What’s your home worth? Ottawa-area real estate now vs. five years ago
If five years ago, you made a move to the towns of Arnprior or Almonte, that would be described as a very good move.
Since 2017, home values have risen 219 per cent in Arnprior. In Almonte, the five-year price increase is 160 per cent.
A home purchase in Carp, on average, was $595,000 a half decade ago. Today, that home would fetch more than $1.1-million. That’s an 87 per cent increase.
“Normally we couldn’t sell the outlying areas,” says Marnie Bennett, owner of Bennett Property Shop Realty.
Bennett has been in the business for more than 40 years and describes the pricing increases across the region as unprecedented and mind-blowing.
“A lot of it is perpetuated by the millennials. They’ve saved more money during the pandemic,” she said. “The low interest rates and definitely the ability to work remotely is driving all of this.”
Bennett says people are looking at owning larger lots and more property. And she says COVID has had another influence.
“We’re seeing a lot of intergenerational home-buying too because people are now worried about long-term care facilities and aging in place.”
Bennett says the Ottawa market and pricing, even with the staggering increases, are still attracting many Toronto buyers.
“If you look at the Toronto market, we’re getting a lot of Toronto buyers. The average price in Toronto right now is $1.8 million. $837,000 is the average price of a home in Ottawa. That’s a $1-million difference.”
In 2017 the average price of a home in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood was $515,000. In 2022 that same house sold for an average of $983,662, a 91 per cent increase.
Travel east to the Orleans and Cumberland area and your five year increase in value is about 110 per cent.
Farther east in Hawkesbury, Ont., there was a 40 per cent increase in home values from February 2021 to this year.
Throughout this region there has been historically low inventory on the market. Bennett sees some hope of that changing.
“The number of new listings in February is 1,762, offering a glimmer of hope for buyers. Listings are up 12 per cent, year-over-year since February 2021.”
You may need to sit down when you read that 21 per cent of all residential homes sold in Ottawa are more than a million dollars.
If that makes first time buyers feel they have been totally priced out, Bennett says they shouldn’t be discouraged.
“Interest rates are still very low. We’re saying to people who may be baby boomers—‘Hey this may be time to cash out, maybe you have a cottage that you want to winterize or maybe some people are moving back, I don’t know, to the Maritimes.’ We are seeing that going on.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.