With the transition from summer to fall, the Ottawa real estate market continues to flourish, especially in the condominium properties, some attributing to the start of college and universities. We’ve expected a slower market due to the upcoming election but September continues to strive and prosper.
Here are the September 2019 numbers:
- Total number of units sold: 1,549 – up 11.8% from 1,386 in September 2018.
- Five year average unit sales for September: 1,385.
Here are the specifics for each property class:
- Number of residential-class properties sold: 1,113 – up 6.9% from 1,174 in September 2018.
- Average sale price of a residential-class property: $487,438 – up 8% from $448,443 in September 2018.
- Number of condominium-class properties sold: 436 – up 26.4% from 393 in September 2018.
- Average sale price of a condominium-class property: $309,373 – up 9% from $281,529 in September 2018.
“Despite a challenging year of historically low inventory, September’s sales continue to be extremely strong, the likes of which we haven’t seen in the past 15 years,” acknowledges Dwight Delahunt, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “It’s quite amazing, with the limited supply, that the market is still moving well with purchasers finding properties that meet their requirements,” he adds.
Upcoming Election
With the election drawing near, each party is promising different policies for how they think they can improve the real estate market in Canada.
Liberals
- Expand the First-time Home Buyer Incentive for people in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto. The value of a qualifying home will go from 500,000 to nearly 800,000 (source)
- Add a one percent annual tax on residential properties owned by those who are not Canadians and who do not live in Canada (source)
- Help homeowners and landlords pay for retrofits by giving them an interest-free loan of up to $40,000 (source)
- Help people buy newly built homes that are certified zero-emissions by giving them a Net Zero Homes Grant of up to $5,000 (source)
- Create a low-cost national flood insurance program (source)
- Make Energy Star certification mandatory for all new home appliances, as of 2022 (source)
- Give interested homeowners and landlords a free energy audit (source)
- Retrofit 1.5 million homes, over the next five years (source)
Conservatives
- Increase amortization periods on insured mortgages to 30 years for first-time homebuyers
- Launch inquiry into money laundering in real estate
- Remove stress test for mortgage renewals
NDP
- Create 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next 10 years (source)
- Double the Home Buyer’s tax credit to $1,500 for first time buyers (source)
- Remove GST/HST on the construction of new rental units (source)
- Re-introduce 30-year terms to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insured mortgages for first time home buyers (source)
- Add $5 billion to spending on affordable housing in first 18 months in office (source)
- Set up “fast-start” funds available to communities to kick-start construction of co-ops, social and non-profit housing; amount not specified (source)
- Invest $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program
Green Party
- Legislate that housing is a legally protected fundamental human right for all Canadians and permanent residents (source)
- Increase the National Housing Co-investment Fund by $750 million for new builds, and the Canada Housing Benefit by $750 million for rent assistance for 125,000 households (source)
- Get rid of the first-time homebuyer grant (source)
- Restore tax incentives for building purpose-built rental housing (source)
- Remove “deemed” GST when a developer with empty condo units puts them on the rental market (source)
- Change the legislation that stops Indigenous organizations from accessing financing through CMHC (source)