220. It is, though, a definite increase from the previous month sales – 256 more properties.
Properties are starting to sell more quickly, indicating we are heading into our busy spring market. In March, 3,203 homes were listed – up 38.6% since February.
The average sale price of a residential class property sold in March in the Ottawa area was $394,951, an increase of 2% over March, 2015. The average sale price for a condominium class property was $258,714, an increase of 2.4% over March, 2015. Canada’s capital continues to be a great place to buy and sell real estate!
Every neighbourhood has slight differences so please do give me a call if you are thinking of buying or selling – or know of somebody else who is. Referrals are very important to the success of my business so please do think of me when it comes to real estate.
According to CMHC, MLS® sales are expected to remain flat between now and the end of 2016 and in spite of flat sales and rising listings, balanced market conditions will prevail in 2015. Listings will edge higher in 2016 and, as a result, the average price of a resale home will show a small increase.
Total housing starts are expected to decrease slightly mostly due to a reduction in condo apartment starts. The inventory of completed and unsold condo units will gradually decrease causing starts to edge up again in 2016.
Housing demand is expected to remain steady in Ottawa in 2015 due to low mortgage rates and affordable prices. This may change in 2016 with modest price growth and potentially higher mortgage rates.
An increase in the supply of secondary rental market units will provide more options for renters this year but this will be short-lived as the demand for rental units is expected to increase in 2016.
If you are curious about property values in your Ottawa neighbourhood feel free to get in touch.
Every year I go through statistical reports from CMHC, top brokerages, economists, and our local real estate board. My objective in this research is to try and get a feel for where the market is heading in the upcoming year. I also poll other Realtors in my office to try and get a gauge on the pulse of the market. 2015 has been the most challenging to predict.
I think we are facing a new reality for Ottawa’s real estate market. I am not Nostradamus but I feel I can almost predict what the next few years will bring. Houses will take longer to sell and prices will be very flat with little or no change. CMHC predicts increases in line with inflation. This is good news. Other economists are predicting a decrease in price in the upcoming year. For many the prospect of this is frightening. Many of us have a significant portion of our net worth tied to the value of our home.
With 3 properties in Ottawa I can relate. However, I am not worried. We just purchased an investment property late this year. I understand the next few years could be challenging but it is the long-term 10-20 year big picture I am most interested in. Ottawa has historically had a resilient real estate market. We still have good economic fundamentals and the long term projected growth of the city will eventually tilt the favor back to sellers.
These more challenging market conditions make it imperative for both buyers and sellers to be aligned with an experienced and qualified real estate professional.
We were talking today about some embarrassing moments being a Realtor. I have had a few. The front runner was pretty easy to identify.
I was waiting in my car for my chance to present an offer on behalf of my clients. We were in a multiple bid situation. It was an unusually dark night. I had a junior agent with me and was teaching him how to present offers. I felt pretty cool that I was a senior agent. It was late, must have been 10pm.
Anyways, I was called to present and had one thing on my mind- get this deal together for my clients. As I approached the front door I could see everyone looking at me at the dining room table. The door was open so I walked right in. However, I failed to spot the mesh wire of a front screen door and walked into it at a very fast pace. If you have ever been fortunate enough to witness someone walking into a screen door you can appreciate just how hilarious it looks. Not the first impression I was looking for. I think the screen actually bounced me back into the junior agent. It was like walking into a trampoline!! Some of the screen also ripped open on the side. It did break the ice! The sellers were cool.
We all had a good laugh at my expense. I felt they may have laughed a little longer then I would have liked. But in the end everyone left happy. The sellers got more then asking, the buyers a house, and the junior agent left with a good story.
Imagine going into a bidding war on a house against your best friend.
Well, I was the Realtor caught in the middle.
It was a cold, snowy night in Ottawa. I was on my way to show a house that had just come on the market to some really close friends of mine. It looked to be a perfect fit for them. It had only been on the market for a few hours. As I approached the house I got another call from another couple and very goods friends who wanted to see the same listing. You have to understand that these two clients were also very close friends themselves(in each others wedding party’s close). My first thought when I got the call was that this was going to be awkward. But really….what was the chance of this house being “the one” for both of them?
Well, that question was answered about an hour later. After showing it to each of them back to back; my first thought was bang on. This was going to be awkward!
They both loved the house and wanted to place an offer on it. We couldn’t find a solution where everyone was happy. So…. they went into a bidding war. What are the chances of facing off against a good friend for the same house!!!
I excused myself from dealing with my second friend (because they were call #2) and set them up with a top Realtor in another office. That way everything we did was confidential and I wasn’t in the more awkward position of representing both parties.
Naturally, the client I was working with ended up securing the house 🙂 In the end my inspector Sean uncovered some issues the seller was trying to conceal. That was the end of that house. In the daylight some of the craziest neighbours I have ever seen were also revealed……but that is a story for another day.
All that agony, awkwardness, sleepless nights and no deal!
We have laughed about this many times since. Both clients found great houses shortly thereafter and we are all still good friends today. It could have been a lot worse!
It was a beautiful sunny morning in the capital. I was driving on a quiet Centertown street with a speed limit of 40km/hr. heading to show a house to a great client.
As I approached the house I saw my client and waved. I checked the mirrors and went to make a three point turn. Out of nowhere, a car smashed into the side of my SUV. It was travelling at over 130 km/hr. The only reason I survived was because their back end smashed my front end as they were swerving out of control.
What happens next is shocking. The car that hit me crashed into other parked cars. I expect them to finally stop but no, they start speeding away! That is when the police cars fly by. About 8 in total. Guy had just robbed a bank and was in a police pursuit. One cop stopped to make sure I was ok then went off in the chase.
Felt like I was on a movie set. Except I had a job to do! Takes more than a high speed police chase and accident to stop me from doing what I do. I showed my buyer the house as we waited for the police to come back. Clients come first!
FYI-cops got their man a few blocks away in a foot pursuit.
In the Ottawa housing market, it is more likely to find condominiums than it is to find co-operatives – but you should know the differences between them before you start to look.
Condominium ownership
The homeowner owns the unit and shares ownership of common elements. Condos are usually apartment buildings, but also include townhouse developments and developments of detached buildings on private roads.
The homeowner is responsible for the interior area of the unit (everything from the plaster in). The condo association is responsible for the up-keep of the exterior of the building, common interior elements (halls, elevators and parking garages, for example) and the grounds.
All condo owners pay a monthly fee to the condominium association to cover maintenance costs and common utility fees and taxes.
Condos often have strict rules regarding noise, use of common areas and renovations to units. Condominium residents often enjoy less privacy than residents of detached homes.
Condos are usually less expensive than freehold houses.
Co-operative ownership
Co-operatives (or co-ops) are similar to condos but instead of owning your unit, you own a share in the entire building or complex.
Co-op residents pay for maintenance and repairs through monthly fees and are subject to the rules and regulations of the co-op board.
If you decide to sell your shares and move out, the co-op board has the right to reject your prospective buyer.
When you have decided to purchase an Ottawa Condo – or a co-operative, it costs you absolutely nothing to engage the services of a knowledgeable Realtor®. The seller (whether new or resale) covers the brokerage fees.
