"Spring Flowers" in the Byward Market! Credit to Justin S. Campbell on Flickr

WOW! Has the market ever picked up. Over the last two weeks there has been a huge shift in activity and sales. Open Houses, sign calls, and web questions have doubled almost tripled over the past few months and I think it is safe to say people are “coming out of hiding”.
I was showing a client an entry-level investment rental property on Sunday and it was a circus, the only thing missing was an elephant. During the three hours that the listing agent could schedule showings (the tenants work nights and sleep during the day) there was 15 showings including mine. So if you can imagine an actual line-up of people on this street at 10am with coffee in one hand, feature sheets, flashlights and measuring tapes in the other. All trying to be the first ones in. It did not work out for my buyer, but as you can imagine it went to a competing offer scenario and went above asking price. This is not the first time I have heard of this happening as of late in Ottawa. If you follow me on Twitter, or Facebook, (Add me!) then you might see the amazement from the other agents outside of Ottawa who do not understand. I had another agent from Toronto ask, on my Facebook, for other peoples confirmation that this is the true environment, and that I was not just pushing a load of positive-ness.

As the weather continues to get better (today I believe we hit 18 degrees!!) so will the market activity!

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http://www.MattRichling.com

Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.