Month: September 2018

ARCHIVE

Ottawa REALTORS® Don’t Just Sell Homes, They Help Build Them

On September 13, 2018, the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s (OREB) REALTORS Care® Committee, President, Past President, Directors, Members, and Board staff participated in a Habitat for Humanity build on behalf of the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.

On September 13, 2018, the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s (OREB) REALTORS Care® Committee, President, Past President, Directors, Members, and Board staff participated in a Habitat for Humanity build on behalf of the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.

“It was very fulfilling to be able to contribute to a family’s journey towards homeownership in this way,” states Ralph Shaw, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “The sheer amount of time, hard work and energy that is required to build a house from the ground up was an eye-opening experience. I have profound appreciation and respect for the great work that Habitat for Humanity GO provides our local community.”

REALTORS Care® Committee Chair, Deborah Burgoyne adds, “OREB’s Members are very concerned about the housing needs of our community, and we feel that everyone deserves a safe, decent, and affordable home. We are pleased to be able to play a role in ensuring that happens – one family at a time.”

As part of a commitment to improving the community we live in, the Board’s REALTORS Care® Committee has participated in a Habitat build day every year using funds donated from the previous year. This is the sixth year in a row that REALTORS® and staff have participated in a build. This year, they helped to install windows, drywall, and ductwork as well as tuck taping Tyvek.

Leacross Landing is Habitat for Humanity GO’s (Greater Ottawa) largest project to date and will eventually consist of 16 townhomes at the corner of Jeanne d’Arc Blvd. and Fortune Dr. in Orleans. Four townhomes were completed in 2017 with four families already in residence. Phase Two broke ground in June 2018 with an expected completion of four more townhomes by December 2018.

Since 1993, Habitat GO has partnered with 76 families in the Greater Ottawa area. Together, they are committed to giving families a hand up, not a handout. Future homeowners build their homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

Summer Ends, Active Real Estate Market Continues…

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,586 residential properties in August through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,535 in August 2017, an increase of 3.3 per cent. The five-year average for August sales is 1,417. August’s sales included 1,188 in the residential property class, relatively unchanged from a year ago, and 398 in the condominium property class, an increase of 10.9 percent from August 2017.

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,586 residential properties in August through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,535 in August 2017, an increase of 3.3 per cent. The five-year average for August sales is 1,417. August’s sales included 1,188 in the residential property class, relatively unchanged from a year ago, and 398 in the condominium property class, an increase of 10.9 percent from August 2017.

“Our real estate market has had a busier than usual summer season, and we are shaping up for a busy fall period as well,” affirms Ottawa Real Estate Board President Ralph Shaw. “An active market is likely to be the new normal for the foreseeable future,” he speculates.

The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in August in the Ottawa area was $433,684, an increase of 3.1 per cent over August 2017. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $276,720, an increase of 2.2 per cent from August 2017.*

“Ottawa continues to be an affordable place to buy property and is experiencing sensible price growth more in line with inflation. Our inventory is very low (18% off last year’s inventory level) but other than some pockets of the city, prices have not yet been significantly affected,” Shaw reflects.

“The reason we aren’t yet supply problematic, like some other markets, is that we have the ability to expand in all directions — stretching the buyer’s purchasing power. Within an easy 30-minute commute, there are surrounding communities with reasonably priced single-family homes and all the fundamental needs supplied within these neighbourhoods.”

The $300,000 to $449,999 range remains the most active price point in the residential market, accounting for 45 per cent of home sales while the $500,000 to $750,000 price range represented a robust 22 per cent of residential home sales this past month. Between $175,000 to $274,999 was August’s most active price point in the condominium market, accounting for almost 56 per cent of the units sold.

“The demand for condos continues to be a driving factor in the Ottawa real estate market, likely due to the lack of rental availability. This is helping ease the oversupply of condos we experienced in the past,” Shaw points out. “Hopefully this will encourage developers to move forward with their stalled condominium projects, especially if the light rail is a go in November.”

In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members assisted clients with renting 1,890 properties since the beginning of the year.

* The Board cautions that the average sale price 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 calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Price and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.