Ottawa Market Looking Good says OREB

Ottawa, November 5, 2012 :As the leaves continue to fall in Ottawa, we are seeing an increase in units sold, as well as an increase in average sale price. Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,073 residential properties in October through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system, compared with 1,059 in October 2011, an increase of 1.3 per cent. The five-year average for October sales is 1,067.

“Compared to the five-year average, Ottawa is right on track, indicating that we are not experiencing a real estate downturn in Ottawa, but a slow, steady incline in units sold and average sale price,” notes Ansel Clarke, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “Ottawa continues to be great place to buy and/or sell a home.”

October’s sales included 237 in the condominium property class, and 836 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked 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.

The Ottawa market continues to be on track historically in regards to the number of sales to date as well. Since 1999 the number of sales through the MLS® System in Ottawa has ranged from a low of 11,329 to a high of 14,783. Sales for the first ten months of the year are at 12,768. Year-to-date average sale price is also up over 2011.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in October in the Ottawa area was $346,492, an increase of 2.5 per cent over October 2011. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $267,037, an increase of 3.0 per cent over October 2011. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $369,016, an increase of 1.8 per cent over October 2011. 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.

“Although the Ottawa market is characterized as stable and steady, there can be pockets of our market where fluctuations, such as larger increases in price, exist,” explains Clarke. “This is why it is important for buyers and sellers to talk to their Ottawa area REALTOR® for more information about the housing market outlook where they live, or want to live.”

* via the Ottawa Real Estate Board

Halloween is over, and there is nothing to be scared of in our market!

Halloween is now over and November has begun. Many people still seem frightened however and are continuing to ask me if I think that the prices in Ottawa are going to start dropping. My answer still remains the same. Don't hold your breath. There is nothing to be scared of in todays housing market in Ottawa. We are still considered one of the most stable markets in all of North America.

Here in Ottawa and Canada as a whole is doing just fine and has now begun to level off a little bit.

If you are thinking of buying a new home, you can rest assured that you will no longer be paying the inflated prices that we saw this past spring and summer.

If you were thinking of selling, there are still plenty of buyers out there looking to take advantage of the historically low interest rates that we still have.

That combined with the fact that here in Ottawa we are quite stable and despite what people say, in my opinion, prices are NOT going down they are just balancing out.

Feel free to contact me at anytime if you have any questions at all about the real estate market here in Ottawa and its surrounding areas.



Sincerely,


Andrew Miller
Sales Representative
Keller Williams Ottawa Realty Ltd.
Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated
610 Bronson Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 4E6
Office: (613) 236-5959
Direct: (613) 447-7669
Fax: (613) 235-1515
Email: amiller@kwottawa.ca

Market Outlook for 2012 is looking good!

I just finished up at a 2012 Mortgage Outlook with CMHC today. There were a lot of great things said. Mainly that Ottawa's housing market is in great shape to be living right now and for the future! I know there was recent press about that and may have you believing otherwise, but here are a few notes that I took in from todays meeting that could change your mind.

- Ottawa is currently in a strong balanced market, and prices expected to RISE with rate of inflation.
A 2.7% increase in home prices over the year is projected.

- Ottawa is definitely more stable as compared to other markets in Canada. So don't believe everything you see on TV

- Average employment by the government in 2002-08 was approx 95k, while average in 2008-12 was just shy of 120k.

- The government cuts that we are hearing of now represent approximately 1.5% job loss. That isn't as large of an
impact as most are thinking or hearing about.

- Other job sectors are still growing.

- Ottawa is at the top of the employment rate at 84.9%(ages 25-45) second only to Kitchener.

- Ottawa has grown approx. 47% in terms of income over the last 11 years and Ottawa has the highest weekly salaries anywhere in canada at just over $1000.

- Mortgage rates are still historically low, there is no better time to be buying! I've heard a recent deal was 3.89% for 10 year fixed!!! That's insane.

- Average of approx. 6000 immigrants per year are coming to Ottawa. 50% are economic immigrants meaning that they have degrees and support job growth. This combined with other factors translate to approx 5800 new houses a year required here in Ottawa.

- New homes are sitting at about 24% higher pricing then resale homes.

I think all this information I gathered says it all. The Ottawa housing market is fantastic. Rates are lower than most of us will see in our lifetimes. Prices aren't going down like some people may be telling you. There's not many times like this to be buying and selling homes.

Canadian Housing Market Looking Strong!

Canada’s housing market has two good years ahead of it yet, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday, with low interest rates and a “moderately” expanding economy keeping price corrections at bay.

The Crown corporation – which insures Canadian mortgages – has had a consistently rosier view of the market than many private sector forecasters.

Canadian banks have recently issued reports probing the consequences of cheap money, and trying to predict whether there is a bubble in prices that will eventually pop and cause prices to crash. They are particularly concerned about Vancouver and Toronto, where some have predicted price corrections of up to 10 per cent because of overbuilding in the condo market.

But CMHC said Monday Canadian markets would “remain steady in 2012 and 2013.

“With the Canadian economy set to expand at a moderate pace and mortgage rates expected to remain low, activity levels in 2012 in both new home construction and sales of existing homes will stay close to levels seen in 2011,” said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist.

Also in the forecast: “Housing starts will be in the range of 164,000 to 212,700 units in 2012, with a point forecast of 190,000 units. In 2013, housing starts will be in the range of 168,900 to 219,300 units, with a point forecast of 193,800 units.

Existing home sales will be in the range of 406,000 to 504,500 units in 2012, with a point forecast of 457,300 units. In 2013, MLS sales are expected to move up in the range of 417,600 to 517,400 units, with a point forecast of 468,200 units.

The average MLS price is forecast to be between $330,000 and $410,000 in 2012 and between $335,000 and $430,000 in 2013. CMHC’s point forecast for the average MLS price is $368,900 for 2012 and $379,000 for 2013. The moderate increases in the average MLS price are consistent with the balanced market conditions that occurred in 2011, and that are expected to continue in 2012 and 2013.”

*the above information is courtesy of The Globe and Mail Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

MARKET WATCH - FEB 2012

According to statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), sales activity rose in more than half of all local markets, including some of Canada’s most active cities.

The momentum in sales activity provides clear evidence that low interest rates continue to draw homebuyers to the housing market. While buyers have become increasingly cautious, the hand off for sales activity going into the new year suggests that the Canada’s housing market will continue to benefit from low interest rates in 2012, and continue making a significant contribution to Canadian economic activity. However, prospects among housing markets and neighbourhoods differ, so buyers and sellers of the Ottawa area, feel free to contact me to see just how well we are doing here in Ottawa, or more specifically your neighbourhood.