For 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…
The 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…
TORONTO — 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…
The 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…
Members 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,…
COMMUNITY. The City of Ottawa will be changing certain street names in the Innes Ward that may be confusing. One of these streets is the portion of Belcourt Blvd. between Jeanne d’Arc and Innes Rd. When thinking about what the new name should be, residents of Belcourt put together a petition to recognize a local…
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 601 residential properties in January through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 626 in January 2015, a decrease of four per cent. The five-year average for January sales is 618. “The market momentum gained from the warmer weather in the latter part of 2015 has…
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 703 residential properties in December through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 638 in December 2014, an increase of 10.2 per cent. The five-year average for December sales is 653. The total number of residential and condo units sold through the Board’s MLS® System throughout…
The main risk of purchasing a foreclosure property, is that it is purchased on an “as is, where is” basis. Sometimes fixtures such as lights, faucets and cabinets may have been removed from the property or are damaged. The property is often left unclean with unwanted trash and items left behind. An additional risk to…
August 6, 2015 – Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,436 residential properties in July through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,440 in July 2014, a decrease of 0.3 per cent. The five-year average for July sales is 1,380. “Last July was the second best on record, and this July…