OTTAWA AREA HOMES

"Canada’s housing market is already seeing the impact of falling interest rates, with nearly half of Canadians telling a new survey that they are planning to buy a home in the next five years and more than 15 per cent saying cheaper mortgage rates will allow them to make the purchase sooner than expected. Younger Canadians, who are struggling with far more debt than their parents did at the same age, are the most likely to respond to falling rates. More than a fifth of millen

"The city has announced plans to give a facelift to an area between Rideau Street and Laurier Avenue. The plan is part of the larger redevelopment of several ongoing projects between Rideau to the north, Laurier Avenue to the south, Colonel By Drive to the west and Waller Street to the east. Those projects include the construction of the Confederation Line light rail project, the revitalization of the Rideau Centre, the Ottawa Art Gallery expansion and Arts Court redevelopmen

"Canada’s major banks are heading into a renewed mortgage price war in the wake of the Bank of Canada’s surprise decision to cut interest rates. Mortgage brokers reported that Royal Bank of Canada dropped its five-year fixed rate for qualified borrowers to 2.84 per cent over the weekend. While smaller, non-bank lenders have started offering even cheaper rates, RBC's rate cut is likely a record for a major bank, said Drew Donaldson, executive vice-president of Safebridge Finan

"An Ottawa company is taking advantage of the dip in the commercial real estate market to convert part of an office building off Elgin Street into new rental units. District Realty is renovating the top five floors of its building at 169 Lisgar St., which is separate but connected to an office building at 200 Elgin St., across from city hall’s heritage building. The former offices will be turned into bachelor, one- and two-bedroom suites in time for occupancy this May or June

"Some cities are just easier to live in than others. Global consulting firm ECA International came out with a list of the most livable cities around the world for North Americans. The ranking objectively evaluates a bunch of factors that contribute to the overall quality of living, including climate, availability of health services, housing and utilities, isolation, access to social network and leisure facilities, personal safety, air quality, infrastructure, and political te

"OTTAWA - The looming threat of sliding oil prices forced the Bank of Canada to drop its trend-setting interest rate Wednesday, a surprising move that shows just how much the country's economic outlook has soured in a matter of months. The central bank, which nudged its key rate down to 0.75 per cent from one per cent, said the rapid oil-price collapse has created many unknowns around economic growth in the oil-exporting nation. Until the effects of oil's late-2014 tailspin s

"The city wants to save your corner store — and hear from you before planners put the final touches on an innovative zoning amendment that could see micro-retailers pop up in residential neighbourhoods. Almost 60 corner stores are grandfathered into established urban communities zoned exclusively for homes. If a convenience store closes or its owner dies, it’s very difficult to keep the shop as a shop — the property’s use automatically switches to residential to match the res

"The City of Ottawa has opened its 57 approved sledding hills. Outdoors enthusiasts are invited to sled while weather and hill conditions permit, and to keep personal safety in mind while sledding. Alda Burt Park - 1895 Smyth Road Small local hill, parking provided at Dempsey Community Centre, partially lit from the parking lot, gradual slopes, long run on west section of the hill, short run on the east section of the hill. Caution restricted use: the east section run is in c

"Real estate agents in the city sold 640 properties in December, 31 more than in the same month a year earlier and three units above the five-year average, the Ottawa Real Estate board said Wednesday. Overall numbers for the year were up slightly, with the 13,928 homes sold in 2014 representing a 0.4 per cent increase over the year before. Agents sold 2.4 per cent more residential units, but that gain was largely offset by a 7.2 per cent decline in sales of condominiums. The

"Regardless of the doomsayers pointing to low oil values and potential market overvaluation, the luxury real estate market in Canada is not suffering, and Sotheby’s International doesn’t think it will in 2015. The high-end brokerage released its semi-annual Top-Tier Report today, revealing the strong growth across Canada’s four major centres: in Toronto and Vancouver, sales were up 38 per cent and 25 per cent, year over year. “Heightened demand and tight inventory contributed