Posts Tagged ‘Ottawa Real Estate’

WATERCOOLER THOUGHTS

Posted on: September 14th, 2021 by Chris Scott

 

If anyone is interested. Here are some random thoughts on a few things real estate and otherwise.

Capital Gains on Primary Residences?

This is not going to happen. I have been asked this a few times this past month. Governments want to get elected again and having 100% of homeowners against them will not help their chances. Could they increase the capital gains on investment properties or flipping. I believe that could be the case. But they will never come after our gains on our primary residence.

Changing Market

Sellers really need to start having better expectations of what they are going to get in this market. I recently priced out a house that may have gotten $1 million as a sale price in April. Right now, I’m seeing that it may be more like 925 to 950k. The seller seemed very disappointed at this number. This is a house that would’ve been worth 775 last year. I would still say it was a very good investment we are just not selling at the all-time high right now.

The Power of Staging

One of the hardest things to do as a real estate consultant is showing people the value of staging. It is hard because there is no clear return on investment. What I mean by that is when you do the staging there’s no set amount that you’re going to get back by doing it. It is all based on my experience as a realtor and seeing firsthand that home preparation is the number one way to increase what a client will get for their house. I spent $3000 staging my own house and Colin from our team spent over $2000 staging his home for sale. There is a reason we invested in this process.

Pandemic Fatigue

Anyone else feel that they need the world to go back to normal ASAP? In many ways, this Fall is hopefully going to bring some normalcy with kids back in school. For me as a business owner, team leader, realtor, friend, and most importantly father and husband it has been so difficult to feel like I am succeeding at any one of these important tasks. I feel like I’m doing OK but just not flourishing if you know what I mean. In many ways, I need to relearn the good habits that I had in place before covid started. Also, anyone else dressing a lot more casually? Lulu dress pants are now my go-to!

Current Favourites

The best snack mix going right now is the Cajun mix at Farm Boy, another favorite is Farm Boy’s chocolate-covered pretzels. A close second are Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle chips. Anyone one else developing a snacking habit? We have snack-a-palooza’s at least twice a week.

Recent Reads

Right now, I am reading Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey. Good life story. It is funny and interesting. Alright, Alright, Alright!

Also, reading The Song of Achilles. So far so good.

Best of TV

Right now the best thing on TV are the Blue Jays! Loving the streak and playoff push.

 

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: AUGUST 2021

Posted on: September 14th, 2021 by Chris Scott

This Fall will be an interesting real estate market to monitor in Ottawa. I think it will be very active but prices will continue to stabilize. I am already feeling a shift. Showing activity is down and buyers are not quite as willing to pay a premium price on some listings. They are starting to get more patient or are just burnt out from the year that was. It is important to understand that buying a home within set criteria is no easy feat right now.

August has brought us even more stabilization to the market and offering a bit more of an increase in housing stock at 1.5 months of inventory. This is still categorized as a seller’s market, as a balanced market is defined as 4-6.5 months’ worth of inventory. August’s inventory is approximately 5-6% higher than last year for both residential and condominium property classes.

The latest stats from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show a sharp decrease in sales compared to last year’s numbers due to the first wave lockdown in Spring 2020, which shifted 2020’s usual Spring market to the Summer and Fall months. However, August 2021 numbers are on par with August 2017 and 2018.

Last month there were 1,175 residential properties sold, compare that to 1,568 in August 2020, a decrease of 25%. Condominium-property class sales were 397, a decrease of 9% from August 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in August is 1,684.

Year-to-date resales are at 14,728 and are 24% higher than this period in 2020, indicating Ottawa’s market is currently in another strong year.

August’s average sale price for a condominium-class property was $407,148, an increase of 6% from last year, while the average sale price for a residential-class property was $674,449, an increase of 14% from a year ago.

With year-to-date average sale prices at $722,526 for residential and $420,654 for condominiums, these values represent a 27% and 18% increase over 2020, respectively.

“Supply continues to remain scarce, and that is the driving factor behind these price increases. New listings were down 400 units from July and 500 units from last August and below the 5-year average for the first time this year since February.” states Ottawa Real Estate Board President Debra Wright.

“We are pleased to see that housing affordability and the supply shortage have been a predominant part of election conversations and federal party platform pledges – which is a step in the right direction. We look forward to the collaboration between municipal, provincial, and federal governments to establish measures which will effectively address these fundamental barriers to homeownership for all Canadians who desire to own a home.” Debra adds.

As always if you are interested to know more about the market, or if you would like to know what a home in your area sold for, please get in touch!

 

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: JULY 2021

Posted on: August 10th, 2021 by Chris Scott

The Ottawa real estate market has continued to stabilize. The record rise in prices seems to be trailing off. This is welcome news for buyers. You can see this in the numbers that were released from the Ottawa Real Estate Board.

Last month there were 1,312 residential properties sold, compare that to 2,183 in July 2020 and there is a decrease of 20%. Condo properties sold numbered 412, down 24% from this time last year. Now last year we were coming out of a lockdown in Spring so those numbers are a bit inflated because the Spring market was pushed more to the summer months. Month over month prices are down for the 3rd consecutive month, although still nice gains year over year of 30% on residential class property and 20% on the condo class.

The frenzy that was a few months ago has settled. Instead of every property going into multiples it is now just the cream of the crop that attract the frenzy. Make no mistake this is still a seller’s market and some houses are still getting double digit offers. It is just not the norm. Sellers need to have realistic expectations of the current market conditions. Many sellers right now are coming in too high and are sitting on the market. They want to list high and get the bidding war. You can’t have your cake and eat it too! I think a hybrid approach is working best.

Housing stock is increasing with residential inventory up 19% and condominium supply up 23%, higher than 2020.
There were fewer listings in July vs. June, however, the number of properties that entered the market in July is over the five-year-average. This along with seeing housing prices stabilize, it seems we are headed towards a more balanced market in the months ahead.

As always if you are interested in knowing what is going on in your neighbourhood or have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

 

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: JUNE 2021

Posted on: July 13th, 2021 by Chris Scott

 

The talk of Ottawa the past few weeks has been the cooling real estate market. I just wanted to add some perspective on this. The market is most certainly changing but the first quarter of this year was so hot that we may never see that type of inventory shortage again in our lifetime. It is just not the same offer frenzy that we were used to. Buyers are spreading their offers around on different properties. Hopefully this will lead to more balance in the market.

The market is not the same as what it was and that is ok. It is still very much a seller’s market right now. Prices have stabilized and for the most part, sellers are still trying to achieve prices that comparable houses sold for a few months ago. In some areas that is still very achievable and in other cases those numbers are now out of reach.

Where do we go from here?

Prices have certainly stabilized over the past few months. Buyers still seem to be able and willing to pay the premium prices that sellers are demanding. There are fewer offers on properties but the pricing strategy has really changed. Sellers in many cases are now pricing at the mid to high end of the market. So instead of pricing a home 100k less than what they expect they may price it 20-50k less and if on offer date they don’t get an offer they likely will increase the price to match their expectations. Some sellers are still going way under their desired price and others are pricing right at the most recent comparable. This has created a very complicated marketplace. With so many strategies out there it is important to lean on your Realtors experience to help navigate you through it.

With year-to-date average sale prices at $734,357 for residential and $422,734 for condominiums, these values represent a 33 per cent and 20 percent increase over 2020, respectively. Pretty incredible numbers really.

Every house is unique. If you want to know what’s happening in your area please feel free to reach out.

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: MAY 2021

Posted on: June 15th, 2021 by Chris Scott

 

The market in Ottawa right now seems to be in transition. Homes are still selling at record prices but the upward trend in prices month over month seems to be leveling out. The first quarter of this year saw unprecedented price growth. That type of rapid appreciation can happen only over a shorter period of time. Now sellers are pricing at higher numbers to start and still hoping, and in some cases expecting buyers to bid way over the asking price. In many cases that is just not happening. Some sellers are not getting any offers on their offer date and transitioning to a more traditional offer anytime approach should they not get an offer. In some cases, they are raising their price too. List prices don’t mean much right now. If the property is priced right and is attractive to buyers then of course they can still generate many offers on the house. In general, most sellers are still getting multiple offers, but where it was 8-12 offers or more in April, now it is more like 3-5 offers.

There are also fewer viewings, but seller’s prices are also generally higher to start with. It all makes a very confusing market because there are so many strategies at play. I look forward to a time in the future where the price listed is the price the seller expects to sell for. It would make our market a whole lot easier to navigate for both buyers and sellers.

2,296 residential properties were sold in May, compared with 1,342 in May 2020, an increase of 71 per cent. May’s sales included 1,779 in the residential-property class, up 67 per cent from a year ago, and 517 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 85 per cent from May 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in May is 2,123. This is an important number because last May we were in a stricter lockdown and the numbers are skewed.

I predict the market to remain a sellers market for the remainder of the year, however prices are leveling out and there will be more options for desperate buyers out there. Every house and neighbourhood are different.

If you ever want to know about the activity in your neighbourhood or have any questions at all, please reach out to our team.

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: APRIL 2021

Posted on: May 13th, 2021 by Chris Scott

It is hard to believe that Ottawa has had lockdowns in April of last year and this year! This of course is going to have an impact on real estate sales. We are an essential service and I have had very few clients suspend their search due to the lockdown measures. The market is red hot of course but prices seem to be all over the place depending on the strategy the sellers are using. It is like wheel of fortune out there. You can list low and win a big number on offer day. If you list over actual retail value than your house may not get offers and you will be in a weird limbo that some sellers find themselves in. Finding the sweet spot price wise while not going over or too far under is what you need to do. Think of your Realtor as Bob Barker guiding you to the right price so you can play in the showcase showdown. Pricing has never been more important. Price too high and you could actually get far less for your property. It is not a great pricing system right now in the Ottawa real estate market and I hope it gets corrected. I long for the days of having standard prices where a list price actually means something. Until that happens we need to spin the wheel and play the game.

Stats for this month, which show year over year comparisons with 2020 are very skewed due to the State of Emergency declared in April 2020. April 2021 started off strong, however ended up tapering off due to the stricter lockdown order announcement that came mid-month.

We have had 166 per cent more residential sales this April versus this time last year and the average price for a residential property has seen an increase to $743,204, a 42 per cent increase from April 2020. Condos, also seeing an increase of 154 per cent in sales and average sale prices up 30 per cent at $427,145 compared to this time last year.

To show a true comparison 2,402 residential properties were sold in April, we can look at the 5 year average for April The five-year average for total unit sales in April is 1,830. That represents a sizable increase in sales.

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: MARCH 2021

Posted on: April 16th, 2021 by Chris Scott

It has been so interesting observing market trends over the past few weeks. There are some homes going way more than what they should be selling for while other ones are not getting offers on their pre-arrange offer date. I think many sellers are starting to list at the higher end of the market but that is not necessarily the right strategy. Buyers are conditioned to pay much more than asking and if they see a price at the high end of the market they assume they would have to pay way more to secure it. Often times those houses end up selling for less than they should be. The showing experience is also becoming more and more important. The well staged and presented homes are the ones going for the crazy prices. These are the ones that are capturing buyers hearts and getting them emotionally committed to the houses and subsequent bids.

We have had 47 per cent more residential sales this March versus this time last year and the average price for a residential property has skyrocketed up to $758,802, a 35 per cent increase from March 2020. This trend is also continuing with condos, seeing an increase of 65 per cent in sales and average sale prices up 18 per cent at $437,041 compared to this time last year.

The pandemic has brought us a once in a lifetime type of real estate market. The challenge I see moving forward is the supply issue could be here with us for the foreseeable future. Our city is growing and everyone wants to have home ownership. Why would you not when you see the type of equity homeowners are building. I do think things will get a bit easier in the next few months for buyers. In the past week I have seen more townhomes come to market than at any other time in the last year. I think townhome owners are seeing the relatively small gap between what their houses would sell for and getting into a larger single home.

As always feel free to reach out to me, or any member of our team if you would like to know what your home is worth or if you are interested in recent neighbourhood activity.

Stay safe and take care!

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: FEBRUARY 2021

Posted on: March 11th, 2021 by Chris Scott

The market has continued its red hot pace and is favored towards the seller. This seems to be how I am starting these write-ups over the past 13 months! Hard to believe considering we are one year into a pandemic. We have less than one months inventory available to buyers out there. To put it in perspective it is like going to the grocery store a year ago and seeing toilet paper being put on the shelves. How long did that last? If stores were setup for bidding wars I am sure they would sell those rolls for more. Not comparing toilet paper to housing, well kinda. The principals are the same. As a shopper I was legit frustrated last year because of the scarcity of the inventory.  My buyers out there are feeling the same. A few have decided to rent! Eventually things will get back to a more normal market. I predict that to start taking shape by summer. It will be favored to the sellers but prices will plateau. Interest rates may see a slight uptick and that should help cool this market a bit. It will still be hot for the rest of the year but not less than one months inventory hot.

The average sale price of a residential property up 27.2 per cent to $717,914 and the average sale price of a condo up 16.6 per cent to $407,971, compared to February 2020. These numbers are unheard of over the past 50 years. The competition for properties remains fierce!

February’s sales included 1,028 in the residential-property class, up 24 per cent from a year ago, and 362 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 19 per cent from February 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in February is 1,101.

Residential homes are experiencing the quickest turnarounds noticeable in the sharp decline of Days on Market (DOM) from 30 days in February 2020 to 14 days last month. Houses are getting snapped up quickly.

If you ever want to know what your home could sell for, or what the property down the street just sold for, please feel free to reach out to our team.

OTTAWA MARKET UPDATE: JANUARY 2021

Posted on: February 12th, 2021 by Chris Scott

Even in the midst of a stay-at-home order and a continuation of December’s lockdown, members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 964 residential properties in January through the Board’s MLS System, compared with 778 in January 2020, an increase of 24 per cent. January’s sales included 674 in the residential-property class, up 21 percent from a year ago, and 290 in the condominium-property category, an increase of 31 per cent from January 2020. The five-year average for total unit sales in January is 786.

Sellers were waiting until after the holidays to list their properties, causing listing activity to be up at the beginning of the month. This gave way to a restricted supply once the stay-at-home order came into effect mid-month. This of course has put strain on buyers. There is so much pent-up demand.

Inventory is up from December, it is still down substantially from last year at this time with 43% fewer properties on the market. This inventory shortage coupled with strong demand triggered a brisk pace to the market. We would have certainly seen higher sales numbers if there were more properties available because the demand is definitely there.

January’s average sale price for a condominium-class property was $380,336, an increase of 13 per cent from last year, while the average sale price of a residential-class property was $677,197, an increase of 31 per cent from a year ago. Compared to December, the average price for residential-class properties has increased by 12 per cent, and the average price for condominium-class units is 7 per cent higher.

If you are curious to know what’s happening in your Ottawa neighborhood let us know. We are always happy to help.

ANNUAL REAL ESTATE REPORT: OTTAWA 2021

Posted on: January 15th, 2021 by Chris Scott

OTTAWA REAL ESTATE REPORT

RECAP OF 2020: A Year We Will Never Forget

It was a record-breaking year of growth and price appreciation in Ottawa. Coming into 2020 our supply levels were at all time lows and demand was strong. When the COVID hit supply also dropped. The demand did not. Buyers were still very much interested in purchasing. Having a stable economy in Ottawa helped matters. The pandemic even brought other people who were not thinking about buying into the fold. Privacy and pools became high priorities for some buyers.

The end result was freehold prices up 20%! The average sale price was $582,267 in this category. Who would have thought that we would have record price appreciation in the midst of a pandemic. In the condo market prices soared over 19%! It would have been hard to predict these numbers before the start of the year. Even with the lack of inventory the number of units sold were way up too.

This thriving market is due to inventory shortage, multiple offer situations, record-low mortgage rates and buyers from larger markets. Ottawa is a resilient and sheltered market in comparison to others. Ottawa has secure government and tech sector employment that allowed many to work from home. 2021 will see a continuation of Ottawa’s solid resale market, real estate professionals were deemed essential workers and the market was only slightly shaken by the world-wide pandemic. This market is very active, insulated, and strong.

Average sales prices are for 2020 based on MLS sales.

Combined is for all property classes. Arrows are gains from 2019.

OTTAWA REAL ESTATE REPORT

FORECAST 2021 

We are entering the year in the midst of rising COVID cases and economic uncertainty. Not to mention some political unrest with our neighbours to the South. This is a unique place to begin. From a real estate market perspective, I look at the supply and demand metrics to determine where things may be going. We enter this year with very few homes for sale, the sales being recorded so far are noticeably higher than last year. Our supply is exceptionally low and demand still quite high. This will once again make Ottawa a very competitive market for 2021.

Ottawa is a growing city, and I am not sure there is a long-term solution to this price acceleration. Rising prices may be a common theme for the foreseeable future. The biggest change I see in the years to come is in the luxury market. There are many more 1M plus buyers out there now.

Half a million can barely afford you a townhouse now in suburbia. It is kind of surreal thinking about my average sale price in my first year in real estate. It was around $220,000.

I do predict that freehold prices will continue to appreciate at a higher level than condos. Many major projects in Ottawa are in the building stages with dozens more approved. At some point we will have enough condos to satisfy demand. That will come sooner than on the freehold side. Some condo owners have felt a bit trapped with COVID and working from home. I have had a few reach out to change into a freehold and have a bit more space to spread out.

OTTAWA REAL ESTATE REPORT

KEY INDICATORS

WORKING FROM HOME: THE NEW NORMAL

Ottawa’s solid public sector is a great foundational piece to our economy. This represents 20% of the workforce in Ottawa. These jobs are high earnings and are very secure. Ottawa is in a unique position to have so many jobs that can be done remotely. The high-tech sector in Ottawa has been booming, tech-giant Shopify has made working from home permanent for their employees. This has kept our local economy sheltered from what is happening elsewhere. It may also have an impact on where people decide to live. With many working from home permanently extra space is becoming more desirable.

 

SUPPLY TRENDS LOWER FOR FREEHOLDS & CONDO

This graph illustrates the supply available in the Ottawa real estate market. It is so interesting to see where we are from an inventory perspective when compared to the last 15 years. Supply remained low for 2020, and we are starting out 2021 with very little inventory.  This is the heartbeat of the market. As we witnessed in 2020 with inventory this low, prices were pushed way up as buyer competed for homes. Early 2021 seems to be trending in that direction as well. Will be an interesting year!

 

INCREASED USE OF TECHNOLOGY

I think that the way people buy and sell real estate will forever be impacted by COVID. This year has proven that we can do so much virtually. Our team has sold 10 homes to buyers from out of town (mostly military) who never actually stepped foot in the house they purchased until closing day. We would virtually walk them through the house and usually have a 3D tour to share with them. I am not suggesting everyone would have a comfort level with that. However, if you could have me walk you through a house while you are in the comfort of your own home, would that be beneficial? Some buyers are opting for this for the first visit and then coming through if they like what they saw on the virtual visit.

If you are curious about your home’s worth please fill in this form for a no-obligation market assessment.