Understand Homes Values

Could your Ottawa home be worth more than you think?

This is a short St. Patrick’s Day post, to let you know that your end-of-the-rainbow may be closer than you think.

I had a couple of conversations about real estate this week, one with some older relatives and the other with a neighbour at the dog park. Both added to the body of evidence leading me to believe that unless you are actively looking to move, you have no idea what your home is worth today.

In both conversations, the parties expressed their surprise at the high asking prices for homes on their streets. And when I told them what the homes actually sold for (higher), they gasped. You see, none of us are used to asking prices being simply a starting point.

You can safely take that asking price (in most cases) and add 10%. That is currently the most common pricing strategy – pricing 10% or so lower than what a seller wants. What they actually get, however, is completely up to the market. And in many cases, with low inventory, the market values the home higher.

Here are some examples of recent sales in our area (second week of March 2022):

Barrhaven townhouse 3 bed, 3 bath: Asking price $649,000 ? sale price $760,000

Westboro detached 4 bed, 4 bath: Asking price $1,550,000 ? sale price $1,750,000

Stittsville semi-detached 3 bed, 3 bath: Asking price $699,900 ? sale price $900,000

Even if you moved to your home within the last two years, values have changed wildly in that time period.

Whether or not you plan on moving, it’s simply smart planning to understand the value of your home and/or your real estate investment properties and their impact on your net worth.

I’m happy to chat further and give you some facts, insight and at the very least have a fun discussion. Send an email to Liisa@LiisaVexler.com and let’s chat.