By Nicolas Van Praet
More and more people are ditching suburban space and opting for the convenience of downtown Ottawa living and Centretown is seeing a piece of the action.
The time has never been better to buy accommodation, local real estate agents say, and people are snapping up homes, condos and apartments in Ottawa’s core almost as quickly as they are put up for sale.
“It’s probably a tattle-tale sign to a movement or a thinking that the central area is going to be a great place to come back to,” says Jeff Hooper, an associate broker with Sutton Group Realty.
Hooper says people have been biding their time in the ‘90s because of economic uncertainty. Now, he says, they’re starting to feel it’s a good time to move because interest rates are low, real estate prices are steady, and economic news about Ottawa is positive.
The buzz about the city’s culture is also positive and that’s one reason baby boomers are moving back into town, says Marc Lepage, of Century 21 in Ottawa. Lepage says the “empty-nesters” – suburban baby boomers whose kids have moved out – are well-off and bored.
He says they want to be where the action is. “That’s probably the underlying cause of the central area picking up steam.”
People’s housing needs are also changing with the times, says Christopher Hoare, president of the Real Estate Board of Ottawa-Carleton. He says the dream of the large-single family home with the white picket fence is gone. “A lot more people seem to be lowering their sights as far as the type of housing goes but improving their quality of location,” he says.
In the older central neighbourhoods around the canal, it’s turned into a sellers market, says Hooper. He adds that the inventory has been low and the buyer activity’s been very strong.
More people may be buying, but there’s not that much for sale, says Hoare.
It took commercial photographer Mitch Lenet six months to find a house he and his girlfriend would even consider buying in Centretown.
With a budget in the $130,000 range, Lenet says he wanted to find “a place that has enough room for us and a bunch of pets, enough room to entertain, to have small parties.”
“It’s tough actually to find something, especially as a first-time buyer,” he says. “It’s tough to feel confident enough to drop that kind of dough.”
Kelvin Wong, Lenet’s real estate agent, says it’s difficult to find accommodation in Centretown for under $150,000.
“What is available for the bulk of the market is somewhat slim pickings. It seems to me that a lot of people like the same thing. And there isn’t a lot of the same thing.”