Ottawa

Rachelle Shea

Daniel: We heard tonight that she is Francois' favorite realtor in And I've only met Rachelle live two or three times, but yeah, she is a really busy smart realtor to work with. Hi there Rachelle.

Rachelle: Hi.

Daniel: You sent me an email the other day. Thank you very much for taking the time to share some information with us. You sent an email a couple of days ago where I said, you know what we have in the last couple of events about Ottawa, we were talking about not really the markets. We haven't really heard about the market since January. You sent me an email and I read the market has gone from crazy to insane. Town homes are selling upwards of $700,000. It's not letting go. It's not slowing down?

Rachelle: Unfortunately. From January 1st to March every week, the market is getting more difficult for buyers and the sales price. We're heading into Spring Market. And I do notice that there's some more inventory coming up that we're still not in the balanced market.

There's just not enough. And the interest rates remain low. It's the perfect storm. To give you an example: February of 2022, February of 2021, the average sales price of a residential home in Ottawa has gone up to $718,000. That's up 27.2% from last. And for our condo, we're up to 407,000, which is up about 16.7%.

Things are getting crazy. But we were due for an increase. It was always a very stable market. We needed our prices to rise because we've always had a modest 4% increase. It just happened too quickly, if the perfect storm, low interest rates and a lack of support.

Daniel: Okay. Are there any pockets anywhere around Ottawa and I'm thinking, for example, Kenville. I'm thinking about Armonk, I'm thinking Castleman, I'm thinking Oxberry. Are there any pockets there where you can still have decent deals or is the whole place just ablaze?

Rachelle: To be perfectly honest with you, the further we're getting into this year, the worse that the more people are looking outside of the city limits. I was working with a client who is looking as far as Brockville and stuff is going, if for multiple offers there too, some selling 50,000-$60,000 over asking. It's getting difficult. It's not impossible. I found a few off market properties for clients this year and some unconventional ways.

They're hard to find, but it's not impossible, but it is spreading outside of the city and quickly to Rockland for example a typical townhouse used to be in Rocklands about 20 minutes East of Ottawa twenty-five minutes. You used to be able to get a townhouse for 250,000 for something decent. I saw myself three weeks ago for $555,000. It's just crazy.

Daniel: No kidding. Earlier when we were doing the testing and Whiting and stuff like that before seven o'clock you happen to mention your age, which you don't look anything close to that number. You're taking really good care of yourself. But what that meant to me is that you've been in the business for a long time. Meaning you've worked with a lot of people. What can you share with our audience this evening about the team, the importance of the team, what to look for in a team? Who's important in the team, et cetera. Talk to us.

Rachelle: It is more important now than ever to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing to navigate you through this insane market. And that starts with a realtor that you trust, who you know is not doing this as a hobby, who does it as a full-time job. That realtor can guide you to their teams, such as you have got to have your financial ducks in a row before you go looking at properties because nothing is going in as a conditional sale right now, you have to buy that property cash.

It's crucial that you have your financial ducks in a row. A lot of people are doing pre-offer inspections. For those who are a little bit hesitant and don't want to go in with that unconditional offer. The home inspectors are very important as well. Lawyers for questions when it comes to a lot of tenant issues right now, it is really difficult to sell a property with a tenant and to purchase a property with a tenant.

You really need to know what you're getting into. You're not in that situation where you might not be able to move in because the proper notice wasn't given. The team is more important now than ever. If you can arm yourself with a group of professionals who do this day in and day out, you will be far more successful than if you're just winging it on your own.

Daniel: That includes the property manager. It includes, of course, a really good accounting firm. We were talking earlier about finding the right people in the right town where you're investing. The accountant is probably the only exception where it doesn't matter where your accountant is like our accountant.

We are not running the lake and our accountant is in Waterloo and really doesn't make any difference. But everybody in pretty much this should be, or at least maybe not necessarily the mortgage broker and a lawyer, but definitely the realtor property manager and the home inspector. They have to be right there on the spot and then know exactly what it is that you're looking for and communication between the two?

Rachelle: It's huge, communication is more important than ever. And you really need to be on the ball. The market is moving so fast. It's incorrect. It's incredible how quickly the market is moving. You really need to be on top of the properties that are coming out. And, as you mentioned, it's getting more and more difficult to invest in Ottawa. But that doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities. You just have to be creative.

You have to talk to the right realtor. You have to have somebody who's actually looking for you. I found a client, a first-time buyer, the one that was actually looking in Brockville. I found him in a little house backing onto the Castor River which is in the Southeast of the city. And we got it for $250,000. That's unheard of, yeah, knock on the door. I am not about knocking on doors.

Daniel: Any last word of advice in the market about the team or anything else you want to share with our audience here before we thank you and say goodbye.

Rachelle: I guess the best thing I, and I think that everybody on here knows is I don't get emotionally attached to anything. This is a business decision from an investors point. There's a lot less heartache when I'm dealing with investors, because it's all about the money. Just be patient. This market is not going to last forever. I know that the government is talking about there. They've got their hands full right now. I think COVID has made the situation worse because the government is not putting in measures to cool this insanely hot market. But everything that I've read says that it's coming.

With any luck we're going to head back to a little bit more of a balanced market, but until then, if you can buy now buy as soon as you can, because I've seen it time and time again, where I've had buyers get priced out of the market. That's my advice.

Daniel: Thank you very much again.