April 2023 Newsletter
April was a huge month for the team - from awards, new agents, and plenty of new listings - the team is getting ready for an exciting summer season!
Welcome Meagan!
A warm welcome to Meagan Milloy, who has joined us at New Purveyors! You may have seen her in the corner of our Instagram stories over the past few weeks as she got to know the team. We’re so excited to welcome her officially!
Matt Richling Named RE/MAX Torchbearer
A huge congratulations to Matt for being named one of RE/MAX’s Torchbearers for 2023! This prestigious award is given to only a few top agents under the age of 40 across Canada and the US.
You can read more about the award and other recipients here: https://news.remax.com/2023-torchbearers-remax-announces-top-agents-under-40
Visiting Owen
Owen Kennedy was recently in the hospital for an emergency surgery. Once he was out of surgery, the team gathered to visit him and wish him well. We are happy to announce Owen is recovering well and is out of the hospital now.
Goodbye Danny!
April was Danny’s last month with New Purveyors, and we’re so excited for her to start her next journey as she begins pursuing her passion for the sciences. Danny has taken a job with the City of Ottawa to put her degrees (she is currently completing a degree in biochemistry, and has already completed one in biotech) to good use!
Real Estate News
Interested in hearing more from our agents about real estate? Let’s dive into some of our top blog posts this month:
Your First Investment Property: With John Haddad
If you’re thinking about purchasing your first investment property, it may be a little discouraging to see what’s available in most first-time buyers’ budgets. We spoke with John Haddad about the hidden value in ‘fixer-upper’ properties for first-time investors.
Should You Close on the Same Day?: With Stephany Watson
Stephany Watson explains that buying and selling on the same day can be risky - and staggering your closing dates can give you a great advantage. If you need to buy first, bridge financing can help you during the time where you own both properties. If you sell first, you’ll have more than enough time to move funds. However, if you do both on the same day, you’ll be at the mercy of the buyers to get the funds to you before you’re expected to do the same for the sellers.
Downtown Condo Stats for Q1: With Mitch MacKenzie
Mitch MacKenzie breaks down quarter one for condos in downtown Ottawa. Although compared to the previous year, 2023 numbers are down, we’re still seeing a strong spike in activity as the spring and summer seasons heat up!
Client Story
How quick can the home buying process be? We spoke with John Haddad about a recent deal he completed with a client who came pre-approved with their dream home in mind. They were certain about the type of home they wanted, the neighbourhood they were interested in, and the budget they were working with. Within 7 days they were conditionally approved on the property, and 14 days later the deal was firm! This just goes to show how quick and painless the home buying process can be with a great agent and a prepared client.
Our amazing agent Owen has been out of commission for most of the month due an unexpected and serious surgery. The wonderful thing about working with a team is that Owen was able to get support from all of the agents on the team for each of his clients during his time off. One of his clients was able to secure their purchase during this time due to the support of the entire New Purveyors team! We’re excited for Owen to get back to doing what he loves when he’s ready, without his clients having to miss out on any opportunities.
Neighbourhood Monthly Statistics
In April, the Ottawa Real Estate Board saw 1488 residential properties sold through MLS. This is down 21% from April 2022, where we saw 1876 sales. This month’s sales included 1156 freehold homes (down 18%) and 332 condominium units (down 29%). This month’s total sales is also significantly lower than the 5-year average for April, which is 1739 sales.
Despite historically low numbers, Ken Dekker, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, explains that we are still seeing Ottawa’s resale market on an upward trend. We’re seeing numbers closer to what we were seeing during peak pandemic activity in 2022, which is encouraging. However, he also states that new listings are not keeping up to this activity, so inventory is declining quickly, meaning we’re headed back into a seller’s market.
Average prices in Ottawa have increased over the last few months by 13.9%. In freehold properties, average prices are down 10% year over year, but still up 5% over the previous month. Condominiums are also down year over year by 8%, but are up 4% from last month.
Dekker explains that pressure on sales prices has continued - average prices have increased each month of this year, and we’re seeing more and more multiple offer situations and less days on market. Low inventory is affecting supply, and the pressure on buyers is coming back.
In April, the city saw 2144 new listings, 25% down from the 2943 in 2022. This is slowly catching up to the 5 year average for new listings in April, which is 2575. Freehold property inventory has increased from April 2022 (0.9 months) to 1.9 months, but this is down from March’s 2.3 months of inventory. In condominiums, we also have 1.9 months of inventory, up from 0.8 in April of 2022 but down from 2.1 months in March of 2023. Days on market is down from 34 to 37 in freeholds and from 39 to 33 for condominiums.
OREB members helped 2152 rental clients find their new home, up 20% from 1786 this time last year.
To learn more, check out our full blog post HERE
Pet of the Month
Meet Poppy! Poppy is 11 years old, and her favourite thing to do is be carried by someone so she feels like she’s involved in the action.
Send us your dogs (or other animals) for the chance to be featured next month!
