The average sale prices of both homes and condos in Ottawa rose 19-to-20 per cent over the course of 2020, according to a group of local realtors, with activity in the city’s real estate market roaring back following a coronavirus-driven slowdown in the spring.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) sold 18,971 residential and condo-class properties in 2020, a two-percent bump over 2019 figures.
Though December experienced a typical holiday slowdown in comparison to preceding months, unit sales were nonetheless up 32.4 per cent year-over-year with just over 1,000 properties changing hands, according to OREB year-end numbers released Wednesday.
4:11 Real estate is one of the few sectors showing strong growth in Canadian economy
Real estate is one of the few sectors showing strong growth in Canadian economy – Oct 4, 2020
Despite steady transaction numbers year-to-year, the annual growth in average sale prices accelerated in Ottawa in 2020.
The average sale price of a condo in 2020 rose 19 per cent to $361,337, while residential units retailed at an average of $582,267, up 20 per cent year-over-year.
OREB said the total sales volume of properties in Ottawa topped a value of $10 billion last year, up from $8.2 billion in 2019.
The 19-20 per cent increase in average sale prices for 2020 outpaces the nine per cent price increase seen in 2019 and the three-to-five per cent increase seen in 2018, according to OREB president Debra Wright.
“These substantive increases in property prices from year to year can be attributed to a variety of factors: the inventory shortage triggering economic supply and demand realities; the multiple-offer phenomena; the record-low mortgage rates increasing purchasing power of buyers; migration of buyers from larger markets with high returns to spend; and so forth,” Wright said in a statement.
2:09 Canadian home prices forecast to rise 5.5% by the end of 2021
Canadian home prices forecast to rise 5.5% by the end of 2021 – Dec 14, 2020
Ottawa’s real estate market ended 2020 with average sale prices of $603,880 for residential properties and $355,982 for condos over the course of December, OREB stats showed.
Wright highlighted a drop-off in sales at the lower-end of the real estate market as a sign of eroding housing affordability in the nation’s capital. In 2019, 35 per cent of transactions were valued at $400,000 or lower; in 2020, the proportion of sales under $400,000 dropped to just 16 per cent.
While the start of the pandemic put a “momentary stall” on Ottawa’s housing market this past spring, activity picked up throughout the rest of the year and “accelerated past all expectations,” Wright said.
Ottawa’s economy, buttressed by strong public sector employment and a rising tech sector, has helped to keep the city’s housing market “resilient” during the pandemic,” she added.
Though the city has seen lower price thresholds than other major Canadian metropolises in the past few decades, Wright said Ottawa’s housing market “is now beginning to reflect the real estate property values of a national capital.”
“Going forward, I fully expect Ottawa’s resale market will continue to be robust in 2021. There are no indicators to suggest that this is an overheated market – it is simply very active, insulated, and strong. One that has only been mildly shaken by a world-wide pandemic,” she said.
1:40 More home buyers purchasing homes with ‘no conditions’, according to Kingston real estate agents
More home buyers purchasing homes with ‘no conditions’, according to Kingston real estate agents – Nov 4, 2020
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.
