Hunt Club/Greenboro is an area that is perfect for everyone families and young professionals alike. With a variety of properties available from condo apartments to large luxury single family homes Hunt Club/Greenboro should appeal to all types of buyers. This area has all the park space you could ask for so if you are a dog lover, have young kids, play an outdoor sport whether it be hockey, baseball or football you can find a spot for all of these. Dog lovers will love taking there “best friends” to Conroy pit for a run in the off leash part of the park. You can also find all types of shopping whether it is retail or groceries. If you or your children need public transportation there is plenty including access to the O-Train.
Property values in this area continue to rise at a steady rate and offer a great compromise instead of moving out to Orleans, Kanata or Barrhaven you have all that the suburbs offer for comparable prices. Last year Hunt Club/Greenboro saw 204 properties change hands. Of these properties 124 of them were residential properties and 60 being of the condo class. The average price for residential properties in Hunt Club/Greenboro is $321,733 and the average days on market is 17. The average price for condo class properties is $195,141 with the average days on market is 15. For both types of the property sold on average for 98% of asking price.
All this being said if you are an outdoors person or if you want to be fairly close to the city Hunt Club/Greenboro is an area that would work great for you.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Renting vs. Buying, Which is better?
Are you a renter who is thinking of buying a home? It is the great dream, but many renters don't really understand its potential impact on their lifestyle and finances. Buying a house can be the most rewarding purchase you ever make. Is it better to buy a home or to rent? You could compare buying to renting to see the advantages of both. But before you decide which is better for you, you need to answer the following:
1. How often do you expect to move in the future?
You should only consider buying a house if you don't expect to be moving a lot.
2. How stable is you employment situation?
You should only consider buying a home if your employment is indeed stable. Home ownership requires a number of regular payments like the mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, insurance, etc.
3. How much can you afford to pay for housing?
To answer this question you need to prepare a detailed monthly household budgeting plan. You need to look at how much rent are you paying now? And what is the maximum amount you are willing to pay?
4. Are you able to save money every month?
If you buy a home its important to have some money set aside for emergencies.
5. Is it important to you to own your home?
Some would argue that this is the first question you should ask yourself. Home ownership, like everything else, is a matter of choice. Only you can decide whether or not home ownership is important to you. If it is then you may want to re-assess how you spend your money every month.
6. The math
Although, it might seem that you will be spending more money on buying a house than renting, you need to consider your options and priorities. There are many more advantages of purchasing a home over renting.
Housing costs can be divided into shelter costs and investment costs. When you rent, you pay your shelter costs, and the landlord pays the investment costs. When you buy, you pay both, which is usually more. Ten years later when you sell the house, you will find that your investment did well and you saved a lot of money by buying. Buying a house is an investment, and for many people it is a good one. You can purchase insurance to help you manage any potential risks like fire, earthquakes, and thefts. Remember to take your buying/selling costs into account when considering selling your home; the strength of the real estate market in your area will determine how long it takes to recoup your costs.
One of the greatest joys of ownership for many people is setting down roots. When you buy a house, you have your own land, your own house, and a sense of becoming part of a community; meeting and sharing with your neighbours, and getting involved in local issues. This lifestyle can be very attractive, especially if you have children who will enjoy the stability a home can provide.
You can expect that your initial mortgage payments will be higher than your current rental costs.
However, there are factors that make the decision to buy less painful like tax savings and other factors including building equity that offsets the additional monthly expense.
Buying a house is usually a sound long term investment as it helps you in the following ways:
Building equity vs. throwing your hard-earned money away as rent Real estate generally appreciates; a house bought today is worth more a few years down the road. In most cases there is no capital gains tax payable on the profit on a primary residence. In some cases mortgage interest is tax deductible. Please contact your accountant for advice.To find out more about the positive aspects of home ownership and if you qualify to make the transition from a renter to a homeowner, contact your real estate agent. Real Estate agents will be more than happy to provide you with a consultation to see if you are a candidate to purchase a home.
1. How often do you expect to move in the future?
You should only consider buying a house if you don't expect to be moving a lot.
2. How stable is you employment situation?
You should only consider buying a home if your employment is indeed stable. Home ownership requires a number of regular payments like the mortgage, property taxes, maintenance, insurance, etc.
3. How much can you afford to pay for housing?
To answer this question you need to prepare a detailed monthly household budgeting plan. You need to look at how much rent are you paying now? And what is the maximum amount you are willing to pay?
4. Are you able to save money every month?
If you buy a home its important to have some money set aside for emergencies.
5. Is it important to you to own your home?
Some would argue that this is the first question you should ask yourself. Home ownership, like everything else, is a matter of choice. Only you can decide whether or not home ownership is important to you. If it is then you may want to re-assess how you spend your money every month.
6. The math
Although, it might seem that you will be spending more money on buying a house than renting, you need to consider your options and priorities. There are many more advantages of purchasing a home over renting.
Housing costs can be divided into shelter costs and investment costs. When you rent, you pay your shelter costs, and the landlord pays the investment costs. When you buy, you pay both, which is usually more. Ten years later when you sell the house, you will find that your investment did well and you saved a lot of money by buying. Buying a house is an investment, and for many people it is a good one. You can purchase insurance to help you manage any potential risks like fire, earthquakes, and thefts. Remember to take your buying/selling costs into account when considering selling your home; the strength of the real estate market in your area will determine how long it takes to recoup your costs.
One of the greatest joys of ownership for many people is setting down roots. When you buy a house, you have your own land, your own house, and a sense of becoming part of a community; meeting and sharing with your neighbours, and getting involved in local issues. This lifestyle can be very attractive, especially if you have children who will enjoy the stability a home can provide.
You can expect that your initial mortgage payments will be higher than your current rental costs.
However, there are factors that make the decision to buy less painful like tax savings and other factors including building equity that offsets the additional monthly expense.
Buying a house is usually a sound long term investment as it helps you in the following ways:
Building equity vs. throwing your hard-earned money away as rent Real estate generally appreciates; a house bought today is worth more a few years down the road. In most cases there is no capital gains tax payable on the profit on a primary residence. In some cases mortgage interest is tax deductible. Please contact your accountant for advice.To find out more about the positive aspects of home ownership and if you qualify to make the transition from a renter to a homeowner, contact your real estate agent. Real Estate agents will be more than happy to provide you with a consultation to see if you are a candidate to purchase a home.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Market Update: Business as usual for January.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 675 residential properties in January through the Board's Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 719 in January 2010, a decrease of 6.1 per cent.
Of those sales, 135 were in the condominium property class, while 540 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
"These are normal sales numbers for January in Ottawa - the average number of sales for the previous five Januaries was 662, so we're even a little ahead of that, and prices continued to rise incrementally. Winter is usually a quieter time of year in the resale market and 2011 appears to be no exception," said Board President Joanne Tibbles. "Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it's fair game for everyone," she added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $329,657, an increase of 3 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $236,065, a decrease of 8.7 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $353,055, an increase of 4.7 per cent over January 2010. The Board cautions that average sale 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 sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
Courtesy of the Ottawa Real estate Board.
Of those sales, 135 were in the condominium property class, while 540 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
"These are normal sales numbers for January in Ottawa - the average number of sales for the previous five Januaries was 662, so we're even a little ahead of that, and prices continued to rise incrementally. Winter is usually a quieter time of year in the resale market and 2011 appears to be no exception," said Board President Joanne Tibbles. "Our market remains balanced, with no significant advantage towards either buyers or sellers, so it's fair game for everyone," she added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $329,657, an increase of 3 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $236,065, a decrease of 8.7 per cent over January 2010. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $353,055, an increase of 4.7 per cent over January 2010. The Board cautions that average sale 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 sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.
Courtesy of the Ottawa Real estate Board.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
HST and Investment Properties
Under the Ontario HST regime which came into effect on July 1, 2010, the buyer of a new home that he intends to rent must not only pay the full 5% GST on closing but also the full 8% portion of the old Ontario provincial sales tax. Under the new HST regime, home builders typically include in the purchase price: • 64% of the 5% GST (an effective rate of 3.2% built into the purchase price), and • 25% of the 8% Ontario portion of the HST (an effective rate of 2% built into the purchase price. This means that a buyer who is not an owner-occupant of the new home, must pay, as an adjustment on closing, the following: • 1.8% of the purchase price thereby paying the full 5% GST, plus • 6% of the purchase price (75% of the 8% Ontario portion of the HST) thereby paying the full 8% Ontario portion of the HST.For example, on a purchase of a brand new $300,000 home, (that is $300,000 net of any tax), the additional 7.8% of the purchase price payable on the closing of the purchase by the buyer is an additional $23,400!This excess tax payable by the buyer on closing is fully recoverable by the completion and filing of the Residential Rental Property Rebate Application (Form GST524) and the GST524 Ontario Rebate Schedule together with a copy of the residential lease and the Statement of Adjustments provided by the builder’s lawyer on the closing of the transaction.
courtesy of Ross Talarico,Talarico & Schwisberg Law Offices LLP
courtesy of Ross Talarico,Talarico & Schwisberg Law Offices LLP
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)