Cambridgite
Nov 16, 2007, 5:48 PM
I was browsing through the Ottawa section and I found this article about how condos are becoming increasingly popular there. One interesting thing I found at the bottom of the article is that KW led the country in terms of increase in condo sales, with a 59% gain from last year! :banana:
So do you guys think it's pent up demand? The start of a trend that's bound to take off? Let's hear your thoughts.
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/290291943756991.php
News Story
UPDATE: Condo sales up 11% in Ottawa on year-to-date
By Krystle Chow, Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Wed, Nov 14, 2007 8:00 AM EST
Sales of apartments and townhouses are enjoying double-digit surges across the country so far this year, with more than half of major Canadian markets surveyed in a new RE/MAX report seeing gains of more than 20 per cent in condo sales.
Ottawa's condo market saw a 10.7-per-cent gain from a year earlier in condo unit sales for the January-to-September period, jumping to 2,527 sales, the report said.
The report noted that current low inventory levels for apartments and townhouses are a factor for the strength of demand in the condo markets, with available condo units falling 20 per cent from 2006 levels to 642.
This growth is occuring in spite of the rising average value of condos in Ottawa, which increased by close to six per cent in the same period to $197,206, with price growth expected to escalate even more in the next year, especially in the top-end of the market.
"First-time buyers have been a major force in the marketplace, driving demand for both one-level apartments, as well as townhouse units. Some sales of smaller apartments can also be attributed to buyers who own homes in the suburbs but work downtown, choosing to acquire small pied-a-terre units for convenience," the report read. "Affordability has been a factor, with most purchasers able to buy into home ownership for less than the cost of a rental."
The report noted that demand has been strongest for multi-unit homes valued at between $125,000 and $199,999, at 64 per cent of all condominium sales so far this year. One-level apartment units are "exceptionally popular" in Ottawa, with sales for the year-to-date period rising by 15.8-per-cent year-over-year to 1,078.
Baby boomers are helping to boost sales of upper-end condominiums valued at more than $500,000, the report said, which now account for more than three per cent of total sales.
Most of the purchasers in this segment are "downsizing from homes in suburban areas to the coveted downtown area, including Centretown, Golden Triangle and Centreville."
"New high-rise condominiums are currently under construction throughout the core, with developers concentrating on luxurious units at higher price points," the report read. "Although current demand in the upper-end is limited, it is anticipated to increase as the baby-boom generation makes its way through the life cycle."
Across the country, 80 per cent of major markets surveyed reported double-digit gains in condo sales for the first nine months of the year, led by Kitchener-Waterloo which saw a 59-per-cent year-over-year increase in sales from the same period a year earlier.
So do you guys think it's pent up demand? The start of a trend that's bound to take off? Let's hear your thoughts.
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/290291943756991.php
News Story
UPDATE: Condo sales up 11% in Ottawa on year-to-date
By Krystle Chow, Ottawa Business Journal Staff
Wed, Nov 14, 2007 8:00 AM EST
Sales of apartments and townhouses are enjoying double-digit surges across the country so far this year, with more than half of major Canadian markets surveyed in a new RE/MAX report seeing gains of more than 20 per cent in condo sales.
Ottawa's condo market saw a 10.7-per-cent gain from a year earlier in condo unit sales for the January-to-September period, jumping to 2,527 sales, the report said.
The report noted that current low inventory levels for apartments and townhouses are a factor for the strength of demand in the condo markets, with available condo units falling 20 per cent from 2006 levels to 642.
This growth is occuring in spite of the rising average value of condos in Ottawa, which increased by close to six per cent in the same period to $197,206, with price growth expected to escalate even more in the next year, especially in the top-end of the market.
"First-time buyers have been a major force in the marketplace, driving demand for both one-level apartments, as well as townhouse units. Some sales of smaller apartments can also be attributed to buyers who own homes in the suburbs but work downtown, choosing to acquire small pied-a-terre units for convenience," the report read. "Affordability has been a factor, with most purchasers able to buy into home ownership for less than the cost of a rental."
The report noted that demand has been strongest for multi-unit homes valued at between $125,000 and $199,999, at 64 per cent of all condominium sales so far this year. One-level apartment units are "exceptionally popular" in Ottawa, with sales for the year-to-date period rising by 15.8-per-cent year-over-year to 1,078.
Baby boomers are helping to boost sales of upper-end condominiums valued at more than $500,000, the report said, which now account for more than three per cent of total sales.
Most of the purchasers in this segment are "downsizing from homes in suburban areas to the coveted downtown area, including Centretown, Golden Triangle and Centreville."
"New high-rise condominiums are currently under construction throughout the core, with developers concentrating on luxurious units at higher price points," the report read. "Although current demand in the upper-end is limited, it is anticipated to increase as the baby-boom generation makes its way through the life cycle."
Across the country, 80 per cent of major markets surveyed reported double-digit gains in condo sales for the first nine months of the year, led by Kitchener-Waterloo which saw a 59-per-cent year-over-year increase in sales from the same period a year earlier.