Gooood morning all!
Not to sound like a broken record here, but YES the market is still very hot in Ottawa. YES, it’s bidding wars everywhere. HOWEVER, if you’re a buyer, there is hope for you.
We’re starting to see signs of things balancing out, and inventory levels are slowly climbing back up. About a month ago, we had around 900 freehold listings on the market. Today, we’ve got around 1250 active freehold listings. If we continue at this rate, things could balance out in about 3 months from now. While there’s no guarantee of anything, and we’re still a long way away, we may head into a more ‘balanced market’ in the not-to-distant future. This does not mean a crash, but more a return to modest price growth of 4 to 6% give or take (this is my best guess).
If anyone recalls what happened last year, the market slowed down in the summer time, only to go absolutely crazy again in the winter when there was no inventory left. So yeah, if there’s a slow down, that’s your opportunity as buyers or investors.
MARCH SALES STATS:
PRICE GROWTH: Average freehold home prices are up 13% compared to last March, while condos are up 10%. Yes, prices are still rising, and the market is hot, but there is hope for buyers. With inventory levels inching their way up, we may see things balance out in a few months time. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there in economic & political world, so we will see how this plays out.
AVERAGE HOME PRICES: the average sale price of a freehold residential home increased to $853,614 (up 14% over the past year) The average sale price of a condo increased to $479,405 (up 13%).
WHAT’S NEXT?:
Based on the current commodity price increases (gas, food, vehicles, etc), and the uncertain politic times on the horizon (is WWIII coming?), I will give the advice that I usually give; don’t do anything drastic like taking on more debt than you can handle, or buying a house way out of your price range. Always consult with a finance professional (trusted mortgage broker) and a good Realtor (market specialist). Keep in mind that Ottawa real estate is historically fairly insulated from the extreme market swings that are sometimes felt in cities like Toronto or Vancouver.
Every real estate deal should be analyzed individually as it is ALWAYS a case-by-case situation. No two cities are the same, no two neighborhoods are the same, and each property will perform somewhat differently. Consult with an expert before making a decision 😉
So, will the market return to normal soon? Currently, we have under 1 month of listing inventory (before it’s all sold). We need about 3 to 4 months of inventory for it to be a balanced market or buyer’s market. We gotta long way to go before things really ‘cool down’.
OTTAWA NEWS:
Increasing interest rates are certainly an important factor in our current market. There’s also government regulations that will affect things as well, such as the newly introduced ‘Non-Resident Speculation Tax’ or NRST. This will be a one time purchase tax of 20% for any non-Canadian-residents buying property anywhere in Ontario. Yep, that’s a considerable tax to pay for foreign buyers. More info at this link.
MORE regulations from the federal govt includes restricting foreign buyers from buying Canadian residential property for the next 2 years. There are various criteria to meet on this one, and you can get more details here and a CTV article here.
Also, if you’re interested in learning why & how a good Realtor will get you the most money for your property listing, you can check out my latest YouTube video where I compare a Realtor listing to an online auction listing. View the video here.
That’s it for this month. As always, if you have questions about anything real estate related, please ask! I’m always happy to help 🙂
CHRIS STEEVES
www.exprealty.com
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