With DND now located in West Ottawa and the operational headquarters slated for Shirley’s Bay, military buyers have shifted as well. Many of my relocation clients still have Kanata, Barrhaven, and Stittsville at the top of their list. However, many others are starting to look at better value options in Carleton Place and Richmond. Here is a quick comparison of the two locations for you.
Richmond
Richmond is a quaint village that is just south of the Kanata/Stittsville area. There are about 4400 residents and lots of new development happening in the area. This will be a very fast growing community over the upcoming few years. What used to be a small farming village is now becoming a bustling place as new restaurants and amenities are coming in to satisfy the new demographics. The Richmond Fair is not to be missed. Nice small town community feel. Still part of the city of Ottawa.
Distance: The commute to DND is about 21 minutes
Average Sale Price: $467,131
Based on MLS residential sales from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2018
Carleton Place
Carleton Place has been growing at a record pace ever since the highway between it and Ottawa was extended to 4 lanes. It is now home to over 11,000 residents. Military buyers are attracted to this location because of the relatively affordable prices and the fact that Carleton Place now has all the big box stores and amenities that many buyers are looking for. Please note that unlike Richmond, Carleton Place is not part of the city of Ottawa. You do pay slightly higher property taxes on average.
Distance: The commute to DND is relatively painless at about 28 minutes in no traffic
Average Sale Price: $326,781
Based on MLS residential sales from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec 31, 2018
Our team has just invested in a moving concierge program that will be a game changer for our clients. This new platform will assist our clients with everything from changing addresses, transferring home services, updating identification, and getting helpful advice. This can include anything from setting up short term Airbnb accommodations to organizing moving company quotes. Each client will have a dedicated concierge agent. We are completely committed to the client experience. We hope this new service will bring value to our clients and make the transition into the new home as easy as possible.
When I set out last year to undertake this exercise I was optimistic 2018 was going to be a good year. I could not predict just how hot our market was going to be. Early in the year, there was a significant shortage of housing inventory across the city. This of course is a huge challenge for my military clients who are coming in for their house hunting trips. Low inventory makes it extremely challenging to find something on the time crunch of a house hunting trip. Especially in the most active price ranges. The most price range in 2018 was 300-450k. In many cases, our clients were offering against as many as a dozen or more other buyers. This is common practice in cities like Toronto but a newer phenomenon here in Ottawa. There was lots of newer inventory by Spring but it only helped marginally. It was still a seller’s market but as the year went on it became less competitive for properties. Instead of 12 offers on many of the listings, we started seeing 2-4 offers depending on price range. This past year I was able to match up 3 military clients with off market properties. This really helped. We always have “off market” opportunities that we can offer to our preferred military clients on their Ottawa House hunting trips. To better understand the market it is good to look at the stats. Let’s have a look at the numbers driving our market.
KEY INDICATORS
AFFORDABILITY
Ottawa households have one of the highest household income averages in Canada. If you see the graph on the following page you can see that prices are still relatively affordable for Ottawa buyers. This graph looks very different for buyers in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. This is taken from the popular military neighbourhood of Fairwinds in Stittsville.
IMMIGRATION
If you Google best places to migrate to in Canada, Ottawa seems to be the number one choice. I am seeing many more immigrants choose Ottawa as their final destination. Toronto and Montreal are of course popular but when someone researches where to live in Canada, Ottawa comes out close to number one in almost all categories.
The common misconception out there is that these immigrants do not have the funds to purchase real estate. That is not always the case. In many instances, it is their credit or lack thereof that may be holding them back. In any case, these immigrants are coming at a record pace and will likely be purchasing real estate in the future.
MORTGAGE RULES AND INTEREST RATES
Banks have been forced to stress test buyers at a full 2 percentage points higher than the interest rate of their mortgage. This can impact purchasing power by almost 20%. I see the need for this but as house prices rise in major market centres there has been plenty of pushback. Interest rates have been slowly rising and this has put pressure on affordability for some buyers. If this trend continues it will have an impact on the market for sure. With the economy being more sluggish, the need for further increases may be curbed.
LOCAL ECONOMY
Ottawa has always been an underrated city in my view. We have a strong local economy with one of the highest median household income averages in Canada. Our unemployment rate is at historically low levels. It is a prototypical government town that has a growing technology sector and lots of solid, high paying professional jobs. It is only a matter of time before our prices surge and we become a global player in real estate. For a world-class capital city our prices still might be a bargain. Time will tell!
ELECTION YEAR
Housing affordability has climbed up to be one of the top issues for millennials. This makes it an election issue. A recent poll found that 64% of millennial voters want the government to do something about climbing prices. We will see the politicians respective platforms later this year. My prediction is that some of these platforms will have policies that will make it easier or more affordable for buyers to purchase. It could mean the return of 30-year amortizations. The stress tests might be eased or there could be a new policy altogether. Something to watch for sure.
MILITARY AND TECHNOLOGY
The DND move to the Nortel campus has been a major factor in the recent price appreciation in many of Ottawa’s west neighbourhoods. Interestingly, it is still a few years away from being fully operational as they phase employees into the new headquarters. In 2018 there was a major announcement that another prominent military operation headquarters will be built in close proximity within 10 years. The new building will house over 4500 employees. This will have an impact down the road on our real estate market. The location has not yet been announced but I have heard it will be at Shirley’s Bay just west of the DND. Once operational the mili
GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Ottawa is growing and maturing into a world-class city. We should all be grateful to live in a city with such a high quality of life. By March we will have light rail going right downtown that will make life easier for commuters. This will just be the start of a much broader transportation plan. We have a super hospital that will be coming online in the years to come. Lebreton will eventually get the green light for redevelopment. Lots to be excited about. These will help fuel our economic growth in the years ahead.
2019 FORECAST
I believe it will be another strong resale year for Ottawa homebuyers and sellers in 2019. There is still pent-up demand and lots of buyers looking to purchase. This was reinforced just before Christmas as our team was involved in 2 multiple bid situations in the Fairwinds area. The targets were modern semi-detached townhomes, one that we sold for a record price with 3 offers. This is not the kind of activity you would typically see just before Christmas. It is indicative of the market in the entry level price points. The $350k-450k market will continue to be red hot this year. I have spoken with a few builders who had record years. Next year many homebuyers will be on the move to their newly built homes. This will hopefully create some much-needed inventory in 2019.
I predict we will have another seller’s market that will slowly slide to a balanced market by the time 2019 is complete. Barring an international crisis, it will be another great year for the Ottawa Real Estate market.
If you are curious about your homes worth please fill in this form for a no-obligation market assessment.
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.
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.
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.
Military clients are the backbone of my real estate business. I am so fortunate to have this speciality because I get to work with so many great people. As a small thank you for everything they do, my wife and I hosted an event exclusively for military clients. We leased out a full 100L suite on CF Appreciation night at the Ottawa Senators game exclusively for our military clients. What a fun night!
Here are some of the pictures:
If you find yourself posted to Ottawa please consider me a real estate resource. I have worked on 100’s of house hunting trips and understand the process more than most. We enjoy taking care of our clients!
One of the most popular events in Ottawa each September is the Army Run. This year I will be participating and raising money to support our military troops and their families. I can’t wait for the big day! If you want to come out and support this great cause please see details here: http://armyrun.ca/
If you want to donate to this cause check out my pledge page. I will match dollar for dollar every donation that is made up to $1000. I will also donate a minimum of $500 for this wonderful cause. Just bought some new shoes for the race, now I just need to get in shape!
Working as a military relocations specialist in Ottawa has been one of the most rewarding decisions I have made. I get to work with such wonderful people who go out of their way to support my business. I am excited to be aligned with this group of people. My hope is that we can raise lots of money for this wonderful cause.
