Month: October 2016

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Ottawa REALTORS® help build the foundation for Habitat home

On October 19th, the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s (OREB) REALTORS Care® Committee, President, President-Elect, and Board staff participated in a Habitat for Humanity build on behalf of the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.

This year, Habitat for Humanity GO (Greater Ottawa) is building a single-family home in Carleton Place, in partnership with their new Carleton Place Chapter. The two-storey home, which will be completed in the late fall, will be purchased with an interest-free, long-term mortgage by the Michaelis family, a local hard-working, low-income family.

As part of a commitment to improving the community we live in, the Board’s REALTORS Care® Committee has opted to participate in a Habitat build day each year, using the funds donated from the previous year. This is the fourth year in a row that REALTORS® and staff have participated in a build. This year, they helped to build up the remaining foundation walls by using blue blocks called ICFs (or Insulated Concrete Forms) and rebar, framed basement windows, and filled in foundation cracks with expanding foam in preparation for concrete pouring.

“This is the second Habitat build I have participated in with OREB, and it’s a great feeling to help make a difference in the life of a local family,” says Shane Silva, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board are concerned about the housing needs of everyone, so we are very pleased to be able to help out with this worthy cause.”

Since 1993, Habitat GO has built 52 homes in the Greater Ottawa area, completed nine renovations, and housed more than 60 families. Together, they are committed to giving families a hand up, not a hand out.

No fall(ing) back in Ottawa’s resale market

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,371 residential properties in September through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,241 in September 2015, an increase of 10.5 per cent. The five-year average for September sales is 1,171.

“Again this month, we have broken the record for residential and condominium units sold, with 200 more units sold than the five-year average for September sales,” says Shane Silva, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “With average sale prices remaining virtually unchanged since the beginning of the year, this could be an indication that prices have adjusted to market expectations and sales have rebounded as a result.”

September’s sales included 269 in the condominium property class, and 1,102 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases, and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

“Units listed in both residential and condominium property classes continue to decline,” indicates Silva. “From 2,076 listed in September 2015 to 1,822 listed in September 2016 for residential properties, and from 637 listed in September 2015 to 588 listed in September 2016 for condominium sales. With fewer listings coming on to the market, combined with recent higher unit sales, overall inventory is declining. The basic economics of supply and demand at play will continue to have an impact on the Ottawa resale market.”

The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in September in the Ottawa area was $383,793 a decrease of 0.1 per cent over September 2015. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $252,136, a decrease of two per cent over September 2015. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

“The hottest segments in our market for September continue to be two-storey and bungalow residential homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range, followed by one-level and two-storey condos in the $200,000 to $300,000 and the $100,000 to $200,000 price range” says Silva. “In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members have assisted clients with renting almost 2,500 properties since the beginning of the year.”