The month of May has brought more inventory throughout and what appears to be a cool down in the market. I’m noticing a lot more pre-emptive offer options and less offer hold outs than ever before. Prices remain strong with townhouses selling in the 700’s and detached homes well into the Millions. Interest rates have increased significantly, which may have played a role in the market cooling down. Current mortgage fixed rates are around 3.5-3.6% while a variable will... [read more]

  Happy New Year to All! 2023 is off to a slow start as total sales and sold prices continue to drop. Mortgage rates will remain high for the foreseeable future. There is an abundance of inventory for sale and for rent. The median sold price vs original list price for December was approximately 90%. January so far has an 88% sold to list price ratio. My thoughts? I think the next 2-3 months will be slow moving until we get to the spring market. In the meantime, if you are looking to... [read more]

October was a slower than usual month for real estate transactions. Most buyers have put their home search on hold and are hoping to see the market crash or low rates to return. In my opinion, the market will not crash, and rates will likely remain high for at least the next 6 months or longer. The advantage of buying in this market is the abundance of inventory to choose from, negotiating power, conditional offers and far less competition from other buyers. Sure, the rates are high today,... [read more]

  The Ottawa Real Estate Market continues to slow down as we enter a “balanced” market. I have noticed a large amount of rental listings on the market. The new vacant unit tax has forced owners of vacant properties to rush to get their units leased before the deadline. Will people lean towards a lease or purchase a home with a high interest mortgage? The average townhouse in the suburb’s rents for approximately $2200-$2400 a month. If you were to purchase that... [read more]

June was a similar month to May in terms of number of sales, listings inventory and overall days on market. There seems to be a large increase in sales of properties under 400k as buyers are getting lower mortgage approvals due to high interest rates. Rates may go up again this month by .25% or more to continue to battle inflation. Will this have an impact on the real estate market? The only impact I think it will make is to reduce the mortgage qualification amounts for buyers. The... [read more]