By the Ottawa Renovation Specialists team
If you like your neighbourhood and the house has good bones, renovating usually costs less than moving once you count the money you never get back from a sale and purchase. Ontario land transfer tax alone on a $700,000 home is about $10,475, which is more than half the cost of a basic kitchen renovation.
You are not alone in asking
A Leger survey commissioned by the Electrical Safety Authority found that 27% of Ontario homeowners intend to renovate their current home. Higher prices and borrowing costs have made staying put look better to a lot of people.
The money you never get back when you move
Moving costs are not an investment. They do not add a single square foot or a better kitchen. On a $700,000 Ottawa home, the buying side alone includes:
- Ontario land transfer tax: about $10,475, calculated on the provincial brackets. Ottawa does not add a municipal land transfer tax the way Toronto does.
- Legal fees, title insurance and adjustments on the purchase
- Moving costs, plus the furniture, blinds and small fixes every new house needs
Then there is the selling side: real estate commission, legal fees on the sale and any work needed to get the house ready to list. Add it up and many Ottawa homeowners spend tens of thousands of dollars just to change addresses.
What the same money buys in a renovation
Here is what these projects cost in Ottawa and how long they take us for a standard scope. These are from Ottawa Renovation Specialists’ own quotes, if you are interested please give us a call for a free quote.
- Kitchen (average size): $18,000 to $45,000, about one month once materials are in
- Bathroom: $15,000 to $55,000, about two weeks
- Basement finish: $35,000 to $95,000, about two months
The land transfer tax on a $700,000 purchase would cover most of a low-band kitchen. Add the other moving costs and you are into the range of a mid-level kitchen and a bathroom together.
When moving is the right call
Renovating is not always the answer. Moving makes more sense when:
- You need space the lot cannot give you. Some lots and zoning rules leave no room for an addition.
- The house has expensive hidden problems. Foundation movement, which is common on Ottawa’s clay soils, or a full rewire can eat a renovation budget before any visible improvement starts.
- Your life is changing location. No renovation fixes a commute.
- You would be over-improving. If the renovation pushes your home’s value far above the rest of the street, you may not get it back when you sell.
A quick way to decide
- List what is wrong with the house today: space, layout, condition, location.
- Mark which of those a renovation can fix.
- Price the renovation with an itemized renovation estimate.
- Price the move: both sides of the transaction, plus the work the new house will need.
- Compare the two totals against how long you plan to stay.
If most of your list is layout and condition, a renovation usually wins. When the list touches every room, a whole-house renovation often costs less than buying the house you think you want and fixing what it gets wrong. Before you list, get an itemized estimate from a local firm such as Ottawa Renovation Specialists and set it beside the real cost of moving.
FAQ
How much is land transfer tax in Ottawa? Ottawa buyers pay only the Ontario land transfer tax. On a $700,000 home, it works out to about $10,475. First-time buyers may qualify for a provincial refund.
Can I live in my house during a renovation? Often, yes. Kitchens and bathrooms are usually done while families stay home. Larger projects may need a short move-out.
What renovation adds the most value? Kitchens and bathrooms are the most common choices, but the best value depends on what your house lacks compared with others on your street.
Ottawa Renovation Specialists is a family-run Ottawa renovation company working across the city since 1999.
