In a recent human rights case, a Toronto condo was ordered to remove a restriction which forbade babies with diapers from using the swimming pool. Also at issue was whether the condo could lawfully impose restrictions on when children under the age of 16 could use the pool.

The condo had posted a sign which read that children under 2 years of age, or those wearing diapers, were not allowed into the pool. When a mother, Ms. Pantoliano, tried to bring her infant daughter into the pool with her, she was told by the lifeguard that this was not permitted. She tried to use the pool several times with her baby, but was always asked to leave.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal concluded that children in diapers do not pose a significant health risk to other condo residents using the pool. A total ban on infants was not considered reasonable. Neither was restricting children under 16 from enjoying the pool except on weekday afternoons.

The Tribunal ordered the condo to pay Ms. Pantoliano $10,000 for injury to her “dignity, feelings, and self-respect”.

Clients buying condos should know that it’s not just the rules and regulations imposed by the condo board that they need to worry about. It’s also the courts and tribunals who are reviewing these rules and regulations vis à vis their compliance with the law.

Pantoliano v. MTCC 570 & YCC 531 [2011]
Source: Kerry Fox

These statistics are based on the sales figures as released on the 6th of February, 2012 by the Ottawa Real Estate Board and include sales of both residential houses and condominiums in the Greater Ottawa Area.

The facts:

# of sales – up 1%

Average Sale Price – up 5.6%

Days on Market = 58 days

New Listings – increase .8%

Sales-to-Inventory Ratio – 15%

The Ottawa Real Estate Board reported this past Monday that sales increased year over year by just 1% in January compared to last January and the average sale price at $ 349,415 represented an increase of 5.6% over January 2011.  New listings taken and the listing inventory remained stable.  The sales to listing inventory ratio indicates the market is clinging to the balanced market range.  The average selling time has risen again and is at 58 days.

This is a very useful website to bookmark – just in case   www.recalls.org

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 684 residential properties in January through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 677 in January 2011, an increase of one per cent. The five-year average for January sales is 652. Of those sales, 138 were in the condominium property class, while 546 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

“The results indicate it’s been a typical month of January for the Ottawa and area resale housing market” said Board President Ansel Clarke. “It is interesting to note that the inventory of properties for sale is considerably higher than a year ago, offering a lot of choice to buyers.”

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in January in the Ottawa area was $349,415, an increase of 5.6 per cent over January 2011. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $253,210, an increase of 6.8 per cent over January 2011. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $373,731, an increase of 5.5 per cent over January 2011. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

Source:  Ottawa Real Estate Board

The Teranet – National Bank House Price Index tracks changes in single family house prices in a number of Canadian cities. The House Price Index uses something called the repeat sales methodology which uses properties that have sold at least twice in the calculation of the price index for a city. This approach offers another measure of changes in real estate prices. According to the Ottawa HPI, prices have appreciated by 38.5% since June 2005 or roughly 6.4% per year.

For more information, visit www.housepriceindex.ca.

* Ottawa’s Economy will grow at a lower rate – Global economic recovery will be gradual and modest

* New Home Demand will favour more affordable homes

* Resale Market in Ottawa will stabilize in balanced territory

* Over 80% of Ottawa’s growth will continue taking place outside the Greenbelt

* Fragile conditions will keep interest rates low

* Average MLS price will rise at the rate of inflation

Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Average number of sales   ↑ 13.1%

Average sale price   ↑ 2.6%

Average days on market  -  50 days

New listings   ↑ 0.8%

Sales-to-inventory ratio  -  16% (Balanced market)

This means that 2011 was the 2nd strongest year in MLS history, after 2009.