Ottawa’s long-hot housing market showed the early signs of cooling in June as the supply of new homes up for sale reached highs not seen since 2017.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) said this week that its members sold 2,131 homes over the month of June, up five per cent year-over-year. Residential-class property sales were largely steady while the number of condos trading hands last month was up 13 per cent over June 2020.
Last month’s home sales came close to the five-year average of 2,098 total unit sales in June.
2:04 Priced out: Will the Canadian housing market crash? Why home prices may stay hot
Priced out: Will the Canadian housing market crash? Why home prices may stay hot – Jun 5, 2021
OREB president Debra Wright said in a statement that last month’s real estate market performed similarly to a “pre-pandemic” June, which sees a “normal tapering off” from the typical spring market.
Last year’s summer saw a surge in housing activity after the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic deferred spring demand.
“It will be interesting to watch the market over the summer to see if this normalization of the real estate sales ebb and flow is indeed the case moving forward,” Wright said.
The first five months of the year saw a continued surge in housing activity, with sales up 48 per cent over those months.
But one of the Ottawa housing market’s persistent issues — an overall lack of stock — showed signs of improvement in June.
Inventory levels for both residential and condo properties are at their highest points since 2017, Wright said.
“However, we are still at a one-month supply of housing stock, so we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
Housing prices also continue to climb in Ottawa, though Wright said the “drastic increases” seen earlier in the year seem to have abated.
The average sale price of a condo in June was $435,198, up 21 per cent from a year earlier.
Residential-class properties, meanwhile, hit average sale prices of $725,970, an increase of 26 per cent year-over-year.
Wright said homes in Ottawa are spending more time on the market as of late, and fewer properties are subject to “multiple offer frenzy situations.”
“This start of a perhaps equilibrium in the market is good news for buyers, while sellers are going to have to adjust to this new normal and be more strategic in their positioning,” she said.
3:57 The process of buying and selling a home
The process of buying and selling a home – Jun 9, 2021
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
