Category: Ottawa real estate

First Time Homebuyer Resources

Posted on by teamrealty

Your First Home is a Big Deal.

 

Buying your first home is monumental. It’s a huge financial investment and a major life milestone. Unfortunately, nowadays it’s more difficult than ever to make the purchase by yourself. Luckily, in a market as diverse and ever-evolving as ours, there are many resources available for first-time homebuyers. In this blog, we cover some of the different ways that people commonly seek financial aid. With proper use of the available systems, you’ll be able to find a great home within your budget. 

 

Government Incentives

 

There are many programs available through the government which can relieve some of the financial responsibility associated with buying your first home. We suggest looking into these options as one or many could be useful.

 

 

  • The “Home Buyers’ Amount” is a $5,000 claim to help those who qualify with legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes. 

 

  • The “Home Buyers’ Plan” allows you to “borrow” $35,000 from your retirement savings plan (RRSP), tax-free, to buy or build a qualifying home. These funds must be repaid to your RRSP within 15 years.

 

  • The “GST/HST New Housing Rebate” allows you to recover a portion of the GST or HST you paid upon purchase of a new construction home. 

 

  • If you’re new to Canada, there are many programs available that can help you buy your first home.

 

Third Party Assistance

 

There are other ways to lighten the financial burden that comes with buying your first home. If your situation permits, many parents are helping their children with their first downpayment, or subsequent mortgage payments. Co-ownership between parent and child is also an option, with full ownership being a future financial goal for the child. Parents should seek tax advice before proceeding. You might also research the option to renovate your basement and turn it into a legal apartment to help pay your mortgage and create potential future income. We suggest consulting experienced industry professionals such as mortgage brokers, financial advisors and REALTORS®, as they can help you find the right option within your budget.

 

Happy hunting!

 

Now that you have a better idea of the resources available, we hope you feel more confident and capable of taking on the challenge of buying your first home. Remember, this article is only a summary as there are likely other sources of financial assistance at your disposal, so do further research and consider which may be effective for your needs. Many of our trusted Royal LePage Team Realty REALTORS® specialize in helping first time home buyers so they are well equipped to help you navigate the challenges ahead.

What is The Hype Around Ottawa’s Boom Towns

Posted on by teamrealty

What is The Hype Around Ottawa’s Boom Towns: Why “Rural” Ottawa Continues to Grow

While we have seen an increase in home prices steady across the province over the last two years, rural outlier communities like Carleton Place, Arnprior and Kemptville have seen unprecedented growth and attention, handing them over “Boom Town” status. These Ottawa area boom towns are attractive for a plethora of reasons, and have been growing in status and numbers well before COVID-19 jolted the real estate market. Many area residents and visitors alike enjoy the quaint small-town atmosphere with charming brick-and-mortar shops lining downtown area streets, unique restaurants, river views, water access, and plenty of green space and parks to take in the fresh air. It is easy to see why Carleton Place in particular has held the number one spot for the fastest growing town in Canada. .

While the growth was undoubtedly present in the pre-pandemic years, it is evident that today, small towns are having big moments. Having to spend more time at home has allowed the residents of bigger cities the time to reflect on their values in terms of real estate. Where do you want to live when the world shuts down again? Choosing a more affordable abode is also freeing up equity, allowing many to invest in their retirement or live life with more financial freedom. With more people than ever before able to work from the comfort of their home or cottage, adding more distance between your property and the big city is an easier commitment to make.

The last two years have been strenuous on the economy, causing a delay in new builds and an inventory that can’t keep up with the ongoing demand of buyers looking for their piece of real estate heaven. In light of these conditions, home prices in these small boom towns are rising dramatically, slowly tightening the gap that separates them from Ottawa’s housing prices. Carleton Place alone has seen the average sale price of a single family home jump from $348,938 in 2018 to $598,163 in 2021. These price jumps are resulting in residents further expanding their home search as far as Almonte, Cobden, and Renfrew.

We are lucky to live in a city with such a variety of diverse communities to choose from when looking to buy a home. Unlike other big cities, Ottawa is still seeing affordable home prices in all corners. Choosing to move rural, however, is proving to find residents more in terms of space for less in terms of a mortgage, ultimately meeting the evolving needs of our buyers. 

Buying now is the best decision you can make, as the increasing cost of real estate is not expected to change directions any time soon. Don’t let the chance of owning your own home be taken from you. At Royal LePage Team Realty, we have offices conveniently located in many of our town and country locations, giving you greater access to community specialists who are happy to welcome you to your new home. 

 

Real Estate Forecast 2022 – Why Ottawa Remains a Top Choice For Homeowners

Posted on by teamrealty

Real estate in Ottawa is so great for so many reasons. Not only is the capital city a beautiful one filled with breathtaking scenery, extraordinary views, lively green space, and the ravishing Rideau River, it also is one of the most affordable major cities in the country, with a little something for everyone. Whether you are looking for a high-rise condo, modest single-family home, luxury property, or rural living, the city has you covered with an array of diverse communities with excellent access to amenities, transportation, culture, and activities nearly everywhere you go. This is why it is no surprise that despite the slowing frenzied pace, that the real estate market continues to be strong and Ottawa remains a top choice for homebuyers in 2022.

Our very own Jason Ralph was able to weigh in on this stating “More than ever, local first-time buyers and newcomers to Canada are choosing to buy in Ottawa, as the region offers more green space and greater affordability than other major cities”. This is in part due to the neighbouring suburbs short commute to the downtown core, as well as the growing high-tech community in Kanata North and business-hub in Barrhaven. Ottawa is no longer a sleepy city. It is alive, active, and continues to grow with new developments being built and new businesses popping up all of the time.

In 2022, Royal LePage Market Survey Forcast is expecting to see both the aggregate price of a home as well as the median price of a single-family detached property in Ottawa increase by about 9.0 percent. The median price of a condominium is forecast to increase by just 6.0 percent. This comes in under the double-digit increases that are forecast for homes in Canada. These increases are a result of the demand for homes that continues to grow, with a supply that can not keep up. 

As we are gearing up for the spring season, we encourage all of our buyers and sellers to start early and plan accordingly. Get in touch with your lender, secure your pre-approval, and speak with your Royal LePage Team Realty agent to ensure that you are ready to move when the time is right, or when the home of your dreams pops up on MLS. We are looking forward to continuing to serve our community as the number one full-service brokerage, and can’t wait to get you started on your next journey in real estate.

Beyond the Sign: The current market shift

Posted on by teamrealty

After an intense few years, the local real estate market is showing a very slight shift towards calmer waters.

Jason Ralph, Broker of Record and President of Royal LePage Team Realty, explains, “The market was so overheated that even a small shift seems drastic, even though it isn’t going back to pre-2020 levels. We are starting to see a move towards a more normal market, which is good for everyone.”

 

Read the Full CityNews Article Here

Mortgage Shopping: What Does a Mortgage Broker Do?

Posted on by teamrealty

In what has been an unprecedented year in buying and selling, Ottawa Real Estate is remaining hot, and mortgage rates cool. While buying a home and getting a mortgage is a big financial decision, the process of securing a loan leaves even the most experienced buyers with a laundry list of questions. Naturally, you will want a team of trusted professionals on your side to walk you through the options that best suit your unique situation. Allowing yourself some time to properly shop around and do your homework on what mortgage products and features are being offered is essential. 


Fortunately, this is where the expertise of a mortgage broker comes to your aid. Instead of spending countless hours researching and setting up multiple appointments, an experienced broker can access their tools to find you great mortgages to compare and choose from, streamlining the process to find what suits you and the needs of your family. 

 

Bank or Broker: What’s Best For You

In the past, inquiries about mortgages were primarily done at the bank. While this remains an option today, big banks can often feel intimidating and may leave you with fewer options when it comes to refinancing your mortgage, getting a new one, or accessing the equity in your home. As a result, many buyers are turning to mortgage brokers for help instead.

Lenders have become increasingly competitive in recent years, creating a surge in demand for mortgage brokers. A broker will be able to provide unbiased options with the goal of finding a lender that offers rates and conditions suitable for you. 

 

As opposed to traveling from bank to bank and undergoing hard credit checks, creating an unwanted dent in your credit score, brokers will only run your check once or twice when shopping for your different mortgage products, having a less detrimental impact. Additionally, the mortgage broker is paid by the lenders themselves and not the clients, which makes this a great option for buyers to find the best rates and products available at any time.

 

Ask The Right Questions

To make the most of comparison shopping, you need to know what options are most important to you. Come prepared and make sure to know what you can afford and how much of a down payment you have. You should also have a list of questions to ask the broker.

 

  • What type of mortgage is best for my needs?
    • a fixed, variable, or adjustable-rate mortgage
    • an open, closed, or convertible mortgage
  • What mortgage features and options are best for my needs? 
    • a short or long mortgage term/ amortization period
    • frequency of mortgage payments
    • regular or accelerated payments
    • the ability to make prepayments or lump sum payments 
    • the option to transfer my mortgage to another home if I sell my home
  • What are my options if I cannot make a payment?
  • What penalty charges may apply if I want to break my mortgage
    contract or renegotiate a new one?
  • Will I have to pay an additional fee if a payment is late?
  • How can I change the size of my mortgage payments?
  • What fees are involved in setting up, discharging, or renewing my mortgage?
  • How can I save on interest charges?



With so many different brokers available today, be sure to check that your potential broker is licensed with Ontario’s Financial Services Commission, or ask your family, friends, and your Royal LePage Team Realty agent for their referrals. At the end of the day, no two mortgages are the same. Make sure you have considered all options, including potential cashback, payments, and penalties, and choose the one that feels most right for you in your journey forward in Ottawa Real Estate.

Royal LePage TEAM REALTY Tip Series: 6 Tips For Buying Rural in Ottawa

Posted on by teamrealty

While buying rural has its advantages, if you have never purchased rural property or lived in remote areas, knowing what to look for may make you feel a little lost. To make sure this process goes smoothly, we have compiled a list of tips to consider when making your purchase so that you can fully enjoy life in your new home. 

Leaving behind city life to buy rural property is a rising trend in Ottawa. Buyers are now seeking homes where they can live, work, and play. As a result, our town and country offices and agents are busier than ever with buyers looking to find a home “Beyond the City”. Today, buyers are more ready than ever before to trade in their busy lives for a lifestyle that allows them to enjoy life each day, no matter what the world looks like around them. People want simple and sustainable living, with large lots or water access, and a small town charm that makes life feel safer and more fulfilled than ever before. While many Ottawans have already taken the plunge and relocated over the past year, there are a few considerations to make before making your move. To help you, here are a few tips to make sure you are prepared to buy rural in Ottawa:

 

Tip #1: Get Comfortable With Septic Systems

If you have lived in the city your entire life, septic systems have likely never crossed your mind. When you reside in rural or remote communities however, septic systems will be your new reality for waste and water removal. Caring for these systems requires routine pumping (every 3-5 years), and mindful care inside of the home, such as spreading out usage of appliances like dishwashers and washing machines and not treating your toilet like a trash can. 

Tip 2: Get a Proper Well Assessment Done

Well water is typically safe for consumption, bathing, cooking and cleaning, but there will always be a risk of contamination if it is not cared for properly. Ask for any documentation of maintenance or inspections done on the well in recent years; these inspections should typically occur three times a year, so the sellers should have some record of this. For good measure, you may want to also send a sample of the water away to a lab for a full workup to ensure there is no risk of contamination. 

Tip #3: Check Your Connections

With many people now both living and working from home, having a high speed internet connection and reliable phone service is essential. Limited internet access has been a barrier keeping people away from buying rural in the past, but as a response to the growing need brought on by COVID-19, the Government of Canada is taking action to get more reliable internet access for people living in rural and remote communities immediately. If your cell phone provider does not cover your area or if the connection isn’t reliable, you may also want to consider re-introduce a landline into your home.

Tip #4: Take Into Account New Expenses

While you may be happy to say goodbye to condo fees when buying your home in the rural Ottawa Valley, there may be other payments associated with maintaining your property in a rural community. This could include fees for snow removal, garbage pickup, road work, or other services that ensure the community is safe and accessible. 

Tip #5: Consider Transportation

If you are working from home, transportation might not be your number one concern. However, if you travel daily you may need access to one or two vehicles; This may increase your monthly expenses by adding on car payments, gas, car maintenance and insurance costs. Those who rely on public transportation may be in for a long commute, as access to city bus routes is limited in rural or remote areas.

Tip #6: Work With An Agent

At Royal LePage TEAM Realty, we have agents dispersed throughout the Ottawa Valley who specialize in servicing rural communities. The advantage that comes with working with these agents is that you can truly benefit from their knowledge and experience. With their guidance, you can enjoy your new home knowing that you have the best team in Ottawa working together to ensure your transition from city to country is seamless, and that you have all the information you need to maintain your home properly for years to come. 

 

How COVID-19 changed the face of Real Estate in Ottawa

Posted on by teamrealty

Real Estate in Ottawa has been a hot topic for some time now. Despite the industry’s sudden shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic, home sales picked up as soon as it was announced that the Real Estate industry was deemed an essential service. Since then, Ottawa residents have been fascinated as they watch homes sell within days of going live on MLS®, often with prices considerably above their asking price. It was humbling to see how the market transformed during the early stages of the pandemic. Like most Canadian industries, Real Estate had to quickly alter business practices to protect the health and safety of our agents, clients, and the general public. 

 

Ottawa is the hottest market in Canada. Until 2017, Ottawa had maintained a slow and steady growth of the average home price. 2018 and 2019 proved much more active, and then, despite the pandemic, 2020 a year-over-year increase of 19.5%. This is the most significant increase in over 30 years and surpasses the number of residences and condominium properties sold in 2019.

There is talk about the risk of Ottawa having a bubble, where prices rose too quickly. However, we have actually been in a reverse bubble, with prices on the lower end of where they should have been. Big Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton saw sky-high prices, but these increases were unsustainable, which ultimately caused their bubble to break. While our current year-over-year price increases are not sustainable, we firmly believe the current home prices are reflective of the stature of Ottawa and the strength of our market. Ottawa house prices still remain well below the average of other major cities in Canada. We are just catching up to those other major markets.

 

Our battle now is getting inventory to sustain the current need. Many properties are going into multiple offers, causing high levels of frustration among buyers. Builders are starting back up again, which is excellent, but we need more listings from those holding off. The hesitation around big moves in the current climate is understandable, but numbers prove that now is a great time to be out on the market. 

 

COVID-19 slowed us down in Ottawa through March and April 2020, but we were the last to shut down and the first to start back up. This did not mean business as usual. Our industry had to quickly find ways to keep our agents, clients, and the public safe while helping those who needed to buy and sell Real Estate.  

 

Our Royal LePage Team REALTORS ® were trained and equipped with access to programs that made transactions more convenient, but COVID-19 required a broader range of online tools to be accessible for Real Estate services. Being essential meant that we were tasked with changing the face of Real Estate in Ottawa appropriately to meet our growing community’s demand. 

 

We found ways to limit physical interactions, set out new guidelines, and entered the virtual world. With the vast amount of information now available online, buyers and sellers can complete the entire process without ever leaving their homes. Anyone with an email address can access a database to check listing prices, sold prices, and other information on properties sold in Ottawa. We also introduced Virtual Open Houses and expanded virtual tours, 3D images, and self-guided virtual tours.  

 

Buying a home in 2021 certainly looks different. We had to adapt while coping with a challenging covid situation that made our person-to-person business very difficult to manage. Our team’s resiliency, and this fantastic city, are why we have been able to keep our doors open. Despite how navigating the market has changed, our values remain the same, and business is done the old-fashioned way. People helping people!! However, we are now more inclined to offer a virtual fist bump instead of a handshake. We are thankful to have been able to remain open and proud of how our industry reacted to the changes that COVID-19 brought.  We are fortunate that we live in a market that has been Canada’s most stable for the last 25 years. We are proud of our industry, our sales representatives, and our entire Royal LePage TEAM!  

Ottawa Real Estate Snapshot June 2020: June Statistics are a Welcome Sign of Things Getting Back on Track in our Marketplace 

Posted on by teamrealty

Market Snapshot:

A dramatic upswing in the number of sales this past month with sales within 2% of this time last year!  While it didn’t come as a surprise that unit sales were down 55% in April, and 44% in May, in dramatic contrast the June figures are a welcome sign of things getting back on track in our marketplace.  Prices continue to rise in both the condo & residential market and we are seeing increases in the double digits compared with last year, with less than one month’s supply currently available,  we are still in a strong Seller’s Market.

According to the Ottawa Real Estate Board’s latest statistics approximately 56% of properties sold over asking price and multiple offer situations are common.  If you’re considering a move we’re here to help answer any questions you have, in this market you’ll want a qualified, professional real estate company protecting your interests.

Message us anytime!  

 

Ottawa Real Estate Market Snapshot June 2020

 

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Hot Real Estate Market in an Icy April

Posted on by curiousprojects

Stats Graphic April 2018 Highlights

The Spring market continues to buzz in Ottawa real estate, with the number of sales up over 13% in April in spite of inventory levels being down 23% over this time last year.  Home buyers are seeing more competition, which is good news for sellers.   Certainly we are seeing more multiple offers and higher sale prices, however, with prices still reasonable compared to income in Ottawa real estate these factors aren’t stopping buyers.

Hot Real Estate Market in an Icy April 

May 3, 2018 Highlights from the Ottawa Real Estate Board

 

“Full employment and reasonable house prices in proportion to incomes are fueling our market. Ottawa is not only a beautiful and dynamic capital but also one of the more affordable cities in Canada,” observes Ralph Shaw, Ottawa Real Estate Board President. “While prices and conditions do vary by area, the overall residential marketplace shows solid and steady performance on investment for homeowners, and offers a variety of property class options and price points for those looking to enter the market,” he advises.

“While sales were strong this month, certain areas in Ottawa continue to experience limited supply with both condo and residential inventory down 23.7% from the same month last year. With our low inventory, potential sellers are reluctant to put their home on the market if they are uncertain of their ability to acquire another property.”

“April’s colder than usual temperatures may have been one of the reasons potential sellers delayed listing their properties. However, there are other factors at play which are contributing to the lack of supply. Of course, the new mortgage stress test is affecting some homeowners who may no longer qualify to upsize their homes,” Shaw points out.

“Further compounding the issue within Ottawa proper is a restricted supply of serviceable land, and thus fewer new build opportunities. We need both the new build and resale inventory to be robust enough to meet demand on a consistent basis,” he explains.

“Moreover,” Shaw elaborates, “life adjustment sellers such as Boomers, lack suitable purchasing options due to urban engineering. Many of them do not want to live in downtown condominiums, preferring smaller homes with an attached garage and a decent sized yard where they can still host family BBQs and entertain. Our city council would benefit from the input of Ottawa’s long-serving REALTORS® who truly understand the variety of needs of local home buyers and sellers,” Shaw concludes.

 

 

What Home Buyers Should be Looking for When Viewing a Property

Posted on by curiousprojects

You’ve done your research, found the perfect Realtor, crunched the numbers, created your list of must-haves and now it’s time to start the exciting process of HOUSE HUNTING! When you’re looking at homes for sale it isn’t always easy to look beyond the cosmetics.  Not to worry, we’ve created this handy graphic to help home buyers to stay focused.

Viewing tips for Buyers graphic-2