Month: June 2020

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Ottawa REALTORS® Give $18,260 to Covid-19 Stressed Charities

As Covid-19 continues to put pressure on the province’s already stretched shelter system, Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) are pleased to be able to support seven charities in our local community by providing $18,260 in emergency grant funding to assist with service continuity. This funding is part of a $480,000 donation made by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) that will be distributed by the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation (ORCF) to shelters, food banks and shelter-based charities.

As Covid-19 continues to put pressure on the province’s already stretched shelter system, Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) are pleased to be able to support seven charities in our local community by providing $18,260 in emergency grant funding to assist with service continuity. This funding is part of a $480,000 donation made by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) that will be distributed by the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation (ORCF) to shelters, food banks and shelter-based charities.

“The impact of Covid-19 has been felt around the world with vulnerable populations being disproportionately affected,” states Deborah Burgoyne, Ottawa Real Estate Board President. “We are thrilled to be able to support seven of our local charitable organizations as they navigate through this challenging and unprecedented time. Many of them are experiencing a decrease in income, and we hope that this donation will help them cover some of the unexpected costs.”

The Ottawa-area emergency grant recipients are:

  • Ancoura
  • A New Day Youth and Adult Services
  • Bruce House
  • Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre
  • Hospice Care Ottawa
  • Jericho Road Ministries
  • Lanark Highlands Youth Centre

ORCF’s funding will be distributed to more than 50 charities across Ontario. The ORCF is an organization that has supported shelter-based organizations throughout Ontario since 1977. It receives its funding through the generosity of Ontario’s REALTORS®, who have shown time and again that their hearts are in the communities across the province where they live and work, contributing as valuable members of those communities in innumerable ways.

“Now more than ever, our local communities and shelters need our support,” said Kevin Crigger, President, Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation. “This funding is consistent with the socially responsible leadership that OREA, its 37 Member Boards and its REALTOR® Members provide to the Ontario communities they serve. When the Covid-19 health crisis is behind us, Ontario REALTORS® and the ORCF will still be there, as they’ve been for more than 40 years, raising money to support our local charities.”

The donation is being redirected from OREA’s one-time $5 million dollar grant to the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation made earlier this year, facilitating a faster and direct distribution of funds at a time of need. To donate to the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation today, visit www.realtorscareontario.ca.

Ottawa Real Estate Springs into Fall

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,345 residential properties in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 2,410 in May 2019, a decrease of 44 per cent. May’s sales included 1,066 in the residential-property class, down 43 per cent from a year ago, and 279 in the condominium-property category, a decrease of 49 per cent from May 2019. The five-year average for May unit sales is 2,048.

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,345 residential properties in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 2,410 in May 2019, a decrease of 44 per cent. May’s sales included 1,066 in the residential-property class, down 43 per cent from a year ago, and 279 in the condominium-property category, a decrease of 49 per cent from May 2019. The five-year average for May unit sales is 2,048.

“Just as May’s temperatures had us questioning what season we were in, our real estate market also underwent a seasonal switch, so to speak,” notes Ottawa Real Estate Board President Deborah Burgoyne. “This spring market is performing more like a fall market with the number of new listings and resales on par with what typically occurs in late October and November.”

“Around mid-May, we started to see a restrained uptick in our numbers with monthly unit sales only 44% lower than May 2019, compared to the 55% year over year decrease in April’s figures. We expect that as the economy continues to rollout and consumer confidence increases, our real estate market will follow suit, the pent-up demand pre-Covid still exists. Our spring numbers are typical of our fall figures, with cautious optimism, we can hope that there is a ‘flip flop’ and our fall numbers are closer to spring figures.”

May’s average sale price for a condominium-class property was $343,589, an increase of 15.5 per cent from this time last year while the average sale price of a residential-class property was $548,140, an increase of 11.2 per cent from a year ago. With year to date average sale prices at $546,177 for residential and $348,458 for condominiums, these values represent a 13.8 per cent and 17.8 percent increase over 2019, respectively.*

“Although the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) forecast for Canada’s housing prices may seem pretty bleak, their broad-based analysis for the country as a whole does not accurately reflect what is transpiring in our local market as evidenced by the steady increases in average home prices in Ottawa – even during the crux of a pandemic and global economic recession.”

“Unquestionably, the fact that we are still in the midst of a seller’s market is a contributing factor. Nevertheless, with our region’s stable employment and a continuous influx of newcomers, homeowners can take comfort in the knowledge that owning a property in Ottawa and its surrounding areas is a solid investment for yourselves and future generations,” Burgoyne assures.

“Utilizing a REALTORS®’s experience, insight, and extensive professional network is particularly advantageous during this time. They will ensure you are only viewing properties that meet your hard criteria and can also identify possible alternative options to meet your goals, such as in-law suites or carriage homes for example.”

In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members assisted clients with renting 1,207 properties since the beginning of the year compared to 1,043 at this time last year.

* The Board cautions that the average sale price can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Price and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.