I’m writing this article as part of a bigger picture market update for the August 2024 edition of my newsletter, Ottawa Real Estate Monthly. Housing affordability is the topic of the times in Canada. Many people point to increasing demand due to population growth primarily driven by high levels of temporary and permanent newcomers to Canada, and the perception there …
Is there a condo crisis in Ottawa? The condominium apartment markets in Toronto and Vancouver have been playgrounds for foreign investment, domestic speculation, and retirement savings plan components for many years. Post-pandemic in particular, stories of decline have been swelling up and some say there is now an urban condominium crisis in Canada that is intertwined with pervasive concerns over …
We’ve been on a bit of a roller coaster ride in Ottawa real estate over the past 4 years, primarily driven by interest rate policy. Everyone wonders when the market will get back to “normal”. The question for this video, (pertinent in July, 2024)… ARE WE THERE YET?
“Cash for keys” agreements between Ontario tenants and landlords have been receiving a lot of media attention lately. Here’s a link to a CBC article that includes video clips from a segment that ran on The National a few weeks ago, as an example: CBC on Cash for Keys. CBC’s coverage includes everything you need to understand these agreements, why …
1. They Don’t Understand Leverage Some of your friends aren’t investment-minded. They may be risk-averse or they espouse an experience-focused lifestyle and spend all their money “enjoying life”. But you also have friends who are focused on building wealth who insist that real estate is not a good investment. Some of these folks take risks that promise huge returns, like …
Ever wonder whether neighbourhood A is more or less expensive than neighbourhood B? Or how about which areas are trending downward or upward? This ranking of Ottawa & Eastern Ontario communities is a great place to start, and I think it’s the only place you’ll find a simple leaderboard-style ranking with multi-year price ranking trends at a glance. In the …
Examining the Bank of Canada’s Interest Rate Policy on Real Estate We all know that lower interest rates can contribute to increased demand in the housing market. In this article I’ll look at how the Bank of Canada inflated house prices during the pandemic, from March 2020 through March 2022. When governments announced shutdown measures to start dealing with the …