Monday, November 26, 2007

Ottawa Resale Home Sales Speeding Towards New Record

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,054 residential units in October through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,008 in October 2006, an increase of 4.6 per cent. There were 1,111 sales in September 2007.
“With 13,069 sales so far this year, and with two months still left in 2007, Ottawa Real Estate Board members are on track to blow away last year’s record sales number of 13,783,” said Board President Diane Hatfield. “Homes also spent fewer days on the market this past month than they have since the summer months – perhaps the mild fall weather gave the market a little boost,” Hatfield added.
The average price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in October in the Ottawa area was $273,441, an increase of 6.3 per cent over October 2006. The Board cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties
have increased or decreased in value. The average price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board is an industry association of 2,300 sales representatives and brokers in the Ottawa area. Members of the Board are also members of the Canadian Real Estate Association and thus are entitled to use the term REALTOR®.
The MLS® system is a member based service, paid for by the REALTOR® members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The MLS® mark symbolizes the cooperation among REALTORS® to effect the purchase and sale of real estate through real estate services provided by REALTORS®. MLS® commercial and residential listings are available for viewing on the Board’s internet site at www.OttawaRealEstate.org and on the national websites of The Canadian Real Estate Association at www.mls.ca and www.ICX.ca. Information
about listings and open houses is also available in the Board’s weekly newspaper, Ottawa Real Estate Guide, available free at 700 locations across the Ottawa area.

Can Ottawa be Far Behind?-

Who will be the First Ottawa Councillor to Propose a land transfer tax for Ottawa?

Toronto City council has voted 26-19 to endorse Mayor David Miller's two controversial new taxes, one covering land transfers and the other for vehicle registrations.

The October 22nd vote was considered crucial to Mr. Miller's future political clout, after he suffered an unexpected defeat in July when council opted to defer the measures, forcing him to order unpopular budget cuts. After a daylong debate and weeks of intense lobbying, councillors supported a compromise package, endorsed by prominent developers and the Toronto Board of Trade.

Under the compromise tax package approved by Toronto Council, the buyer pays a tax based on the purchase amount, using a scale similar to the existing provincial land transfer tax. It is based on a tax rate of 0.5 per cent on the first $55,000, one per cent on the value between $55,000 and $400,000 and 2 per cent on the amount greater than $400,000. First-time buyers of new or resale homes would receive rebates of up to $3,725, meaning those buying homes worth up to $400,000 pay nothing. The tax would not apply to sale agreements signed before Dec. 31, 2007.

The President of the Toronto Real Estate Board remains concerned about the potential impact of the second land transfer tax and disappointed that the public's opinion of the issue was ignored.