After more than a year of minimal activity when it comes to new builder launches in Ottawa, it’s been a busy fall. Since Aug. 12, at least eight developments from Rockland to Embrun to Kemptville to Carp have been released in a sudden flurry.
Why?
The reasons are as varied as the builders, according to Cheryl Rice of industry analyst PMA Brethour Realty Group. “Some builders were hoping for the market to change, but it didn’t. Others had projects in the planning stages for quite some time, and with fall being a popular season to launch new sites, many of these openings were targeted for a September launch.”
Since the spring of 2022, Ottawa’s red-hot housing market has been cold, with sales underperforming five- and 10-year averages thanks to increasing interest rates, rising prices, a slowing economy and rising inflation.
“But the 2023 market is rebounding as price corrections and existing and new inventory fuel sales,” Rice says, adding that “new openings and a fresh stock of product are being brought to market and sold at prices that are proving there is demand, for product that is priced right.”
Builders are being careful in their pricing strategies, she notes. “Some are offering affordability while still maintaining high specifications, while others are offering entry-level product at prices that have buyers literally lining up for a chance at buying a new home, including new buyers and investors from Toronto, a group that had thinned out in 2021 when new townhome prices went through the roof.”
Minto Communities is certainly one builder that has seen interest in its new offerings, both this fall and earlier in the year at Parkside at Arcadia in Kanata, where Minto introduced stacked condo towns for under $400,000 that sold out of initial released lots on the day they went up for sale.
“We basically reacted to what we saw as a niche and a demand for a product,” says Anthony Minchella, vice-president of sales and marketing for Minto Communities.
As to why we’re seeing so much activity now, in some cases, he says, a builder will decide to start the infrastructure or services for a community, getting sewers and roads put in, and “once you see that commitment, obviously you have to go to market … I think you’re seeing a lot of builders that had held off — it’s been a rough year and three months, a fairly flat market — but they likely have inventory of land that they either have to sit on longer term or they have to start to sell and churn and burn and get it to market.”
Jake Shabinsky, managing director of Glenview Homes, agrees with Rice that the flurry of builder launches in Ottawa is due to a combination of factors — including the timing of municipal approvals. “In addition, builders and buyers have been monitoring interest rates and now that the dramatic hiking cycle has paused, new projects are being launched.”
An optimist who is “bullish on the future growth potential of Ottawa,” he believes that once rates stabilize or begin to decrease, “we will see a surge in buyer demand as more buyers continue to move off the sidelines.”
Tanya Buckley is senior vice-president, Ontario Home Division, for Cardel Homes. She feels we’re experiencing “a COVID hangover” — where pandemic disruptions to an already slow planning process, supply chains and the ongoing issues with trade shortages, combined with a surge in buyer demand, have created a ripple effect that lingers today. Yet, “resources are starting to open up … everything from servicing contractors to excavation, foundation, framing, all your rough-ins, backing, drywall is in transition now,” she says.
“These projects, just generally speaking, have been caught up in that transition to some degree … I’m speculating, but I think a lot of builders were in that position where projects were caught or being held up and we were all just wanting to bring them out. And from a supply standpoint, there hasn’t been enough supply on the market.”
Snapshot of recent builder launches in Ottawa
Idylea
What: About 670 singles, towns and semis
Where: Stittsville
Builder: Tamarack Homes and Tartan Homes (Tamarack has not yet released)
Launch date: Aug. 12
Abbott’s Run
What: About 3,700 towns, singles and mid-rise units on 200+ acres
Where: Stittsville
Builder: Minto Communities
Launch date: Sept. 9
MORE: 6-bedroom towns & 3-storey singles at Abbott’s Run
Embrun Central
What: About 150 singles and towns
Where: Embrun
Builder: eQ Homes
Launch date: Sept. 23
Succession Court
What: An enclave of 68 towns and seven singles on a cul-de-sac
Where: Stittsville
Builder: Glenview Homes
Launch date: Sept. 23
Morris Village
What: A selection of single-family home lots as part of a larger master-planned, multi-builder community of about 2,000 homes
Where: Rockland
Builder: Cardel Homes
Launch date: Sept. 30
Copperwood Estate
What: About 600 singles and towns, with higher density units to follow
Where: Kanata
Builder: Claridge Homes and Uniform Urban Developments
Launch date: Sept. 30
Anthem
What: About 600 towns next to Chapman Mills
Where: Barrhaven
Builder: Minto Communities
Launch date: Oct. 7
Arbourbrook Estates
What: Twelve estate lots ranging from 1.3 to about three acres
Where: Carp
Builder: Metric Homes
Launch date: Oct. 20
Oxford Village
What: About 80 towns and two-storey singles
Where: Kemptville
Builder: Mattamy Homes
Launch date: Oct. 21
