Buying your first home might seem like an intimidating and overwhelming process. Many big decisions that can determine whether or not you close on the house you’re interested in. We have listed a few tips and tricks you can share with your friends and family to help them in their first home buying experience.
Talk to the neighbours. It can be easy to forget to look into the neighbourhood in addition to the house. Having a conversation with the neighbours when considering a home might be a good idea if you don’t know much about the area. They can provide insight on the lifestyle, the community, schools in the area, and what their overall opinion is on living there. Getting a sense of the neighbourhood can help you determine if it would be the right fit for you.
Write a buyer’s letter. In today’s competitive market, including a buyer’s letter with your offer certainly helps you stand out. A personal letter can help the seller view you as more of a person than just an offer. However, there are some topics you may want to avoid bringing up in this letter, for example, mentioning any remodelling plans. Chances are that the seller has an affinity towards the home and wouldn’t want to know that you would like to make changes to it. The wording and context of your letter is important to help make your offer even more appealing to the seller.
Try to remain neutral towards a home. Finding a home that ticks all of the boxes can be a dream come true. While that might be the case it is important to avoid getting too emotionally attached to a home early on. There are many steps and processes to purchasing a home and sometimes not everything goes as planned. Try to remind yourself to take it one step at a time and refrain from making emotionally driven decisions throughout the process.
As your friends and family head into their home buying journey, your support can make all the difference. This is an exciting time in anyone’s life and one that they will always remember. If anyone you know is looking to purchase their first home we would be more than happy to assist them. Please feel free to give us a call anytime!
Engel & Völkers has released their Canadian mid-year real estate market report, a residential property analysis highlighting notable trends, changing buyer and seller preferences, economic factors, and more. We have put together our top three takeaways from the report that we believe are indicative as to what we can expect from the second half of the year.
1. Metros see a wave of market normalization. Since about mid-April, the real estate market has begun to cool down, with fewer offers being submitted on properties. This has indicated a return to normal within the real estate market after an unusual 2020. As housing inventory rises, buyers are seeing less competition and a lot more opportunities.
2. Luxury condominium sales bounce back in urban areas. Over the last year, more and more Canadians have been looking for an increase in space, which caused the demand for condos to diminish. However, since the promising vaccine rollout and the end of lockdowns, condo sales have returned at a steady climb. It is predicted that condo sales will only continue to increase over time and as restrictions ease throughout the country.
3. Buyers are investing in multiple properties. In March of 2020, the Bank of Canada announced a 0.25 percent interest rate to ease the impact of the pandemic. Since then, this has allowed many to purchase multiple properties while simultaneously increasing the price of homes. There has been a significant increase in people moving from metropolitan areas to more rural areas, which has also increased the number of people who own more than one property: one in the city and one in the suburbs or more rural areas.
Overall, it seems as though the market is headed back into a steady and “normal” year. If you would like to read more on these findings, we would be pleased to provide you with the comprehensive Engel & Völkers Mid-Year Real Estate Market Report that details the market across the country as well as in Ottawa. Informed real estate investors are our best clients and our objective is to keep you current and up to date. If you have any further questions and would like to chat about real estate let’s do it over a cup of coffee.
Remodelling your home can be stressful, complicated and exciting all at the same time. There are many moving parts to a remodel and it can be difficult to keep track of what is going on every moment. To help you through this, here are a few key tips to avoid any issues that may arise:
Set a Renovation Timeline. Start by selecting what day you would like your renovations to begin. With that decided, you can then work with your contractor to plan how much time the whole project will take. One key thing to remember here is to account for shipping dates! These can cause some delays in your plans, so it’s important to set your end date with a few days of buffer in case this happens.
Remember the Big Picture. Remodelling your home isn’t only about choosing the most beautiful finishes and cutting costs to stay within your budget. It’s also about taking a step back and thinking about how well this remodel will sustain over time. Will these cabinets last many years to come? Thinking ahead can save you time and money in repairs and maintenance.
Keep Resale in Mind. There are a million choices when it comes to picking a style for your remodel. However, when making these decisions it’s important to keep resale in mind. If you’re thinking you won’t be in your house five years from now, consider having a simple design that would appeal to most people. It can be difficult for some to resell a home that has been remodelled to fit a specific taste.
Let us know if you have any remodelling plans in the future. We have a few under our belts and always happy to share our perspectives. Just remember, breathe through the valleys and look forward to the finish line!
The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) has released important key statistics for April 2021. Despite the lockdown and the uncertainty of the economy, the real estate market has remained strong. Here’s a summary of three important findings from OREB’s release:
1. Average sale prices continue to rise. Ottawa has a hot market, with an average sale price of $743,204 for a residential-class property. This is a 42% increase from last year. For condominium-class properties, the average sale price rose to $427,145, which is 30% higher than the previous year. It is definitely a good time to be a seller!
2. Inventory levels remain low, but rose slightly in April. The unprecedented increase in home prices can be attributed to a lack of supply, which will continue to cause problems for buyers until inventory levels rise back up. However, in April there was a slight turnaround; inventory was 19% higher than the 5-year average and 400 more units were listed than there were in March. With more homeowners looking to take advantage of the hot market, perhaps we will see this trend of increasing inventory continue, especially once Ontario’s stay at home order is lifted.
3. Low interest rates continue to impact demand. While the direction of the market is hard to predict, low interest rates will continue to encourage buyers to enter the fray. Record low rates have been driving consumer behaviour, and with no rate hikes expected on the horizon, we are likely to continue seeing high demand from buyers looking to get into the market.
Overall, the Ottawa real estate market has been thriving, and there has never been a better time to sell. If you are interested in seeing how you might benefit from the current market as a seller, Frank and I would be happy to help you understand the value of your property in today’s market. Just give us a call.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) just released the key real estate statistics for January 2021. Even with so much uncertainty around the Canadian economy, one thing has stayed constant: the strength of the Ottawa real estate market. Here are three key findings from OREB’s news release:
Home prices remain on the rise. This has been a steady trend in the Ottawa market, even during COVID lockdowns.The average sale price for an Ottawa property was $587,892 last month—which includes an average of $677,191 for residential listings and $380,336 for condo listings—an increase of 26.4% over January 2020. There is no sign that this is slowing down anytime soon.
Inventory has dropped significantly from last year. One of the reason’s prices have been skyrocketing is low listing inventory. At the end of January, there were 954 listings, which is a sharp 42.9% decrease from January 2020. With fewer homes on the market, competition for listings has really heated up.
It’s a seller’s market, and it will likely stay that way. More competition is bad news for buyers, but great news for homeowners considering selling. The basic economic principle of “high demand and low supply” has led to record sales in many neighbourhoods. With low-interest rates expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future, it is a great time to be a seller.
While no one can predict the future, especially in times like these, the Ottawa market appears headed for another record year. Are you looking for advice on what this means for the value of your home? We would be happy to provide you with a complimentary market evaluation.
Engel & Völkers just released their latest Canadian real estate market report, with findings about
how our market performed in the second half of 2020 as well as some forecasting for the
coming year. We have reviewed the report and picked our top three findings below!
1. Low interest rates drove activity—and will continue to do so. In October, the Bank of
Canada announced that it would likely maintain its overnight lending rate of 0.25% until 2023.
This historically low rate—first introduced in March—drove purchasing activity in Ottawa, which
maintained stable employment despite the pandemic. With borrowing remaining affordable for
the foreseeable future, Engel & Völkers anticipates the Ottawa market to continue its
momentum into 2021.
2. Canada’s condo market softened, but Ottawa remained mostly insulated. Canada’s
highest priced cities like Toronto and Vancouver experienced price drops in their condo
markets, as the appeal of living in an urban condo lost its lustre for many. However, while
Ottawa saw a slight rise in condo supply last year, overall sales of these units remained strong
and saw high year-over-year price growth.
3. 2020 saw an exodus to the outskirts, but that may reverse course in 2021. Real estate
transactions in the suburbs and cottage country experienced an unprecedented boom in
Canada, with buyers now working remotely deciding that more space was more important than
an urban location. However, Engel & Völkers is forecasting that while some may stay on the
outskirts, many will return to metro areas once the COVID-19 is distributed and dining out,
entertainment, and culture regain their appeal.
While COVID-19 provides uncertainty, Engel & Völkers is anticipating Ottawa real estate to
have another busy year. Would you like your own copy of the Engel & Völkers market report?
We would be happy to provide you one and discuss how its findings affect the coming year.
When it comes to listing your home for sale, the old adage applies: Timing is everything. Each year at this time, we get many questions about whether a client should list their home now to catch the tail end of the year’s market or if they should wait until the spring.
While we can sell your home in any season, there are some distinct advantages to holding off into early 2021 to bring your home to market:
Real estate is highly seasonal. According to statistics provided by the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), the Ottawa market has some predictable peaks and valleys—with effects from COVID-19 making 2020 a notable exception. Over 40% of sales each year happen in the spring months, making this the prime moment to sell. Historically, we see another uptick in the fall, with things slowing down during summer and winter.
When will your home look its best? For most homeowners, the dead of winter is not when their property is best showcased. Without being able to truly take in a home’s landscaping, outdoor space, and street presence, a potential buyer may be missing out on some of the home’s most enviable qualities.
An ideal moving date. While this is only a consideration for some, those with children may want to work around the school year. Selling your home in spring so you can move over the summer ahead of school starting again in September is an ideal timeline when you have kids to account for.
While our marketing and concierge services are designed to maximize the value of your home at any time of year, we would be happy to discuss timing with you if you are considering a move. This is the season to put together a plan to help you make the most of your opportunity. We look forward to meeting with you!
A recent article published by Royal LePage advised the following;
– 17% of Canadian baby boomers are planning to purchase a new home in the next five years.
– 56% of boomers consider their local housing market unaffordable for retirement.
– 9% of boomer parents do not expect their kids to move out until after the age of 35; this number is almost three times higher in British Columbia.
– Many boomers are willing to help their children with real estate purchases. If asked for assistance by their child, 41% would give less than 25% of the home’s total value, while 5% would give 25% of the home purchase price or higher.
– Canadian baby boomers who plan to purchase a home in the next five years are most likely to buy a detached home (45%), a condominium (32%), a semi-detached or town home (10%) and a recreational property (5%).
We would be excited by the opportunity to speak to you regarding your home and will do all that we can to get you to the market and sell your home for the most amount of money, in the least amount of time.
