October 2022 Newsletter
October was a great and festive month for the team! With the fall colours in full effect, we decorated the office for Halloween, handed out pies, pumpkins, and goodie bags to clients, and gathered for a team Thanksgiving celebration. We also started our Realtor of Distinction awards to celebrate some of the amazing work we’re doing!
Pies, Pumpkins, and Trick or Treating!
Our agents headed out to visit past and current clients for the fall season. With pies, pumpkins, and trick-or-treat bags filled with goodies, they visited over 150 clients to make October a little more festive!
Team Thanksgiving
The team celebrated Thanksgiving and shared some delicious food with our spouses, children, and friends.
Pumpkin Carving Contest
We held our very first pumpkin carving contest, encouraging clients to participate with the pumpkins we delivered - as well as anyone else interested in participating! We had tons of great submissions, and the winner is announced below. Thanks, everyone, for your participation and stay tuned for more contests, coming soon!
Realtor of Distinction
A huge congratulations to our newest agent to join the team, John Haddad, for winning our first-ever Realtor of Distinction award! This award goes to an agent who has gone above and beyond to participate in all aspects of New Purveyors and exemplify our core values.
Sign up for a Winter/Holiday Photoshoot in the Office
On November 26th, we’ll be inviting friends, family, and clients to book sessions with our amazing photographer for their family holiday or winter photos! Sign up using the Calendly link below:
Real Estate News in Ottawa
Interested in hearing more from our agents about real estate? Let’s dive into some of our top blog posts this month:
Bank of Canada Increases Interest Rates Another 50 Points
As inflation continues to rise, the Bank of Canada has decided to increase interest rates by another 50 points to make borrowing money more expensive. Because of this, mortgage holders can expect to see a rise in payments. Financial analysts predict that this will not be the final increase.
Renting out your home in Ontario: Ask an Agent: Luke Thompson
We spoke with our agent, Luke Thompson, about turning your home into an investment property and becoming a landlord. His main advice is to make sure you’re consulting with professionals and are aware of your rights as a landlord, and your tenant’s rights. He also suggests thoroughly vetting tenants and making improvements on your home where possible to increase your rental value.
Is it time to sell my home? Ask an Agent: John Haddad
We asked John Haddad how he helps his clients decide when it is the right time to sell their homes. He suggests a few major indicators. First and foremost, if you feel you need a bigger or smaller house - are you finding you have too much going on, or perhaps, you haven’t stepped in some of your rooms for a few months? Second, relocating for a job, school, or another obligation is a great reason to sell and start fresh. You may also just need a house with a layout that better suits your needs!
Client Story
This month, Luke Thompson worked with clients who found mould in a property they were conditionally sold on. Our agents are there for our clients through every aspect of the buying process, and this means advocating for them in every way possible! Luke worked with his clients to reach out to their lawyer and include an amendment which asks the sellers to agree to “remedy the mould discovered … in full prior to the closing date.” Because of this catch, the buyers were protected from future repair costs, and happy to move into a mould-free home with fresh drywall and paint!
Neighbourhood Monthly Statistics
This month in Ottawa, members of the real estate board sold 987 properties. This is down 41% from October’s sales in 2021, which were 1670 properties. Residential properties are down 40%, and condominium properties are down 44%. This month’s sales is also down a similar percentage from the 5-year average of 1554.
Penny Torontow, OREB President, explains that after the rush of the pandemic, the market is correcting itself. This, with the added stress of increased interest rates, has changed the market drastically over the past few months. It has caused buyers to be more hesitant and has taken the purchasing power away from plenty of people, especially first-time home buyers.
Torontow explains that demand is still high. Despite this, with a larger inventory than before, buyers are able to take their time and have more options available when they look to purchase a home. Buyers are taking a “wait and see” approach in some instances, making sure they’re monitoring the interest rate situation.
It is reasonable for sellers to feel concerned about the quickly changing housing situation in Canada. Despite this, Torontow explains that real estate is a long-term investment. The growth we saw in our market over the past 2 years was unsustainable. She explains “if you have owned your property for any length of time, your equity has increased significantly and will buffer price corrections. If you buy and sell in the same market, it is all relative.”
In terms of inventory, we are looking at 3.2 months for residential and 3 months for condominiums. That is up significantly from 2021 when we saw 1 month of inventory for residential, and 1.2 months for condominiums.
Listings this month were actually higher than in October 2021. We saw 2047 listings this year versus 1960 last year. This is also higher than the 5-year average of 1971.
Torontow explains that buyers and sellers should be aware of their own circumstances. It is important not to look for a one size fits all approach when it comes to the market right now. Torontow says that “real estate has been and continues to be a good investment over time. They don’t have a crystal ball, but mortgage brokers and REALTORS® have the education, expertise, and most importantly, the data - to help people make an informed decision for their specific situation.”
Rentals are also up considerably this year. Last year we saw 4012 rentals in the month of October. In 2022, we saw 5168.
To learn more, check out our full blog post HERE
Pet of the Month
Meet Bailey! Bailey is an 11-year-old golden retriever. His favourite activities are taking long naps and chewing on sticks.
Send us your dogs (or other animals) for the chance to be featured next month!
Monthly Giveaway
This month, we had our pumpkin carving contest. A huge congratulations to Guillaume Sergerie for carving this amazingly intricate clown pumpkin and winning a staycation at the Andaz Hotel downtown!
