Real Estate

Ottawa and Surrounding Area Real Estate market discussion

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Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
bhushh009 wrote: whats going on with Ottawa Real estate especially in Kanata? Mattamy In kanata raising price crazily. one of my friend bought Last year in June same model for 329k now same new model for $385k.
More importantly, its getting sold out quickly.
Yes Mattamy does not even bother to put the price of their 2 storeies TH for their Kanata development on their website. I suspect they must be close to selling out as I believe the remaining TH for the entire development are what's shown on the site plan for phase 2, after that the rest are all single detached.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
triple666 wrote: I live in Alymer and if anything I come out ahead than I would in Ottawa. Houses less expensive, property tax cheaper cuz homes are cheaper, auto insurance a lot less expensive, to the tune of a couple thousand for me anyways. It makes no sense for me anyways why I would spend 400k on a townhouse in Orleans when I can spend 400k on brand new detached house 2 car garage 7 min away from Westboro.
I think it depends on you income level and life circumstances. As illustrated in the article, if you have children in day care, living on the Quebec side has its advantage. However, if you have no kids or older children, or you earn a higher income, you are better off on the Ontario side of the river.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ot ... u-1.913374

I personally found it to be a pretty good article that illustrated the pros and cons of living on the Quebec side.
Banned
May 12, 2004
9756 posts
4136 upvotes
Ottawa
djredhat wrote: It’s nightmare to get to Ottawa from Aylmer. 10 mins is probably only midnight on Christmas. I’d rather choose Chelsea.
I would too if i had to pick one...but Chelsea rapes you on property taxes in exchange for clearing snow on streets and garbage service and...nothing else.
Sr. Member
Aug 14, 2007
562 posts
314 upvotes
Ottawa
William W wrote: I think it depends on you income level and life circumstances. As illustrated in the article, if you have children in day care, living on the Quebec side has its advantage. However, if you have no kids or older children, or you earn a higher income, you are better off on the Ontario side of the river.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ot ... u-1.913374

I personally found it to be a pretty good article that illustrated the pros and cons of living on the Quebec side.
The longer you live in Quebec side, the harder you can move back to Ontario side due to the property price gap is getting wider and wider. I have few friends in the same situation, unless you plan to stay in Quebec forever, then it becomes a non-issue. Similar situation apply to Toronto and Ottawa, I have pay a lot more if I plan to retire in Toronto.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
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audiorichard wrote: The longer you live in Quebec side, the harder you can move back to Ontario side due to the property price gap is getting wider and wider. I have few friends in the same situation, unless you plan to stay in Quebec forever, then it becomes a non-issue. Similar situation apply to Toronto and Ottawa, I have pay a lot more if I plan to retire in Toronto.
Toronto's prices seem to be stalling. So hopefully, with the recent bounce in Ottawa's pricing we will be able to narrow the gap. At one point I was also looking to retire in the peripheral of GTA as I will be closer to cheap flights and major cities amenities, now I am priced out.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jun 28, 2003
12183 posts
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Ottawa
audiorichard wrote: I agree, you have to see it to believe it.
Glenview and Caivan (a relatively new player to Ottawa real estate?) will be building right around Harmony site so it will be interesting to see what prices they offer.

In the springtime, I have seen lots of water on the fields where Glenview will be building as I am taking that Borrisokane road on a daily basis so I hope they take that into consideration and put in additional reinforcements for the future home buyers.
Sr. Member
Aug 6, 2011
599 posts
267 upvotes
ilusa wrote: Avoid Buying in QC if you can, Selling a house is a nightmare.
It's true. Houses in Ottawa sell faster in general. In general, Quebec is more a buyer's market. If the house on Quebec side is priced right, and close to Ottawa, it can trigger a lot of interest from potential buyers and sells within 2 weeks.
Watch the market and wait for the right price. Most houses are priced too high, therefore they stay on the market longer.
I personally live in downtown hull and love the proximity to downtown Ottawa and work. Me and my wife can walk to work and save money and time on commuting. My wife is expecting a baby and we decided to live here for 5 years, to benefit from the day cares and other services.
After, we may decide to move to Ottawa. It's true there's a risk price gap between both cities can widen with time. That's why we keep our real estate investment in Ottawa, we won't be priced out.
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2006
3097 posts
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William W wrote: I think it depends on you income level and life circumstances. As illustrated in the article, if you have children in day care, living on the Quebec side has its advantage. However, if you have no kids or older children, or you earn a higher income, you are better off on the Ontario side of the river.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ot ... u-1.913374

I personally found it to be a pretty good article that illustrated the pros and cons of living on the Quebec side.
Completely agree. It really depends on your situation. If the health care wasn’t so insanely bad, I wouldn’t consider moving to Ontario in the near future.
iamalittlepepper wrote: Non of the Royal Purple is BMW qualified which voids your drivetrain warranty.. especially for those who owns the 3.0L N54 engine
tcjsqls wrote: you have no ideas how a report of stolen credit card (...) affect your credit. Happened twice in your history, that bank won't issue a credit card for you
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
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canabiz wrote: Glenview and Caivan (a relatively new player to Ottawa real estate?) will be building right around Harmony site so it will be interesting to see what prices they offer.

In the springtime, I have seen lots of water on the fields where Glenview will be building as I am taking that Borrisokane road on a daily basis so I hope they take that into consideration and put in additional reinforcements for the future home buyers.
I would think it will be at the earliest fall 2018 before Caivan and Glenview to start releasing the lots in Barrhaven as neither has even release the name of their new development on the website. In fact given the soil condition it sits on, I would not be surprise it will take Glenview until 2019 or when they sell out their Orleans development before they were to start marketing their Barrhaven development.

Based on Caivan's pricing at the Fox Run in Richmond, I don't think they will be cheaper than Minto pricing at the Harmony. And Glenview will most likely pass on the extra cost to provide proper drainage to their buyers, so I doubt it will be cheaper than Harmony either.
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2006
3097 posts
2399 upvotes
audiorichard wrote: The longer you live in Quebec side, the harder you can move back to Ontario side due to the property price gap is getting wider and wider. I have few friends in the same situation, unless you plan to stay in Quebec forever, then it becomes a non-issue. Similar situation apply to Toronto and Ottawa, I have pay a lot more if I plan to retire in Toronto.
It depend. Living in QC with a preschooler or two actually allows you to save - low mortgage, low car insurance, low hydro, free water - so you might be able to buy house in Ottawa mostly cash down the road, while keeping your original property.

The spike in Ottawa is caused by the overflow from GTA, but with the GTA prices going down, who knows...
iamalittlepepper wrote: Non of the Royal Purple is BMW qualified which voids your drivetrain warranty.. especially for those who owns the 3.0L N54 engine
tcjsqls wrote: you have no ideas how a report of stolen credit card (...) affect your credit. Happened twice in your history, that bank won't issue a credit card for you
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2006
3097 posts
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ilusa wrote: Avoid Buying in QC if you can, Selling a house is a nightmare.
While I agree with the first statement, not sure why selling a house would be a nightmare? If priced right, selling a house is the same everywhere.
iamalittlepepper wrote: Non of the Royal Purple is BMW qualified which voids your drivetrain warranty.. especially for those who owns the 3.0L N54 engine
tcjsqls wrote: you have no ideas how a report of stolen credit card (...) affect your credit. Happened twice in your history, that bank won't issue a credit card for you
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
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djredhat wrote:

The spike in Ottawa is caused by the overflow from GTA, but with the GTA prices going down, who knows...
I think this is exactly it. People with money in Toronto has to park their money somewhere. If they can't make money in Toronto because they believe the market will go down or stay flat, they are going to look elsewhere. Right now, I believe they're looking at places like Ottawa and London. And the more adventurous one or the one who knows French are looking at Montreal.
Banned
May 12, 2004
9756 posts
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Ottawa
canabiz wrote: Glenview and Caivan (a relatively new player to Ottawa real estate?) will be building right around Harmony site so it will be interesting to see what prices they offer.

In the springtime, I have seen lots of water on the fields where Glenview will be building as I am taking that Borrisokane road on a daily basis so I hope they take that into consideration and put in additional reinforcements for the future home buyers.
Caivan Communities = 2 ex-Mattamy execs who raised private money (mostly from US investors where they were sold on how much their money is worth here) to start their own company. Expect Mattamy level of quality, service, marketing...Francesco Cairo (CAI) and Troy van Haastrecht (VAN) are the owners.
Deal Addict
Nov 11, 2004
3503 posts
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Ottawa
djredhat wrote: While I agree with the first statement, not sure why selling a house would be a nightmare? If priced right, selling a house is the same everywhere.
Its not though! Due to the "Declarations by the Seller of the immovable” Used in Quebec

As a seller you have a high chance of being sued this was discussed on rfd by another poster, I personally went through it, and will never buy again in QC knowing that i would eventually have to sell
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Dec 27, 2009
7941 posts
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Victoria, BC
ilusa wrote: Its not though! Due to the "Declarations by the Seller of the immovable” Used in Quebec

As a seller you have a high chance of being sued this was discussed on rfd by another poster, I personally went through it, and will never buy again in QC knowing that i would eventually have to sell
There has been more than one thread on RFD about this. You can be sued long after the fact you sold it, whether you were aware of the issue or not I think (based on reading the previous threads).
Newbie
Jan 11, 2011
98 posts
163 upvotes
Chickinvic wrote: There has been more than one thread on RFD about this. You can be sued long after the fact you sold it, whether you were aware of the issue or not I think (based on reading the previous threads).
I've heard of this before but didn't think it could possibly be true. Builder made an error using an incorrect material a long with a poor design and it caused a lot of repairs 15 years later. Current owners sued every previous owner to help pay for the "defect".
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2006
3097 posts
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Chickinvic wrote: There has been more than one thread on RFD about this. You can be sued long after the fact you sold it, whether you were aware of the issue or not I think (based on reading the previous threads).
Well, you can always be sued even if not in QC, no? If I buy in Ontario and suspect that the seller knew something but they didn’t disclose it, don’t I have the right to sue? If not, then by the same logic you wouldn’t want to be a buyer in ON.

In one case the seller is protected, in other the buyer. I am not arguing which one is better, but when you bought your house in QC, didn’t it feel good knowing that you are protected?

My personal preference is to be protected when buying, as I can always be honest when selling, but If the seller can get away with cheating, that’s not something that would make me happy.
iamalittlepepper wrote: Non of the Royal Purple is BMW qualified which voids your drivetrain warranty.. especially for those who owns the 3.0L N54 engine
tcjsqls wrote: you have no ideas how a report of stolen credit card (...) affect your credit. Happened twice in your history, that bank won't issue a credit card for you
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2006
3097 posts
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michelb wrote: Personally, I really like it (have lived there my whole life). It's an older neighborhood so lots tend to be bigger and it's well located for downtown commute. Most homes are older which is not as desirable (although quite a few will have been renovated). LRT / bus service is decent but I don't use it (if there was a Park & Ride at Blair (I don't consider the 21 Gold Permit spots available at Telesat a suitable option), I probably would but there isn't (and it's unlikely there will ever be) so it takes me almost as long to get from home to Blair as it does from Blair to downtown and the time it takes to bus versus driving in is significant enough to warrant paying for downtown parking and driving in). On the other hand, property values, really haven't gone up much compared to other areas. For families, there are a lot more "services" in Orleans as there are in Beacon Hill, all the schools are much older, etc. As far as the schools, ColonelBy does have a very good reputation (although it's not the only Ottawa school that scores well) but I personally don't put a lot of value in that. (Personally, I don't believe where you went to high school (or even University for that matter - although I'll admit that makes a bigger difference) makes a big difference in your success in life. I just don't think there's enough difference between the best schools and the worst schools ...).

As far as what you are describing, there are a few pockets of "newer" (around Gablefield and Locksley) (the majority of homes in Beacon Hill are older than 20 years) but those do have fairly significant condo fees ($250-300/month) and most are stacked units (Personally, I would prefer a row or semi but obviously it depends on your budget and what's important to you). A year ago, I would have recommended looking for a semi but right now, with the market being much stronger, they are few and far between (none right now) and anything that like that that comes on the market, will likely be near $400k (last year probably would have been closer to $300k). If access to Colonel By is important, keep in mind that you have to be North of Montreal Road.

If you aren't in dire hurry then it might be worth waiting to see what happens with the market (I would be surprised if older semis in the area return to < $350k) but I certainly can't predict what will happen in the area (My concern is that at the moment, I don't see a very big difference between the price of semis/rows and singles so I think if (when) the market cools down, the gap might broaden again. Having said that, $350k (or even $330k) is certainly more than the range you mentioned (It's up to you to decide if extra price balances the savings of condo fees).
Looked at the couple of those 20yrs old condos on the weekend, and they are not bad. My main issue is that they are on the small side for a familiy of 4, and way too small if the family grows to 5. Plus, they only come with a single parking spot, so for us this is an issue.

There was a detached bungalow listed for 360, but it literally had to ripped off apart from the inside and outside (although I don’t see it now, so maybe it was sold). Five years ago I wouldn’t have minded all the work, but I now have herniated disk and osteoarthritis, so I can only do minor renos - like flooring, tiling, painting. Ripping walls off to change inuslation, framing, drywalling is not something I can do at this point.

I saw this semi on grapevine (whatever this is) for 340

https://grapevine.ca/listing/48638

The funny part is that googling the address brought me to thai website, where the same owner listed it for 325:

https://propertyguys.com/property/index/id/82733
iamalittlepepper wrote: Non of the Royal Purple is BMW qualified which voids your drivetrain warranty.. especially for those who owns the 3.0L N54 engine
tcjsqls wrote: you have no ideas how a report of stolen credit card (...) affect your credit. Happened twice in your history, that bank won't issue a credit card for you

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