The average sale price last year for residential properties across the city was $486,600. Ottawa’s housing market appears trapped in a troublesome cycle. Fewer than 1,800 residential homes and condominiums were listed for sale at the end of December, according to data published Monday by the Ottawa Real Estate Board. While this suggests reasonable…
DetailsLaunching earlier this week, the federal government’s new home buyers program aims to help nearly 100,000 Canadians achieve their home ownership dreams while helping with the monthly payments. The programs offer a 5% down payment amount for default insured mortgages, 10% for new construction, as a no interest second mortgage. There are some prominent conditions…
DetailsMembers of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,731 residential properties in August through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,581 in August 2018, an increase of 9.5 per cent. August’s sales included 1,300 in the residential-property class, up 9.7 per cent from a year ago, and 431 in the condominium-property category, an…
DetailsMembers of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,005 residential properties in February, compared with 978 in February 2018, an increase of 2.8 per cent. February’s sales included 756 in the residential property class, a rise of 3.8 per cent from a year ago, and 249 in the condominium property class, a decrease of 0.4…
DetailsYou could be forgiven if you’ve paid no mind to Ottawa’s real estate market as the action in Toronto and Vancouver has stolen the headlines. But those in the know are already seeing Canada’s capital as a market to watch in 2018 and beyond. Bank of Montreal Senior Economist Robert Kavcic wrote the Ottawa real…
DetailsA significant divide has opened up in Ottawa’s housing market, as the city’s economic centre of gravity shifts to the west. The split has been growing for months but rarely has it been as clear as it was in August. While the benchmark price for single family homes climbed 6.6 per cent year over year…
DetailsAs you and your family enjoy the last days of summer, you might already be anticipating the cold weather that is coming. Many people become so busy with the onset of the school year, or life in general, that cooler air arrives before they are ready for it. That’s why it makes sense to start…
DetailsToday marks a rare moment for many of my variable-rate borrowers because the Bank of Canada hasn’t raised its overnight rate in more than seven years, which means there are many among this group who have never experienced a rate rise (this is the part where the older generations shake their heads). Well, after years…
DetailsOttawa’s housing market is becoming much livelier with realtors reporting a nearly nine per cent jump in June year over year, in prices and number of transactions alike. The average sale price for residential properties in Ottawa was up 8.8 per cent to reach $434,500 in June, while prices for condominiums surged 9.4 per cent…
DetailsAlthough the Province has just announced the 15% Non-Resident Speculation tax, there are already more questions than answers. Here is what you need to know. The tax is for non-residents of Canada buying 1-6 residential units in the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario. This tax is in addition to any Land Transfer Tax payable. It…
DetailsOTTAWA, May 3, 2017 – Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,795 residential properties in April through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,711 in April 2016, an increase of 4.9 per cent. The five-year average for April sales is 1,613. “The April resale market continued its upward trend in units sold,…
DetailsA real estate transaction can be an exciting thing to experience, but it can also be nerve-wracking and stressful. Your experience will largely depend on the circumstances surrounding your transaction and, perhaps more importantly, the agent you’re working with. A great agent will not only get you over the finish line to the best of…
DetailsEffective March 17, 2017, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Genworth Canada are increasing premiums for mortgage loan insurance. The higher premiums will impact homeowners with an insured mortgage with a loan to value greater than 65%. What you need to know – keeping in mind that loans under 80% loan to value…
DetailsFor those looking for a deal, distressed and foreclosed properties (called “power of sale” in Ontario) can offer a great opportunity. Lenders are looking to unload the property and will often offer a discount to do so quickly. But the process of buying a foreclosed home can differ a little from traditional home sales. Here are some things…
DetailsThe Bank of Canada announced today that it is holding the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5% with an optimistic outlook, noting that “federal and provincial measures are still expected to support growth in 2017” and predicting “a return to full capacity around mid-2018” as earlier projected in October. The Bank factored in Trump’s tax…
DetailsTORONTO — Ontario is doubling the rebate on the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers to $4,000 in an effort to help them enter the housing market, but it is raising the same tax on homes that sell for over $2 million. Finance Minister Charles Sousa said first-time buyers won’t pay any land transfer tax…
DetailsThe Federal Government has announced yet another important mortgage rule change in efforts to cool the housing market by implementing what they call a “stress test”. In other words qualifying for a mortgage just got a whole lot more difficult. Effective October 17th all insured mortgages are required to QUALIFY for their mortgage using the…
DetailsMembers of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,491 residential properties in July through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,430 in July 2015, an increase of 4.3 per cent. The five-year average for July sales is 1,413. “Sales continue to outpace 2015 numbers both in monthly and year-to-date comparisons,” says Shane Silva,…
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