Sept 2021 Ottawa Real Estate Market Update

There is nothing normal about the Ottawa real estate market in 2021.....
..... except for the fact that the fourth quarter is really  mirroring the year of 2019.
Let's admit it: 2020 was a completely different year and no one knew what was going on.
So if we look at things. Nothing's normal in Ottawa!
My name is Greg Hamre from The Hamre Real Estate Team RE/MAX Affiliates in Ottawa.
We just want to give you a market snapshot of what September was like!
☀️Well, the weather has been phenomenal. It's October, I'm still seeing people wearing shorts around.
People are biking, they're out and active. The leaves are changing.
We had a lot of rain in September, but the biggest part of September was that Labour Day was late.
This usually causes a back to school slow down in the real estate market, this year that was compounded by the election which also caused a slow down because Ottawa is a federal city.
Concern is what if something changes?
And the fact is the sun always comes up after election day and life goes on.
Next up was National Truth and Reconciliation day where many took time to pause and reflect.
The point being: There were lots of distractions in September to stop people from thinking about and talking about real estate.
But believe me, buyers are out there. 
They're looking, they're looking for good listings and they're looking for high end that $1 million high end product.
The luxury. 
Very little to choose from.
We have buyers looking in that category and those categories and it's slim pickings.
And so if you're looking to list right now, and we've got a number of listings coming up already teed up for, for the first part, early January and February for 2022, but we're looking for high end product right now.
We do have buyers. That type of product, but there's a, there's a shortage. 
There's a housing crisis continues here in Canada and across North America.
But the biggest election campaign should have been, how do we build more affordable housing?
How do we build more housing period, which is less costly, but the average price of residential home in Ottawa as of the end of September, was 721,000.
That's up 25%
And we know that's two huge consecutive growth years that we've experienced here in Ottawa, the condo market, average price point year to date 422,000 up 17%!
Condo market is healthy. And a lack of good inventory is definitely a concern.
Condo market in Ottawa represents 25% of the market.
That means ONE in FOUR buyers are looking at condos
So you've got pressure at both ends high end purchaser, and you've got a introductory purchase.
Ottawa is still a very affordable compared to the other major cities like Toronto and Vancouver. We're actually half the price of those cities.
✈️A lot of relocation, a lot of people moving to Ottawa as a destination city and we can see it in our tourism.
A lot of people traveling across Canada, a lot of tourists coming to Ottawa, you'll see them Downtown throughout.
I was out for a walk last night around Parlin hill with my wife. And it's just a beautiful city. There's so much historical landmarks to see, but it's a safe city and there's lots of biking.
Come and visit Ottawa, come and visit Downtown.
If you live in the outskirts of oughta, come and visit Downtown, see what we have to offer.
There's been so much activity we can activity from farmer's markets, multiple farmer's markets to outdoor recreation with the CFL team that we have the REDBLACKS which had an unbelievable game the other night, it was a beautiful football night.
And then we had that. We had, we had two back-to-back concerts and then we had the Panda game. Only happens once a year.
It was a lot of excitement. I couldn't believe all the gray and burgundy hoodies downtown on Saturday afternoon and night. It was wonderful to see everybody out great for our economy.
You couldn't get a restaurant on Saturday night, anywhere in Ottawa, Downtown was alive, packed.
Everybody was out. This wonderful weather is continuing. ☀️
We're just about to go into Thanksgiving, which we're very thankful for.
❄️So they want to be in before the snow flies. They want to be in before Christmas. Don't worry about decorating your home.
People love seeing homes decorated that are on the market. So whether it's Thanksgiving or it's Halloween, don't overdo it on Halloween. But Christmas be sure to decorate. The home buyers love seeing what a home looks like, decorating the holiday season.
So that's few helpful hints, a few little, a little insight on what's going on in Ottawa.
It's a wonderful year, wonderful time. We're really happy to be here pushing for our buyers and sellers. And we have a number in both categories.
To view these or reach out to us visit our website: WeKnowOttawa.com
My name is Greg Hamre from RE/MAX Affiliates and the Hamre Real Estate Team. 
We hope you have a wonderful day!
Take care.