Large numbers of area residents say they’d like to live in a new part of the city – or even beyond its borders – as the shift to remote work opens opportunities to move without fears of lengthening one’s commute to the office.
While some predicted “work-from-anywhere” opportunities would lead urban dwellers to flee the city en masse in search of larger homes and more personal outdoor space, the results of the Welch LLP Ottawa Business Growth Survey indicate that a large-scale exodus is unlikely – but that area residents intend to be fairly mobile in the coming years.
“The local real estate market continues to be very active with new listings selling quickly and often well above listing prices,” says Jim McConnery, managing partner at Welch LLP. “There is some uncertainty as we move to 2022 and an expected higher interest rate environment – this should have an impact on demand and the price of residential dwellings.”
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One-third of respondents living in central Ottawa say they’d like to move outside their current community. The figure jumps to more than 50 per cent among suburban residents.
Yet at the same time, central Ottawa holds the most appeal among those considering a new home, followed by communities on the city’s outskirts.
“The pandemic has allowed people to reconsider where they live and what’s important to them,” says Abacus Data CEO David Coletto. “When you take the commute away, it opens up a whole new suite of options.”
The arrows on the adjacent map show where respondents who are currently living in Ottawa’s largest communities would like to live if they were to move in the next five years. For example, nine per cent of those respondents who currently live in central Ottawa say they would move to a community just outside the city while eight per cent say they would move to the suburbs inside the Greenbelt.
Read the full 2021 Welch LLP Ottawa Business Growth Survey report below:
