Nova Scotia’s hot real estate market becomes election issue for first-time buyers – Halifax

The Halifax real estate market is hot. According to the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS, home sales totaled a record 8,407 units in the first six months of the year.

Houses sell out in a matter of days, and not only are they going fast, they are selling a lot. Across the province, the average home price has jumped about 30% from 2020.

In Halifax, this means that in June, the average home price was $ 436,400, more than $ 114,000 more than the average home price in the region last year.

“It’s absolutely abnormal,” said Robert Hogue, senior economist at RBC.

“I don’t think we can find another point in history where prices have gone up that much, at least in dollar terms.”

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The problem is not unique to Nova Scotia. Across the country, home prices have been on the rise for years and, although they have skyrocketed in Nova Scotia recently, last year’s rise was dramatic, particularly impacting home buyers. ‘a first home.

“It’s a challenge,” said Matthew Dauphinee, vice-president of the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS.

Things really started to change in 2019, with mortgage interest rates falling and rents increasing. It was at this point that more and more people began to consider the benefits of owning rather than renting.

“In 2019, it was a good option. Fast forward to today, we have less inventory than before. It’s hard to find a place, ”said Dauphinee.

In addition to having lower stocks, Nova Scotia’s population continues to grow. Halifax’s population growth outstrips almost every city in the country, creating increased demand for housing.

Then the pandemic hit and with less to do, more people realized the importance of having their own space.

With a lot of people looking to buy and have such low stocks, it creates a market with bidding wars.

Across the province over the past year, bidding wars have become more common and often homes are selling for between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 more than asking price – something that puts young buyers in the spotlight. ‘a first house, who do not have the same capital as the disadvantaged owners or those who have been saving for longer.

This is the challenge Amy Mielke and her partner Patrick Jerrette are currently facing.

“We can’t compete with money and we can’t compete with a lot of money, so we definitely have the price,” Mielke said.

The couple are currently renting accommodation on the Halifax Peninsula. The hope was to stay nearby, preferably in the North End, but with current house prices they say they are being evicted.

“A house that we really liked, we found out it had 12 deals, and I think it ended up going over $ 100,000, which just cost us dearly,” Mielke said.

Dauphinee says he understands the struggle for first-time homebuyers and says that one thing that can help is to reconsider the deed transfer tax for first-time homebuyers.

Currently, the deed transfer tax is due within 10 days of a home purchase closing and costs about 1.5 percent of the home price. For an average house in Halifax, that works out to about $ 7,000.

“We have seen other provinces like Prince Edward Island or British Columbia relax the rules,” said Dauphinee.

“They could price your home and change the tax you pay to the point of waiving it or spreading it over an extended period.”

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So far, none of the political parties has spoken about it in this election. Liberal Leader Iain Rankin says supply is at the heart of the problem.

“So we will continue to work on the recommendations of the housing committee to make sure that we build this offer,” he said at an event on Wednesday.

PC chief Tim Houston also spoke of the need to increase the supply of housing.

“We have to make sure we work with nonprofits and developers to get them to build and help them build more inventory,” Houston said Tuesday.

The NDP has taken a different approach, touting its rent control policy as a solution to help people save.

“How many people do we know that year after year they delay their plans to get a down payment because their rent prevented them from building up a nest egg to be able to do so,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill.

Mielke and Jerrette say they have no solution to the challenges they face as first-time home buyers and although they do recognize that they are in a privileged position to even consider buying a home. house, they say any help they could get would be welcome.

“For many of our peers, we grew up in Nova Scotia and made Halifax our home and chose the careers we can do here,” Mielke said.

“It’s a little disheartening to know that we might not be able to buy a house where you grew up and try to live here because we are being ousted. “