One trend I can see gaining some traction in Ottawa real estate over the upcoming few years is coach houses. A coach house is a separate dwelling detached from the principal house that sits on the same lot. Personally, I think with the right property and location this could be a viable option for people in lieu of a basement apartment or nanny flat. Could also be perfect for being a purpose-built Airbnb rental. Let’s explore some of the regulations the city has in place for this.
Basic requirements to qualify for a Coach Houses in Ottawa:
Secondary Dwelling Units and Coach Houses: The City allows for either a Secondary Dwelling Unit or a Coach House, but not both.
Primary Building Types and Coach Houses: The City only allows Coach Houses to be built on lots which have a single family, a semi-detached, duplex or some townhouses. Only a single family home will typically have the lot space to conform.
Maximum Size: The City restricts the maximum size to no greater than 40% of the footprint of the principal dwelling unit, up to a maximum footprint of 95 square metres, in the rural area and 80 square meters in the urban area and may not cover more than 40% of the backyard.
The height of a Coach House: for the City allows for a 1 storey Coach House as-of-right (straight to building permit) in the urban area and a 2 storey Coach House in the rural area on a lot 0.4 hectares or greater.
Setbacks for Coach Houses: The are two setback distances to the rear and interior side lot lines to choose from: Either a 1-metre maximum setback AND/OR a 4m minimum setback
Minimum Access Route: An unobstructed 1.2 m wide access is required from a public street or travelled lane to the Coach House. This access may comprise a driveway.
Parking: No parking is required for a Coach House dwelling.
Privately Serviced Coach House: Minimum lot size of 0.4 hectares and must share one service well or septic.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What does one cost: typical coach house is between $200 and $300 a square foot. That would put the cost of a 500 square-foot coach house in the range of $100,000 to $150,000, It can vary from builder to builder. This is just a guideline.
Can a Coach House get its own Address?
Yes, once the building permit has been applied for.
Can a Coach House have a separate servicing connection?
The coach house can be submetered.
Can I build a Coach House and a Secondary Dwelling Unit?
No.
This is just a synopsis of some of the guidelines for this style of purchase. For more information check with the city at www.ottawa.ca/coachhouse
If you are considering buying a home in Ottawa with the intention of building a coach house, call me to discuss. We can help you find a house that will fit in with your requirements.
The Ottawa real estate market is still pretty hot, especially considering the time of year. Many Ottawa home buyers are looking to purchase before the new mortgage rules are implemented in January. Prices are up again over last year. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 3.2% over last November, sitting at $418,354. It is the number of houses sold that is impressive. In the residential-class property segment, there were 945 units sold which is an increase of 24% over last November. In the condo market, 294 units sold which is an increase of 27.8%. With a combined total of 1239 units sold in November and an overall increase of 24.9%. The prices may not have increased much from last year’s November but the number of units sold shows how active the Ottawa real estate still is.
As always feel free to reach out if you are curious to whats happening in your neighbourhood. I am always happy to help.
The Ottawa housing market results are in and the numbers for the average sale prices are up again month over month. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 8.6% over last October, sitting at $425,256. The condos are up 6.9% sitting at $269,604.
Units sold cooled a little in the condo market last month as for the first time in awhile they dropped well below the double-digit mark. 261 Condo units were sold last month compared to 255 in October 2016.
All in all, this has been another very active month for Ottawa real estate Look at the increases in the home prices. Really surprising to see such big numbers over last year. Nobody predicted this. There is some concern that the new mortgage rules will cool that early in 2018. I am not so sure it will have a big impact on Ottawa. For the most part Ottawa, home buyers are more conservative than say Vancouver or Toronto buyers when it comes to how much of their income they put towards real estate. Buyers will end up affording about 20% less in purchase price with the new rules. It will force people to stay within their comfort zone in terms of what they purchase. Might slow things slightly short term but in the long run, it will ensure that we continue to have a healthy balanced real estate market in Ottawa.
The Ottawa housing market results are in and the numbers for the average sale prices are up again month over month. Our average price for a residential-class property was up 8.2% over last September, sitting at $416,464. The condos are up 3.9% sitting at $261,548.
The Ottawa condo market was busy again. Units sold are still in the double digits compared to last year at this time. 311 Condo units were sold last month compared to 269 in September 2016. The major strength in the condo market is still the number of units being sold.
This fall season continues to be very active for Ottawa buyers and sellers. There has been a slight slow down in units sold -1.6% for the residential-class. That coupled with the fact that demand is strong as let to a very active real estate market here in Ottawa. If you are curious to know whats happening in your neighbourhood please feel free to get in touch.
Earlier this week we were featured in the Ottawa Citizen. Check out the article here: Ottawa Citizen Article
The Fall season is almost upon us. The kids are getting settled into school and everyone is getting back into a routine. Our little man Aiden just had his first day of school. It was pretty hard seeing him board his school bus for the first time! Kids grow up quick.
The Ottawa housing market results are in and the numbers for August are very positive. Our average price for a residential class property was up 7.6% over last August. We are sitting at $420,355. We are up over 7% YTD. Incredible numbers really considering most economists predicted the opposite.
The Ottawa condo market was busy. The prices were down slightly by less than half a percent. The average price of an Ottawa condo was $270,768. Where I see strength is in the units sold. We are up 22% over last years numbers. This has really been a nice turnaround for condos this year.
This fall season will continue to be very active for Ottawa buyers and sellers. There are still many buyers in the marketplace who were unable to secure their home in the Spring/Summer due to increased competition and tight supply. I expect this trend to continue for at least the next 90 days. If you have any questions on the market please let me know.
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. Our local housing market continues to impress. In July the market was once again well ahead of where we were this time last year. Let’s look at the numbers.
These are the average numbers. There are some areas that are experiencing double digit increases over the same period last year. Anything West of downtown to Carlingwood would be in this category. Buyers want to be central and are willing to pay a hefty price to get there. Take Westboro/Carlingwood areas as an example. The average price here for a single is $758,000 that is up 11.5% from a year earlier.
Another reason for the strength in our market is that condo market is making a comeback. Much of the inventory that has been stale the last few years is being sold off. This has really helped to strengthen the market as a whole. Many condo owners (myself included) have rented their condos in the past few years waiting for better selling conditions. The time might be right to list for those condo investors. The condo market sold 332 units in July 2017 which is an increase or 19.4% compared to last years July.
Inventory continues to be an issue in some locations-especially in the central areas. The amount of new listings coming to market is lower than the 5-year average. Buyers are still patiently waiting for properties to come available. We are seeing a more active summer because many buyers were unable to secure their home in the Spring.
Interest Ratescould be a factor moving forward. As our economy strengthens it is natural that our key interest rate will rise. After many years of steady rates, we have finally seen a rise in the Bank of Canada rate. It recently increased by a 1/4 of a percent. Lenders have since followed suit. This will add about $12 more per month on average for every 100k of a mortgage. It will affect affordability but not enough to cool the Ottawa housing market. Something to keep our eye on. Ottawa is such a spread out city. There are different market trends happening in each micro market of the city. If you are curious to whats happening your neighbourhood let me know. I would be happy to provide you with a list of Ottawa homes that have recently sold around you.
The real estate market in Ottawa is often a very competitive place to purchase real estate. When a house is listed that shows well and is priced aggressively it will often attract more than one buyer. This creates a multiple bid situation. I have been in this situation too many times to count. Twice in the last week! In many of the cases, my clients are the ones who end up securing the house. I want to share with you a few tips that help make this happen.
Firstly, I think getting the right Realtor® working for you will be the most important step. Someone who can be a guide through this complicated process. A thorough review of the market is also very important. Often times multiple bids are created because a house is under-valued as compared with other listings that have sold in the area. This means that even though a buyer might pay more than list price for a home they are not necessarily paying over market value.
Price is often the most important factor in an offer, but not always. For most people, there is a human element in selling their house. I like to present my offers directly to the seller in multiple bids. Basically, tell them how wonderful my clients are-which is usually true! I have had sellers more than once choose my clients’ offer that was less money. One time over $3000 less!
Conditions also play a factor. Having too many conditions or long timelines can make an offer less attractive. In some cases, If the house is perfect then I suggest a pre-offer inspection. This way we can put forward a firm offer when the bid time comes. This will strengthen the offer considerably.
Multiple bids will always be a part of the home buying process. You might win some or lose some. Just remember things always have a way of working out in the end. If it is meant to be it will be!
Ottawa’s market has been thriving for the first half of 2017. Month over month we are seeing an increase in units sold and average sale prices increasing from last year. Compared to last year at this time, Ottawa homes sales units in both residential and condos property classes are up 13.5%. The average residential sale price for June 2017 was $434,502 up 8.8% from last year’s June and the average condo sale price for June 2017 was $289,950 up 9.4% over last year’s June. The number of Condo units sold per month continues to stay strong with an increase of 23.3% compared to last year’s June. This is the 5th year in a row the number of units sold both residential and condo properties have increased in June. The demand is still high right now in certain neighbourhoods. I predict that in the second half of the year we will continue to see record-setting prices for units sold and average price.
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
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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