Kelso Beach Park waterfront. (Matt Hermiz/Bayshore Broadcasting News)
Owen Sound is being ranked the eighth-best city in the country to buy real estate for 2021.
A release notes the ranking was done by MoneySense, a Canadian online digital personal finance magazine, where one of its yearly reports identifies, “Where to buy real estate in Canada.”
According to Owen Sound City Manager Tim Simmonds, the ranking was based on:
-value, measuring how affordable the community is in compared to the surrounding locations and region overall
-momentum, identifying how quickly the prices are appreciating in a community, with a focus on the long-term appreciation.
In 2020, the real estate market across the region and Owen Sound reached an all-time high, with MoneySense listing the local areas average pricing of a home for the year at over $340,000, with the one-year growth at 15 per cent and the three-year growth at 54 per cent.
It has also been reported by the Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound, the dollar value of all homes sold in June 2021 in the region (not just Owen Sound) was reported at over $259 million, an increase of over 41 per cent compared to June of last year. The average housing price for properties sold in June was marked at over $648,000, almost 40 per cent from the same month last year
This year, construction values in Owen Sound have reached over $23.5 million, compared to $5.8 million during the same time frame in 2020.
Simmonds notes he feels the reason why Owen Sound reached its ranking was due to affordability, quality of life and available real estate.
“Eighth best, and when I first read that article in MoneySense and was notified about it, I thought ‘well maybe we are eighth best in Ontario,’ which would still be an incredible stat, but then it said eighth best in Canada, and I was like wow this is some really great news,” says Simmonds.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy says he is excited to see the city ranked eighth in all of Canada as one of the best places to buy real estate in 2021.
“Council, the City Manager, and staff have worked hard to let people know that we are a welcoming an inclusive community. With the pandemic, people have learned that they no longer need to live where they work, but can choose to live in an affordable, safe, and charming location like Owen Sound. We are a city that is committed to growth while maintaining an incredible quality of life,” says Boddy.
With the ranking, Simmonds says he feels this will help promote the city. While not opening up the flood gates and reaching a real estate boom, having the city up on the national stage will lead to more investors or people interested in moving to the area.
“It now just puts us on the radar and that is really what we are trying to do, is to share how great of a city we have with everybody else,” says Simmonds.
He commends Owen Sound council for preparing the city over the last few years for growth with various new buildings planning to be built.
“The affordability for sometime has been a little bit curtailed in Grey Bruce, specifically in Owen Sound and so the city is catching up with other areas,” says Simmonds.
