Posts Tagged ‘Buying in Ottawa’
Posted on: July 7th, 2017 by Chris Scott
Last week MoneySense magazine announced the best place to live in Canada. No surprise to me that Ottawa reigns as number #1. Back to back champs!
Based on employment rate, household income, health, weather, crime rate, transit and much more Ottawa has been ranked the best place to live in Canada 2017. Ottawa is not the boring government town we have been labelled as in the past. Honestly, I’ve never felt that way about Ottawa myself. There is so much culture here and frankly being the best city in the best country is pretty good. Real estate is also reasonably affordable if you consider just how good we have it to live here.
With the new successful development of the Landsdown Park and our Grey Cup Champions Ottawa Redblacks, it is has brought lots of new fun and excitement back to the city. This year with the Ottawa Senators making it to the NHL semi-finals the cities energy was at an all-time high.
Ottawa has something to offer everyone each weekend. Events we love such as Bluesfest, Winterlude, Busker Festival, Tulip Festival or yoga on the hill and skating on the canal, how could we ever be called boring? On top of that, only 20 min outside of the city is skiing, hiking, and beautiful cottage country. We love our city and we are not surprised to be ranked #1 two years in a row. #WeLoveOurCity #ProudOttawarian
Posted on: June 6th, 2017 by Chris Scott
RAINING SALES IN OTTAWA
It was raining sales in the Ottawa real estate market last month. Amid one of the rainiest months ever, we also experienced the busiest real estate market in Ottawa history. We absolutely shattered the previous record by over 315 units. The Ottawa residential market has been hot for a while now but the condo market is also coming alive which is leading to this extremely active market. Condos sales activity is up 44.6% over May of last year. In total 2300 units were sold last month! That is up from 1919 units sold in May of 2016. This includes both condos and residential freeholds.
In most neighbourhoods, Ottawa is in a seller’s market. There is just not much inventory and lots of demand. Multiple offer situations are very prevalent in the central neighbourhoods. Freehold prices are up 7.4% over May of 2016 while Condo’s are up 2.4% over May of last year.
Now more than ever it is important to get the advice of an agent. Pricing/marketing strategies are different for every neighbourhood. If you are interested to see what your home would sell for in this market please feel free to get in touch.
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Posted on: May 5th, 2017 by Chris Scott
The balanced market of the past few years has seemed to evaporate overnight. The market is extremely competitive right now in Ottawa. A shortage of good inventory and favorable demand has shifted the balance towards the sellers. Bidding wars are once again a common practice here in Ottawa. The exception this year is that some of the bidding wars are escalating high above the listing prices. In one instance I witnessed a home sell for 100k more than a sellers list price. It started in March and was mostly contained to the central urban market. Neighbourhoods like Hintonburg and Westoboro are especially hot. That heat has extended to the suburban market, It is not as active but in some segments of the market, every well-priced home is in multiples. As an example, it took my clients 5 offers to secure a Kanata townhouse. They were over asking on all 4 of the previous bids. Every neighbourhood has different trends. Much it will depend on the available inventory in each area. Comes back to simple economics sometimes. Low supply + high demand = Craziness in the Ottawa market.
Let’s examine the April resale numbers for the Ottawa market:
This upwards push is fuelled by a combination of high consumer confidence and good local economic conditions. Houses sold over 1M doubled this April compared to last year. There were over 83 properties sold in the 7 digits! This is an interesting trend to keep an eye on. If you have questions about your neighbourhood trends feel free to get in touch.
Posted on: April 5th, 2017 by Chris Scott
The Ottawa Real Estate market is heating up. Price gains for both residential and condo units are up 5.3% year over year. The average sale price of a residential property was $415,467 and $272,597 for condos. Sales are up 28% over last year and we are just shy of the all-time record for March sales.
The core of the city is as active as I have seen it in years. There are limited inventory and lots of demand. This has created many situations where sellers are getting much more than asking price. In one instance I witnessed a home sell for 100k over asking price. It is a challenging market for buyers right now. Especially in the areas around Wellington village and Hintonburg. These areas are experiencing multiple bids on almost every house!
In the suburbs, the economics are more balanced. There is a reasonable amount of inventory and multiple bid situations are rarer. However, it is more active than in years past. It is going to make for a very interesting Spring market. The traditional busy season is still yet to be upon us.
The market has different patterns depending on your neighbourhood and category of home. If you are interested to know what’s happening in your neighbourhood, feel free to get in touch.
