CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
Area builders line up project launches, new designs and model-home openings amid forecasts for a decent year
Maybe it’s spillover from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sunny ways, but the Ottawa housing industry seems poised for a decent 2016 despite a still-wan national economy.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. predicts housing starts will rebound by four per cent over last year’s sluggish market. New-home sales should jump eight per cent over 2015, hitting 4,300 units, according to industry expert PMA Brethour Realty Group.
In resales, the Ottawa Real Estate Board is clicking its heels over a record-breaking December and an increase of more than five per cent for the entire year compared with 2014 — a healthy performance that should continue this year, according to CMHC’s resale forecast.
All this means builders are lining up project launches along with new designs and model homes across the city.
“We’re seeing a bit of pent-up demand from first-time buyers,” says Minto Communities senior vice-president Brent Strachan. Minto’s plans for this year include launching its Potter’s Key development off Hazeldean Road in Stittsville. The project was originally scheduled for 2015 but got delayed primarily because of municipal approval holdups.
Strachan sees continued low interest rates, a more positive mood in Ottawa following the recent federal election, and the relative stability of the economy here as other reasons for cautious optimism on the housing front.
Even changes in mortgage rules that take effect next month aren’t likely to dampen sales here.
For example, under the new regulations, the minimum down payment for insured mortgages doubles to 10 per cent from five per cent for the portion of a home’s value between $500,000 and $1 million. With CMHC forecasting the average price of a new home in Ottawa at $525,000 in 2016, that extra five per cent won’t amount to much, compared with the impact in the superheated Toronto and Vancouver markets.
What we won’t see this year are many condo launches. That’s because there’s inventory still lingering from previous overbuilding.
However, new highrise rental projects are popping up. Brigil is releasing 460 St-Laurent and launching a tower on Baseline in the first part of the year. Both are 14 storeys and feature hotel-inspired rental units.
With everything from hefty development charges to increasing land costs, affordability remains our biggest housing challenge, says John Herbert, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association. Rising costs have meant an inversion in housing types, he says.
“It was 70 per cent singles and 30 per cent rows when I started in 1972, and now it’s the reverse, and that’s all affordability.”
One way or the other, we need to live somewhere, and builders are not sitting idly by.
The following list samples what we’ll see in 2016. Some details aren’t yet confirmed, and dates may change.
ROCKLAND
eQ Homes: Grand opening of five model bungalows and bungalow towns at Clarence Crossing in early summer. Includes the popular Alexander with a sunroom. eqhomes.ca
ORLÉANS
Phoenix Homes: Spring launch of Terra Flats low-rise condos at Hillside Vista; features 42 units in three buildings. phoenixhomes.ca Richcraft: New bungalow and single designs in the Contemporaries series launching in the spring at both TrailsEdge and Fernbank Crossing in Stittsville. Look for feature walls, oversized kitchen islands and more. New model homes (singles and towns) coming to both locations in September. richcraft.com Valecraft Homes: New phase at Cardinal Trail launching early this year features 28 towns with newly designed floor plans and exteriors. valecraft.com Brigil: Fall launch of Tower III, a 19-storey, 200-unit condo tower at Petrie’s Landing. brigil.com Minto Communities: Four singlefamily model homes and three newly designed executive townhome models to open in the spring at Avalon Encore. minto.com Domicile Developments: Models opening March/April at Crème, a 96-unit mix of bungalow-style homes, flats and lofts. First phase (48 homes) under construction; sales at final phase to launch this year. cremehomes.ca
OLD OTTAWA EAST
Regional Group/eQ Homes: Latesummer launch of new town designs at Greystone Village, a master-planned community on the Ottawa River that opened in 2015. eqhomes.ca Domicile Developments: Construction starts early in the year on the 74 suites in phase one of The Corners on Main, a 144-unit condo project. Also this year: sales launch of phase two. Sales centre opens early March. domicile.ca
DOWNTOWN
Longwood Building Corp.: Construction starts in late spring on Sonia by the Rideau, a curvaceous eight-storey condo on the Vanier Parkway. About 55 per cent of the 70 units have been sold. longwoodbuilders.com Windmill Developments/Dream Unlimited: Construction starts in May on the first two phases of Zibi, the major waterfront redevelopment of the Domtar lands straddling the Ottawa River. O in Gatineau will be a 65-unit, mixed-used condo, and Kanaal on Chaudière Island will be a 61-unit, mixed-use building with condo flats and townhome-style units. zibi.ca
LITTLE ITALY
Mastercraft Starwood: SoHo Italia at 500 Preston St. is to launch in May with 30 storeys and 254 units starting at $289,000. sohoitalia.com
HINTONBURG & AREA
Brigil: 121 Parkdale, a 32-storey condo tower with 290 units, to launch in the spring. brigil.com
RIVERSIDE SOUTH
Urbandale Construction: Spring launch of the boutique condos Allora. Features four-storey, 16-unit condo flats to be built in two or more phases. Look also for new phases (singles and towns) at Urbandale’s existing Riverside South project. urbandaleconstruction.com Claridge Homes: First phase of a new 700-home subdivision of singles and towns south of Claridge’s Summerhill Village development launches in the fall. claridgehomes.com Richcraft/eQ Homes/Phoenix Homes: The three builders are teaming up in the long-anticipated fall launch of a new community called Pathways at Findlay Creek. Roughly 1,500 homes will be built on the former Remer lands south of Findlay Creek. Richcraft: Mix of singles and towns including Richcraft’s new designs in its Contemporaries singles series; richcraft.com. eQ Homes: Twostorey singles, bungalow singles, and Foxwood Collection condos; eqhomes.ca. Phoenix Homes: Singles, towns and condo flats; phoenixhomes.ca Claridge Homes: Fall launch of a new subdivision in Leitrim across from Findlay Creek Drive. It will feature roughly 220 singles, 200 towns and 50 walk-ups. claridgehomes.com Valecraft Homes: New phase at Deerfield Village East, near Bank Street and Lester Road, launches late in the year, featuring about 96 towns and 60 low-rise condo units, with all-new designs. valecraft.com Campanale Homes: A new block of 20 executive towns is being released this month at Longfields Station. In the spring, watch for the addition of condo terrace homes. campanale.com Minto Communities: New 47- and 60-foot designs expected at Mahogany in the spring and two new single-family model homes in the fall. minto.com Cardel Homes: Spring launch of a 14-unit executive condo project on Carling Avenue across from the Nepean Sailing Club. cardelhomes.com Morley Hoppner: Spring launch of the conversion of the old Canada Post office that’s part of Two The Parkway into four large bungalow-style condos with custom interiors. morleyhoppner.com Brigil: A low-rise condo project launches early in the year in Kanata Lakes, in the development formerly known as Heritage Hills. It will offer 79 units. brigil.com Minto Communities: Four netzero, energy-ready townhomes open at Arcadia in the spring and a fifth single-family model opens in the fall. minto.com Glenview Homes: Spring release of the final phase at Monahan Landing, featuring 90 singlefamily homes that include new, family-inspired layouts with central halls and two-car garages. glenviewhomes.com Cardel Homes: Sales launch early in the year of phase two in Richardson Ridge. It will see a limited number of single-family homes and 16 newly designed towns. cardelhomes.com Cardel Homes: Spring launch of condos in Blackstone, featuring three buildings with three storeys and 12 units each. Also stacked towns will be offered for rent at Blackstone starting in early summer. cardelhomes.com
STITTSVILLE
eQ Homes: Late summer launch of new two-storey and bungalow products at Fernbank Crossing. eqhomes.ca Richcraft: Two new bungalow and four new single designs in the Contemporaries series launching in the spring at both Fernbank Crossing and at TrailsEdge in Orléans. New model homes (singles and towns) coming to both locations in September. richcraft.com Phoenix Homes: Construction starts late in the year on the first condo flat building of the new Terra Flats product at Fernbank Crossing. phoenixhomes.ca Valecraft Homes: Rathwell Landing breaks ground mid-year, with 200 newly designed singles, bungalows and towns. valecraft.com Minto Communities: Potter’s Key launches in the fall with a total of about 400 executive towns and single-family homes off Hazeldean Road. minto.com
CARLETON PLACE
Cardel Homes: Sales to start in the spring at Miller’s Crossing, a project of 282 homes that includes 106 singles, 128 towns and 48 condos. cardelhomes.com
KEMPTVILLE
Glenview Homes: New phase of 50 bungalows and two-storey homes launches at Tempo in Kemptville in the spring or fall. Construction of the first phase begins this spring. glenviewhomes.com eQ Homes: Early spring launch of newly designed bungalows and two-storey homes at eQuinelle. eqhomes.ca LA Group: Phase one of the 93unit condo project Kemptville Landing breaks ground in early March; reservations for phase two begin in the spring. lagroup.ca LA Group: Oxford Village off Highway 43 launches in spring/ summer. The multi-phase development will have 1,600 towns and singles. lagroup.ca