Let’s talk real estate

Lynda Cox

This is a challenging time to be sure. The real estate market here in Ottawa has decreased in activity as the COVID numbers ramped up. This is typically a time when new listings are increasing daily as we plough through the busy spring market. Not so for 2020. All real estate offices are closed to staff and the public. Open Houses are forbidden, virtual visits are encouraged, real home viewings are strictly monitored for social distancing and sanitizing practices. Many home owners do not want strangers in their home at this time and have decided to wait until the threat of COVID-19 is past before listing again. Sellers that have just sold their home are actively looking for their next home in a market of dwindling listings. Anxiety levels are high. All transactions are being completed electronically. The few sales that are still happening are often multiple offer situations, proof that buyers are still out there and willing to offer. How long this will last is anybody’s guess. Note the March/April stats below. I suggest taking this time to declutter, paint and repair, so that when the market is ready you will be too.

This epidemic has left Sandy Hill eerily silent, with all our university students returned home and local residents staying at home. Silver lining: I am sure many of you have discovered Sandy Hill’s online and take-out food service, making this time safer and tastier in your isolation. Perhaps you have mastered the sourdough loaf and I’m sure your FaceTime/Skype/Zoom visits increased, bringing much joy.

I am reflecting on the effect of this virus on our families, old and young, near and far. I am happy that our parks have re-opened just in time to watch the baby goslings on the Rideau River. On a personal note: My husband and I were scheduled to visit our new grandson in Italy on March 1. At the last minute we cancelled. The anxiety we still feel for their safety is great even as restrictions are slowly lifted.

How are you coping? I’d love to hear from you. Have you been banging your pots and pans in appreciation of our front-line workers? It’s time to raise each other’s spirits as we safely wait out this crisis.

Sandy Hill Real Estate update
March – April 2020

March 2020:
Sold 9 Condominiums, 7 Houses  (9 sold over asking price—range $5K – $125K)

April 2020:
Sold 10 Condominiums, 2 Houses  (1 sold over asking price—approx. $22K over)

Active Listings:
13 Condominiums, 3 Houses

Conditionally sold: 3

If you must sell . . .

Oddly enough the market continues to move. There are few listings and still some active buyers though many are taking a break. Would I recommend listing now . . . NO . . . Do it only if you have to. In this time of social distancing and flattening the curve I would wait. I would want your home to have the advantage of multiple buyers. The Ottawa market will start up again with a fury . . . Never fear, it might be sooner than you think. BE SAFE