Ottawa neighbourhoods with the greatest growth
If you live in Leitrim, Manotick or Rideau Forest, the Woodroffe area, Constance Bay-Dunrobin, or Nepean’s Tanglewood, you are in neighbourhoods that have experienced astronomical growth since last year.
Leitrim looks to be up a whooping 86 per cent.
“It’s not a true number, since the real estate market wasn’t yet back on track after the pandemic first hit by last year, but there is an incredible spike,” says Taylor Bennett, a broker with Bennett Property Shop Realty and a regular contributor to CTV’s News At Noon.
Why is Leitrim a draw?
“It’s a friendly-oriented area located in the south of the city where many new developments with stacked townhomes, row houses, and detached homes were all built within the last five to six years,” explains Bennett.
“With areas like Barrhaven and Riverside South experiencing recent surges in prices, buyers looking for better prices were driven to Leitrim.”
The average home price in Manotick and Rideau Forest is now $1.2 million.
“Many of the homes in the area offer both larger homes and larger lots. With ample interior space for at-home offices, and large backyards for kids to enjoy, these features fit perfectly into the family pandemic lifestyle.”
Bennett describes “Woodroffe” as a small neighbourhood just west of Westboro.
“While this neighbourhood may not be well known, with good transit access (which will improve with the future expansion of the LRT) and Queensway access, and a mix of both older homes ripe for flipping and low-maintenance, retirement-friendly condos it's not a huge surprise to find this area on this list.”
Constance Bay and Dunrobin have made this list before and this community is back again for the same reasons:
“Proximity to Kanata (30-40 minutes) but offers the cottage-like lifestyle, ideal for retirees or those working permanently from home.”
Bennett says Tanglewood is a newcomer to this list and one of the more affordable areas despite its recent growth.
“Located off Hunt Club, between Woodroffe and Merivale, this area has more bungalows and wider lots than most neighbourhoods, two of the most in-demand features buyers are looking for today.”
Bennett says realtors are seeing signs that we may be returning to a more typical market.
“The real estate headlines in 2020 were dominated by both historically low inventory levels and interest rates, contributing to the dramatic growth we saw over the last 24 months or so.”
Bennett is also expecting the new mortgage stress test to slow down the frenzied market.
“It’s still early to tell by exactly how much since it just went into effect on June 1,” says Bennett.
“With the stress test now in effect and inventory levels slowly increasing, we have seen some signs that we may be returning back to our typical balanced market.”
Bennett explains it’s not a complete picture to compare May 2020 to May 2021, because last spring we were still in early days of COVID-19.
“The increase of over 60 per cent in residential and condominium properties compared to this point last year likely raised some eyebrows, but keep in mind that for the first four to six weeks after the initial lockdown in mid-March 2020, the number of listings was at an all-time low, which naturally caused the number of sales to be low.
“But each month, as the number of new listings went up, we also saw the prices climb to another record-setting high in both residential and condo sales.”
Taylor Bennett compares May 2020 to May 2021:
May Market Summary
“For the first time in over 11 months, there is more than one month-of-inventory on the market. Up until recently we had to measure the inventory in weeks (months-of-inventory is: assuming no new listings hit the market and you continue selling at the current rate, how many months until there are no listings remaining).”
“It was a matter of time until the inventory levels started to increase, but even with the increased levels, we aren't in a 'buyer's market' or even a 'balanced market', typically sellers markets are defined as six or fewer months-of-inventory so we still have a way to go until we hit that point,” says Bennett.
“This is still good news for buyers, as we have seen fewer multiple offer scenarios, so buyers have more properties to consider and they're up against less competition. Most importantly, we are seeing more listing priced close to their true market values instead of intentionally underpriced to create bidding wars. That being said, the market is still highly competitive; buyers still need to be as prepared as ever to get the best deal.”
Popular Styles - Residential
“Bungalows and two-storey homes are found in almost every neighbourhood across the city and they are typically the most popular, and often most expensive, styles of home; but, many people forget about hi-ranch style homes, which are almost a mix of a bungalow and a two-storey home,” Bennett says.
“While they aren't as prevalent as the other two styles, hi-ranch homes are on average over $130,000 less expensive than two-storey homes in today’s market. Hi-Ranch homes are a great alternative to those getting priced out of the other segments.”
Popular Styles - Condominium
“It's important to remember that the terms 'condominium' defines the legal ownership of the property. It has nothing to do with the specific structure. But even among the three most popular styles, we don't see a huge difference in their prices,” Bennett explains.
“However, prices of downtown one-level and apartment-style condos didn't see the same types of increases as their two- and three-storey counterparts. As the lockdown measures loosen with the vaccine rollout and both students and workers come back to the downtown core, we have seen the demand for the urban-lifestyle slowly return."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.