Non-Resident Tax to Greatly Increase Homeownership Costs in Nova Scotia

We were informed this afternoon in a news release from the Nova Scotia Assocation of Realtors regarding the new tax rules that will significantly increase costs for home buyers who are not residents of Nova Scotia. 

The directly quoted news release from NSAR is included below:

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"Budget 2022/2023 – New taxes that impact your clients

This afternoon the Provincial Government released a budget that included newly created Deed Transfer Taxes and increased Property Taxes for out-of-province buyers and owners. NSAR has continually expressed concerns that the increased taxes will have unintended and negative consequences on Nova Scotia’s economy, tripling owners' taxes and…

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Are we adding gasoline to a real estate market already on fire?

Buyer fatigue is fast becoming a reality and who can blame them?  Countless offers written over several days or weeks, often in competition with dozens of people vying for the same property.  Multiple failures and a lack of hope.  The average sale price of a home skyrocketed in January and increased again in February, but ironically, the average list price of a home went down in that same period.

Sellers, probably guided by their Realtors, are choosing to list far below market value to create feeding frenzies. This is why homes are now selling at an average of 122% of the list price.  In this model, the goal is to have as many showings as possible over several days before the Seller…

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What the hell was that and can you please make it stop?

2021 was breathless from the outset. It seemed that overnight, people’s patience snapped and an overwhelming urgency took hold.  Competition exploded and the lid flew off offer prices like a cat flies off a cucumber. While the penny dropped quickly, it was a problem that had been building for months. For some shocking perspective, look at the number of homes for sale in the Halifax Regional Municipality over the past four years:

  •        December 2018 | 2,055
  •        December 2019 | 1,298
  •        December 2020 | 626
  •        December 2021 | 214

This represents an inventory decrease on a scale larger than a blue whale. That’s big. What’s more, the number of sales has…

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2nd Quarter Market Update | A Price Plateau

Before I tell you why we are having a difficult time explaining the numbers, we’ve got to talk about the numbers. Average price in the second quarter only went up by 0.8% in comparison to 12% in the previous one. Total sales in the 2nd quarter were 1,960 in comparison to 1,466 in 2020.  In the past year, the average price increased by 32% driven by low supply and high demand.  However, back in 2020 we had more than double the inventory – 1,079 homes for sale versus 470 in 2021.  So why has the average price plateaued?

Making Sense of the Numbers

Based on the numbers alone, there is absolutely no reason why the average price is not continuing to increase.  Market value is based on supply and demand. We…

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COVID and the real estate market so far

Real estate markets across Canada have been experiencing unprecedented price growth since the pandemic started.  Record low interest rates and travel restrictions meant more people shifted their attention to homeownership.  Some of the sale prices we’re witnessing in the Halifax area are shocking, even for someone who looks at prices every single day.  A Bedford townhouse that sells for $735,000.  A Hydrostone Row house at $750,000.  While we in Nova Scotia baulk at these prices, those from other areas of the country like Ontario still see our little province as affordable.  Those who own a home and are looking to upgrade at least have solace in knowing their house has appreciated as well.  However, I feel…

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Generally, when I look at real estate stats, I use data based on 12 months of activity - where each point measures 12 months of data.  The more data we use, the better we understand trends.  However, things are changing rapidly in Halifax and the only way to properly demonstrate that is by using monthly sales data.

In the first quarter of 2020, the average sale price of a single family home in the Halifax Regional Municipality was $344,644.  In 2021 at time of writing, that number has skyrocketed to more than $475,000.  This represents a 39.5% increase.  The most significant jump occurred from December  to January  where the average monthly sale price increased from $426,705 to $468,548.  Low inventory is not a new problem.  It was a challenge in March…

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This week, we were on location at Duggers Menswear on the corner of Spring Garden Road and Brunswick Street. We sat down with Karl who's been with Duggers for 10 years doing a variety of different tasks while helping customers look their best. This June marks 50 years of Duggers in Halifax!

 

Buy or sell a home in 2021 to win one of 12 great prizes!

Buy or sell a home with HaliPad in 2021 to support local businesses. We are giving away $12,000 in prizes including golf, glamping, furniture, cooking classes, clothing and so much more!. Learn more about #LiveLoveLocal here. 

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Halifax Real Estate Market | Year in Review

The real estate market became increasingly competitive throughout 2020.  Inventory saw a persistent decline while sales quickened their pace.   Historically low interest rates and a sub one percent vacancy rate in the Halifax area compounded the problem.  Rent got more expensive while the cost to borrow money was lowest I’ve seen in my 14 year career.  These factors had a significant effect on our single family statistics.

The Single Family Market

The average price of a single family home in the Halifax Regional Municipality increased by 14% in 2020.  This represents an average increase of approximately 1.24% in a month, meaning a house worth $300,000 would gain $3,720 in 30 days.  This is…

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Months of supply shows us the relationship between inventory and sales.  It measures a moment in time.  If nothing else were listed and the current rate of sales continued – how long would it take for everything to sell?  More sales and fewer homes for sale means lower months of supply.

For example: There are 100 homes for sale and on average, we are selling 20 homes a month – Months of inventory would be 5.  (100 homes for sale/20 sales a month = 5 months).

If months of inventory falls below three months, it is a Seller’s market where Home Buyers often have to compete for listings.  Three to six months of inventory would be considered a balanced market while anything above six months favours a Buyer.

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