Nikkuu Maelki, one of few Centretown residents willing to sell their home, sold hers in less than three weeks and fielded more than 50 offers.
Life is good in Centretown. Or at least that’s what the latest numbers on housing sales seem to suggest.
For the second year in a row, the number of homes sold in Centretown in August has fallen, but the prices homebuyers are willing to pay are up, a lot.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board reported the average price of homes sold in their District 41, which includes most of Centretown, jumped 13.7 per cent, to $373,597 this August compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile, the number of houses and condominiums that have traded hands has declined.
Nikkuu Maelki is one of the few Centretown residents who put their home on the market in August. She listed her ivy-covered, red brick home in the middle of the month. The winning offer arrived less than three weeks later.
“There was a bunch of interest. We probably had 50 to 55 people in the first two weeks,” Maelki says.
According to Rick Snell, president of the real estate board, Maelki’s experience isn't uncommon.
“There’s fewer listings on the market. So, when a property comes online it gets multiple offers,” he says.
Demand has been steady since the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates early in the year, making financing a home more affordable, he says. This has led to a seller’s market, where competition between buyers can mean quick sales.
But quick sales or not, Centretown residents seem reluctant to give up their corner of the neighbourhood.
Maelki has only lived in the house since 2007. But when she put it up for sale, it was just the second time in more than half a century the house had been on the market.
Maelki says she is selling her home for financial reasons and says it’s easy to see why many people stay.
“It’s a community. It’s the first place I’ve lived where I’ve known my neighbours,” she says. “The young folks who come in get adopted right away.”
Maelki also points to easily accessible parks, community centres and shops on Bank Street as highlights of her neighbourhood.
“Everything is in perfect proximity,” she says.
Asokan Thurairajah, a real estate agent who works in Centretown, says amenities such as those have helped keep demand for homes in Centretown high during the last year, despite gloomy reports about the economy.
“People want to live in the city centre,” he says.
Thurairajah says he didn't see the housing downturn that was supposed to follow the recession.
“Ottawa did not have a downturn. My business was good. I had my best year this year,” he says of his fourth year in the business.
“Some [sellers] are worried about the housing market, but more people are looking now because they know Ottawa is stronger,” he says.
For Snell, though, this might be a little too much of a good thing.
“Only one buyer gets the property, so there are always two or three frustrated buyers,” he says.
“A balanced market is best for everybody,” says Snell. “Sellers can still market their properties and buyers have time to make the right choice.”
Nationally, the number of homes sold jumped 18.5 per cent this August compared to last, as 42,483 homes traded hands, according to The Canadian Real Estate Association. They also reported the average price of homes sold rose by 11.3 per cent to $324,779, fuelled by sales in high-cost areas such as Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.