Housing Outlook 2015

Genworth's Metropolitan Condo Outlook - Winter 2015

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Genworth and the Conference Board of Canada has released the 2015 winter edition of its apartment condominium study that looks at eight metropolitan areas, including Ottawa.

For the full report and in depth look into Ottawa and the other areas, click here.

"Although inventories remained high in 2014, Ottawa apartment building permits nearly doubled during the six months to December 2014 compared with their year-earlier levels. As a result, the new apartment condominium market is set to pick up again in 2015, with starts forecast to increase by 9.9 per cent. In fact, construction is already under way on a number of new buildings this year, including The Bowery condominiums and Claridge’s Icon condominiums in Little Italy. The Icon condominium building will be Ottawa’s tallest. But this title may not last long. A new development proposed by Richcraft Homes, also in the Little Italy neighbourhood, would see the construction of three new towers, the biggest of which would be 55 storeys tall. Starts are expected to keep rising from 2016 to 2019, growing by a forecast average of 1.2 per cent per year. Absorptions are set to decline this year and next, albeit from a 2014 record high, and then begin to rise through the next few years, helping to whittle down inventories." - taken from the report.

Looking Ahead to 2015 in Ottawa

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As the snow starts falling, and the days pass... we realize that 2015 is almost here. Lets take a quick look ahead and what some of the major players are predicting and what it means for someone looking to make a move in the new year.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is predicting:
- Increase of 1.4 per cent for sales price of new construction single detached homes.
- Decrease of 2 percent for new home starts
- Increase of 0.8 per cent for sales price of resale properties (both residential and condo)
- Increase of 1.8 per cent for average rent of two bedrooms
- An increase of 0.2 per cent for rental vacancy
- Decrease of 0.7 per cent of MLS sales (both residential and condo)

RE/MAX Ontario Atlantic is predicting:
- Increase of 1.6 per cent for average residential price
- Lots of inventory or "excellent selection" in the condominium market
- In 2014 sellers were optimistic and overpriced properties, which pushed days on market. This will impact 2015 with continued increased DOM and more selection for buyers, but will balance out with fewer housing starts.
- Nationwide residential sale price to increase by two to three per cent in 2015 

Overall, while we will not see any crazy gains in price, we will see a slow and easy gain through 2015. More properties are and will be on the market, so sellers need to be more accurate with pricing (NOT OVERPRICED), and buyers will be able to have more selection. Again... Note that CMHC says there will be more listings, and fewer sales - it is more important than ever to have your property priced right, and marketed to its full potential!

Click here for the full CMHC 2015 Ottawa Prediction report.

Click here for the full RE/MAX 2015 Housing Market Outlook Report.

If you have any questions about buying, selling, or the market in general - I would love to chat!