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Our friends at BuzzBuzzHome (BBH) have, once again, produced another fun and informative infographic! The BBH team took a look at new condo developments in 5 of Canada’s top markets and compared what $380,000 could buy you in each city. Take a look at what they found.
This two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Milton features an open concept kitchen and dining room, upgraded flooring throughout, and requires no condo fees.
Our starter home series has taken us across Canada, from the West Coast of British Columbia to Northern Ontario. Because Ontario is so large, with different areas experiencing wildly different markets, we decided to split the province up into three posts. This week, let’s find out what first-time buyers are looking for in Southern Ontario.
In Southern Ontario’s second largest city, Ottawa, the average price of a starter home is $320,000. Compared to what we saw through most of the prairies, this is a drastic increase in pricing, which is why the average profile of a first-time buyer in Ottawa is actually a professional couple.
“The people looking at starter homes here are professional young couples, probably between the ages of 23-27,” explained Brittany Brown, a realtor in Ottawa. “Most of them having decent paying government jobs, but they don’t want to buy condos. Instead, they want to buy something they can get some extra income with.” Continue reading
At the end of the work week, Ratehub will summarize the news that had the mortgage and housing industry talking. This past week, headlines emerged from Ottawa as Jim Flaherty urged lenders to get tougher with their lending practices, which we are already starting to see in the condo market among developers. Ottawa also took home the trophy for the 2012 Best Canadian Place to Live.
Condo living becomes a reality show in Vancouver – 24 Hours
Move over Jersey Shore and Big Brother, a condo developer in Vancouver has launched a daring marketing campaign in the same vain. Three people will live inside a fully furnished glass condo placed inside a Surrey mall AND their every action will be broadcast live over the internet for the next six weeks. Clearly, the developer is targeting young professionals.
Continue reading
In Economics, there is a theory called Purchase power parity (PPP) which tells us what the value of a bundle of goods would cost across various currencies when you factor in the exchange rate. The Economist released a modern version of this theory and named it the Big Mac Index1. The Big Mac PPP exchange rate between two countries is determined by dividing the price of a Big Mac in one country (in its currency) by the price of a Big Mac in another country (in its currency). This value is used to compare the actual exchange rate. If the value is lower than the first currency, it is under-valued (according to PPP theory) compared with the second, and conversely, if it is higher than the first currency, it is over-valued.
Here at RateHub.ca, we’ll use our own purchase power parity index to compare the housing landscape in Canada. We’ve called our little theory, the “RH Index”. And we’ll change the variables to accommodate our criteria. Rather than Big Macs sandwiches, we’ll use average home-pricing – centrally located, two-story, detached, three bedroom, two bathroom homes to be exact. With this rough RH Index, we’ll look at home prices across notable Canadian cities to determine their value against the national average. The average Canadian home price that fits our criteria is $390,1632. Let’s determine who is under and over-valued.
MLS®: 795908, $429,000
Notes
This home is located downtown Ottawa, close to the University of Ottawa and only a short drive away from Parliament Hill.