New $18 million dollar pool for East End

Digging started Tuesday for a new $18 million municipal indoor pool facility in Ottawa's east end.

This new facility will includes a six-lane, 25-metre pool, a leisure pool, a fitness centre, a sauna and a multi-purpose room. All funded by tax-payers money.

The facility will be located at 2263 Portobello Blvd., near Innes and Trim roads, and is scheduled to open in January 2013.

This will be a wonderful facility to have in the East End, surely to increase all property values within the surrounding areas. It's great to see the goverment spend money in our communities.

Read more here: Click Here

New Downtown Listing

Here is a new listing located near Centretown under $375,000. Call me or email me for more info.

Check in often for more properties daily!

Outlet mall coming to Kanata

RioCan REIT and Tanger Outlet Centres Inc. recently purchased 50 acres of land in the city’s west end to construct the region’s first outlet mall near Highway 417 and Palladium Drive, close to Scotiabank Place

 The property is expected to sport 350,000 square feet of retail space when completed.

Chief executive for RioCan, Edward Sonshin, stated "Our site in Ottawa represents an exciting opportunity to expand our co-ownership platform beyond Toronto, into other key Canadian retail markets,"

Names of potential tenants and the anticipated purchase price were not disclosed in a release.

Most Ottawans these days tend to take the short drive to Syracuse and Watertown, N.Y., to shop to take advantage of the strong canadian dollar as well as the low taxes. This will be a nice alternative with less of a commute.

CMHC Outlook for Ottawa

"Construction activity for new condo apartment units is ... expected to remain historically high by the end of this year and next, but still below the all-time record posted in 2010. Healthy demand for smaller but trendier condos closer to the core is coming from affluent young professionals and empty-nesters looking for an active and convenient urban lifestyle.

"This in turn constitutes evidence suggesting that builders continue to operate largely in tune with demand fundamentals and have so far refrained from speculative overbuilding in a market segment that is drawing in growing investor presence ... With only few plans on the drawing boards, rental apartment construction is expected to remain subdued, opening the door to continued investor activity."

Consistent with Demographic Fundamentals

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation  (CMHC) is forecasting the number of new homes constructed in Ottawa will fall to the lowest level since 2005.  CMHC also says there is a significant trend behind the numbers.

"Demand for the popular condominium apartment segment will continue to rise," says CMHC's housing outlook report. "While semis and row (houses) will combine to dethrone the single-detached homes segment as the new dominant low-rise dwelling types in Ottawa for the first time in over 15 years."

Due to the low mortgage rates and modest prices, CMHC predicts that sales will continue to be moderate. CMHC expects average resale prices to increase by five per cent this year and match the general rate of inflation in 2012.

Read More Here: http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/Residential/2011-11-04/article-2796468/Housing-starts-to-drop-to-seven-year-low%3A-CMHC/1

Nothing wrong with Fall...

1,062 properties  were sold in the Ottawa Real Estate Board in October, a rise of 2.3 per cent from last year.

The sales were slightly below the five-year average for October, at 1,071. OREB said 253 of October's sales were in condos - up nearly 15 per cent from the same month last year - and 809 in residential properties.

While noting that condos were the main driver of resales that month, the average sale price of residential properties was $337,797, up two per cent from last year.

What a launch! Distillery starts off on a excellent step!

Last night was the grand opening of Distillery Warehouse Lofts and what a night it was! In less that 2 hours we were already 50% sold out. Purchasers were stunned by the level of finishing included standard inside the unbelievably low prices. There is still some great floor plans left. I have price lists and floor plans so contact me today to get your hands on a copy.

Distillery Warehouse Lofts TODAY!!!

Today is the day, Distillery Warehouse Lofts is lauching tonight at 5pm. Call me or email me right now for more information to be better prepared for tonight's VIP launch.

SoBa

SoBa, a new development near Bank Street in Downtown Ottawa, will begin construction in 2014. It will be built by Toronto company Lamb Development Corp. who plans to construct the 244-unit tower in Centretown.The preliminary design of SoBa features a ground-level podium occupying the entire lot and a T-shaped structure beginning on the second floor and forming part of the podium until the seventh floor, according to city documents.

Other requested amendments include authorization to build a 7,500-square-foot retail store on the ground floor and reductions in required space for the front and rear yards, "communal amenity area" and landscaping. Recently, rezoning and site plan applications were recently filed with the city. The most recent application is to bring the building from 19 to 21 storeys.

The city has indicated they want more development within Centretown.

Follow my blog for more information as it becomes available.

Distillery Warehouse Lofts

Distillery Warehouse Lofts is coming up next week, call or email me today for more details!

Ottawa, award winners again!

The Ottawa-Gatineau area has once again earned the title of Best Canadian City, a prestigious award ranked by MoneySense magazine. This is not the first time our Nation's Capital has received this award. The Ottawa-Gatineau has proudly accepted it four times in the past six years. 

Representatives from MoneySense magazine judge 180 Canadian cities on several diverse factors. Arts & culture, crime rate, household income, medical doctors per capita, rates of employment and air quality are some of the criteria the judges use. "It's often been said that your home is probably the biggest financial investment you'll ever make," says Marnie Bennett, Team Leader at the Bennett Pros. "You'll want to make that investment in a place that will hold its value over time."

Click here to read more about this great article published by my Team Leader Marnie Bennett.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqTxk1PuKwcDJQ08uhYBBLogy0ds5GLT7sT_q01Od63cMn2n5CQ8yEm9RfmJw6T5vOl24vGpKHFgE-xxEewruwjmfKlS7l7nRf-bgGaF9jlCYUiN2V2D2JQC07G2biP6mkoF1cdQNvz4y/s1600/HomeSmartsOct22%252C2011.jpg

Ottawa Condo Boom is for real

Have a look at this video that appeared on CBC News featuring none other than the Bennett Pros

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10/21/ottawa-condo-boom.html

Bayshore Shopping Center's expansion

Bayshore got approval from the city's planning committee this week on a massive expansion bringing it's rental space from the current 754,00 sq.ft to more than 1,000,000 sq.ft as well as adding additional parking spaces. The first stage of construction which is slated to start in the spring of 2012 would bring the rentable area to approximately 915,000 sq.ft. The expansions are estimated to be about $150 million.

This expansion will have positive effects on the housing in the area, including a face lift valued at $40 million on a housing area across the road from Bayshore named Accora Village which houses over 7,000 residents. Thus increasing home values in the area.

There are still plenty of approvals left to get from the city but the project is off on the right foot.

Ottawa on the up in September

Ottawa resales were up 12% in September according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board. This is great news for all Ottawa housing and investors. 1,202 properties were sold last month, an increase of 12.2% over 2010. Of the 1,202 sales, 280 were condos. This also encouraged an increase in average sales price by 3.4%.

As for the Ottawa housing starts, they were also up 35% in September over 2010 according to CHMC. A total of 627 units, a jump of 164 units over last year.

Good news all around!

Soho Lisgar

There is still some very good units available at Soho Lisgar, recently 4 more floors were added to this centrally located hotel inspired condominium. Starting in the upper $200,000, these condos are manage by Soho Metropolitan Group. They include Gluckstein-designed floor plans, bathrooms and common areas. There is over 7,000 sq.ft. of amenity space, including a Dalton Brown Gym, infinity tub, lap pool etc. Don't miss this great opportunity.

Distillery Warehouse Lofts

Distillery Warehouse Lofts site. Under construction. Msg me for details on how to purchase at this amazing location. Condos will be ready this time next year! Get pre construction prices while construction is going on! Ask me how!

Be careful when buying a new home or condo!!!

There is nothing more exciting than shopping for a new home or condo. Floor plan selections, color selections and personalizing your unit is all apart of the experience of buying pre-construction. Sometimes it can be a daunting task and seem a bit overwhelming especially if your doing this for the first time.

Something to remember when visiting these lavish show homes is that most of these places are usually fully upgraded and sometimes cost more than $50,000 than the indicated price on the price list in the luxurious package given to you. It is important to ask the sales person what is standard and upgraded in the model that you are viewing.

When you get into that affordable luxury [segment], people don’t want death by 1,000 cuts,” says David McComb, president of Edenshaw Homes “They don’t want to walk in and see a beautiful display suite, only to find out in order to get to that level they have to spend another $150,000. We try to show exactly what they’re getting [so they] know when they look at the sticker price that value is in the number.”

Our new projects are now offering fully upgraded units for a very low price with specifications that include granite or quartz counter tops, hardwood throughout, 39'-42' inch kitchen cabinets as well as integrated appliances of up to a value of $18,000.

These are substantial savings because you want all these upgrades done before moving in so it saves you from doing renovations, which could add additional costs such as labour and taxes.
Call me today to find out which projects are available with all these great upgrades already included in the purchase price.

Were number 1

An Ottawa real estate saleswoman has found herself on top of the world, thanks to her focus on marketing.

Marnie Bennett, an agent with Keller Williams, and founder of Bennett Real Estate Professionals, has been named the No. 1 Broker Worldwide for Keller Williams Realty International in 2010.

Bennett, 57, employs a team of 30 employees, including her three children, her husband, and some of her extended family.

Her team sold 627 new and resale homes last year, besting more than 80,000 other Keller Williams agents around the globe.

"Though there were challenges in 2010, we simply remained focused on our customers," says Bennett, who describes herself as "thrilled" with the recognition for her team's achievement.

Bennett, a fixture in Ottawa's real estate industry for 30 years, has developed a reputation as Ottawa's "condo queen," and her success in selling condominiums propelled her to the top of the Keller Williams ladder. She says she is involved in 25 per cent of all new condo sales in the nation's capital. More than 350 of the units she sold in 2010 were new, and a large number of those were condos. Her group helped to sell about 250 resale homes last year.

Her climb to condo royalty started in 2004 when she was contacted to help market Terry Guilbault's $60 million condominium development at 90 George St. on the edge of the ByWard Market. Bennett says it was then she realized Ottawa's condo potential.

The city has high average incomes, affordable real estate and the largest concentration of baby boomers in Canada.

As those people downsized, the market would be ripe for a condominium sales specialist. She hired interior decorators to help stage model homes and condos, filled a warehouse with quality furniture and brought 17 licensed real estate agents on staff to help with sales initiatives.

Demand for her marketing and sales expertise skyrocketed. She has been involved in several condo developments including, most recently, an Ashcroft Homes project on Richmond Road in Westboro, on the property that once housed the Sisters of Visitation Convent.

Barry Nabatian, an analyst with real estate research firm Shore Tanner and Associates, applauded Bennett. "She is really successful. She is very well known in Ottawa," he said.

"That is really impressive. She has really developed a knack for this."

Nabatian said a driving factor in her success has been the strength of the Ottawa real estate market through the economic downturn. While the volume of resale homes dipped between 2009 and 2010, average selling prices have increased by six to seven per cent, said Nabatian. Many other markets, especially those in the United States, have fared far worse.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Queen+condos/4168054/story.html#ixzz1C9Ln3rks

5 Mistakes Most First Time Home Buyers Make!

When it comes to purchasing your first home, everyone has an opinion on what you should or shouldn't do. Most first time home buyers make the same mistakes and learn from them very quickly after they close on their property. Don't forget these important things to consider when buying your next home or condo. 


1. The don’t ask enough questions of their lender and end up missing out on the best deal.

2. They don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house or enter into multiple offer situation and end up over paying.

3. They don’t find the right agent who’s willing to help them through the homebuying process.

4. They don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller.

5. They don’t think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer only stays in a home for four years.


Contact me today and I'll make sure you don't make the same mistakes thousands have done before you.