This past year was very challenging for my Ottawa house hunters. Our market is as hot as I have seen it in my 14 years. When my military buyers were in town this year the lack of inventory made purchasing harder. Not only that but when sellers are holding offers until a certain date and time it does not work well for my clients. They often have a 3-4 day window to purchase and cannot wait. Fortunately, my clients were all successful in purchasing on their house hunting trips this year. I can honestly say it is because of the groundwork we did before everyone arrived. I have been getting off-market homes on a list that 2 of my incoming military clients purchased. We plan to double down on this for 2019. We are already working on an off-market MLS basically exclusively for our military clients.
I do believe that 2019 will be another “hot” market in Ottawa. The economic indicators all point to this happening again. Our team will be well prepared to make sure all our military clients have access to good options that are not available to the public. If you want to chat more about your house hunting trip please email chris@chrisscott.ca to set up a time to chat. I look forward to being of service.
As a relocation specialist, the first question that buyers often ask me is about commuting to the new NDHQ. For many, this will determine where they will purchase. Right now there is plenty of parking available at the facility but this may change over the upcoming years as more people get transferred to the building. OC Transpo has been working with the city and CAF officials to create a viable plan for those taking the bus.
Most customers across Ottawa will be able to travel to Carling campus with one transfer on bus routes 101, 103, and 152. The city extended the transitway from Bayshore to the Moodie off-ramp to help accommodate the extra bus users this relocation is going to create. Here is a map of the bus routes.
Many of my clients who are relocating to Ottawa end up choosing areas Stittsville, Kanata, and Barrhaven due to its relatively close proximity to the Carling campus. We are always happy to chat with you about your move. Feel free to reach out via my cell at 613-863-6999 or fill out our HHT booking ADD LINK sheet and we will be happy to assist. We have been doing this successfully for 14 years. We have an excellent track record of results and would be happy to assist.
For more information regarding Ottawa transit click here, it will give you some great insight into transit times to major DND work locations.
House hunting trips can be challenging for buyers who are not familiar with Ottawa. We really only have a few days to explore its neighbourhoods and secure a house. In the east end of Ottawa, many of my military clients are comparing the markets of Orleans and Rockland. Here is a brief summary of the two locations:
Rockland: This is a rapidly growing neighbourhood that is outside the city of Ottawa boundaries. It is situated about 40 km to downtown Ottawa. Housing prices are much more appealing to families looking to stretch their dollar. You drive further but get more. In many cases, you can get a detached home for the same price as a newer townhouse in Orleans. For many this is enough to take on a longer commute each day. It is, however, important to note that resale can be a bit more challenging in Rockland. Houses tend to stay on the market longer.
Orleans: This is an Ottawa East suburb with a population of over 100,000 people about 16kms to downtown Ottawa. Always, a very popular location with lots of amenities, schools, and good transit connections to downtown. The future LRT line will make access even easier in the years to come. Resale is much easier when compared with Rockland but prices can be 100k more than Rockland for the same detached 2 storey/double garage house.
In a recent house hunting trip, my clients who were up from Washington ended up looking in both Orleans and Rockland. He was posted to Letrium and felt like Rockland would be the better choice because of its value proposition. They ended up securing their dream house there for $425k. That house would have been 550k plus in Orleans. It really is that big of a price difference depending on the style of housing.
If you are debating between these two locations on your relocation to Ottawa please feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to send you options in both locations.
Interesting article in the citizen that I had the pleasure of contributing on. As a military Realtor, I often get asked the impact a hot market has on my military clients.
If you are in need of a military Realtor that knows Ottawa well and has experience with HHT’s please feel free to get in touch. This is what we specialize in.
Ottawa is increasingly becoming a city with a clear price differential between some of the East end suburbs when compared to the west. Nothing could have illustrated this more than a recent house hunting trip. My clients were looking in both Barrhaven and Orleans with a budget of under 500k. They had Barrhaven as their ideal location but were open to looking at other areas. After looking at 15-20 properties together It was clear that one could get more house/square footage in Orleans for the same price as something in Barrhaven. The bigger question for my clients was is the price difference enough change their mind on Orleans?
Price of a detached 2 storey home with a one car garage:
Orleans: $427,000 (YTD sales Jun 4/18)
Barrhaven $454,750 (YTD sales Jun 4/18)
In the end, my clients went with their preferred location. They (as do I) see the future of Ottawa being more West-centric. Especially for the military with its new DND location and the upcoming construction of the operational headquarters. My clients decided to pay a premium to be in the location they wanted. As a military Realtor, it is always good to look at future resale as well. I think because of the shift in DND jobs to west-end it will be a bit easier to resell in the future.
Orleans also has some great future prospects as well. Amazon just announced a new 1M square foot distribution centre and the LRT will extend out East in its next phase. The nice thing about buying in Ottawa is that no matter what location you choose, you cant go wrong! Our real estate market is one of the worlds most stable.
If you are in need of a military Realtor that knows Ottawa well and has experience with HHT’s please feel free to get in touch. This is what we specialize in.
DND has announced plans this week for a new operational headquarters that will be home to some 4500 civilian and military personnel. The plan right now is to have this completed by 2029. The site has not been finalized yet but DND spokesperson said it will be in close proximity to the new headquarters at the Nortel campus. It will centralize operations and involve vacating the Star Top Road facility in the East End. In the end, this will mean that this area will house over 13,000 personal when you include the 9000 that will be at the new DND headquarters when it is fully operational. Personally, I think this makes sense as it will make communication/synergy much easier and provide long-term savings. Having so many buildings scattered throughout the city has not been the most efficient way of running things.
This new building will have an interesting effect on real estate prices in Kanata and Stittsville. These areas will continue to be the locations of choice for military families. Add in the LRT line that will be operational out that way by 2029 and I believe the long-term growth of these real estate markets will be awesome.
If you are relocating to Ottawa or have any questions, please get in contact with us. This is what we specialize in.
We had some clients come up from Kingston for a recent house hunting trip. Knowing the market was active they kept a wide price range and a large area of interest. This presented lots of options for them. The challenge became that their short list consisted of some very different styles and neighbourhoods. It made for a challenging decision that they wrestled with. Nobody said it would be easy to buy a house on a house hunting trip! Here were the final 4 houses they were looking at.
1) Beacon Hill- house that was $650k in a great neighbourhood with a pool
2) Findley Creek- Two houses, one at 599k and the other at $489 (in Sundance area)
3) Alta Vista- Completely redone house at 670k. The only challenge was the yard was on the side of the house rather than behind it (corner lot)
4) Small bungalow in Hunt Club priced at 519k
In the end, my clients decided on the Beacon Hill house because of its proximity to downtown. Unfortunately after winning the house in a multiple offer situation the inspection did not go as planned. Our inspector Sean brought forward some concerns that were in the end to hard to overcome. They moved on to their safe choice on Ivy Green in Sundance. I believe this to be the easiest to re-sell down the road and the fact that it is newer will allow my clients just to move right in. The Alta Vista house was tempting but with no proper yard, it just leaves a future question mark on resale. With military guys, it is so important to find something that will sell quickly in any market. The LRT will be in Sundance area in the future, I think this will help ensure this will be a great investment for my clients. The point of the story is that sometimes it is easier to have a more refined search criteria and choose between more similar properties. More selection doesn’t always mean an easier decision.
If you are relocating to Ottawa or have any questions, please get in contact with us. This is what we specialize in.
Ottawa is the most challenging place in the country to buy a property right now. According to the Canadian real estate association, Ottawa is the hottest market in Canada and it’s not even close! This presents an interesting set of challenges for military buyers. They have only limited time on their house hunting trips. There is much less to look at and you really can’t start favouriting too much before you arrive because the good houses are usually sold. I have been trying my best to get off-market listings ready for my clients before they arrive. This past week we had some great success with Corey and Marie who bought a house that was off-market. It was a brand new house that had closed only a few weeks earlier. It was the first place they looked at on Monday and it stood up against everything else we looked at. These exclusive opportunities are one way I am trying to give my military house-hunting clients a leg up over the competition. It is the second off-market deal we have done in this regard this year. In both cases, it was a win-win for everyone involved.
If you or someone you know is relocating to Ottawa please feel free to get in touch. This is what we specialize in.
I have done countless house hunting trips with military, RCMP, and government relocations. Ottawa being the Capital is, of course, a natural place for this type of transaction. What many of my clients don’t know is how much work goes into making sure everything goes smoothly on arrival. Here is one meeting a few days before an HHT arrival. It is a team effort to make sure we have a successful conclusion every time.
If you are considering a relocation to Ottawa or have been posted here its important to get the right Realtor. I would be happy to chat with anyone looking to make a transfer here.
The Canadian Armed Forces leadership have made several changes associated with HHT relocations which are being implemented immediately with the approval from the Government of Canada. They address the concerns of the benefits associated with the moves and the issues identified over the past several years.
The changes focus on new benefits and expanding on current benefits such as:
doubling the Home Equity Assistance benefit maximum from $15,000 to $30,000
adding up to ten additional days of benefits for members taking possession of a new home
reimbursing expenses related to up to four additional days for a house hunting trip as a custom benefit rather than as a personalized benefit
extending the time limit for retired members to conduct a final move to an intended place of residence (IPR) from one to two years
The changes also included the removal of certain parts of the program. The Capital Improvements benefit and several incentives have been removed as it rewarded members for not claiming certain expenses, such as for not using long-term storage.
There is another review by the DND, CAF, CFIRP AND CBI of the programs in progress expected to be complete by Active Posting Season (APS) 2019. This could possibly lead to more changes.
It great to see the DND and CAF be committed to a relocation program that is fair to military members and their families. Our team understands how stressful relocating to a new home and city can be. This is why we do everything we can to make your HHT relocation to Ottawa as smooth as possible. If you have been posted to Ottawa, please call us today as we would be happy to organize your house hunting trip. We specialize in this type of transaction.
If you are relocating to Ottawa or have any questions please get in contact with us. This is what we specialize in.
