Posts Tagged ‘House Hunting’

ORLEANS OR BARRHAVEN: HHT DECISION

Posted on: June 5th, 2018 by Chris Scott

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.

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LACK OF INVENTORY CHALLENGING ON HHTS

Posted on: May 16th, 2018 by Chris Scott

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.

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PLANNING A HOUSE HUNTING TRIP

Posted on: May 9th, 2018 by Chris Scott

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.