Low Inventory Driving Prices and Competition

The Lion of Inflation is Tamed

Last week, we attended a presentation by the Vice President of RBC Global Asset Management.  He spoke about the effect of government intervention on the economy over the past several months and what we might anticipate next.  The sharp interest rate increases were designed to tame inflation amid the soaring costs of goods and services.  From the statistics, it appears that has largely worked.  He referenced the four banks who’d sought government protection and how their financial collapse was likely due to the government applying too much pressure by way of interest rates. Prior to these institutions failing, it was anticipated we would see further rate increases, but…

1066 Views, 0 Comments

New Condo Development Coming to the North End of Halifax

Gottingen Street is undergoing changes at a very rapid rate.  From our office location, there are two brand new developments in the works almost directly on either side.  We know this for a fact, because we've been dealing with dynamite going off on a regular basis as they blast for a parkade.  It is bone shaking, nerve rattling stuff!

The more attractive development in our opinion, comes in the form on Navy Lane condos.  This developer has clearly made an effort to blend in the the surroundings with a beautiful brick facade that offers a charasmatic nod to years gone by.  Last year, as the city was doing some road work, we caught a glimpse of the old cobblestones and steel tram rails,…

1898 Views, 0 Comments

Government provides update to foreign buyer ban. 

We were speaking with Steven Lewis from The Mortgage Centre this morning and he informed us the government is amending it's foreign buyer policy.  Now, if you have a valid work permit in place which has more than 183 days remaining, you are eligible to purchase a home in Canada.  We look into some of the other changes to the law below:

Purchasing for the Purpose of Re-Development

Non-Canadians looking to purchase a residential unit with the intent of redevelopment can now do so.  The redevelopment cannot be a renovations, but rather a project which substantially changes the use of the building. I.e from a duplex to an apartment building. 

Vacant Land Exempt

A Non-Canadian is now permitted to…

1263 Views, 0 Comments

The Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty Selling System

With Spring just around the corner, many people are considering preparations for selling their home in the coming months.  This year, we’ve completely revamped our Selling System for the benefit of our clients.  We had several meetings as a team to brainstorm every possible pain-point a Seller might face and then designed a system to alleviate as much frustration as possible.

I’ve already told you about Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty Concierge – our unique service that can help you locate the various services you might need when getting your home ready for sale.  We also take care of all the staging requirements and provide you with a complimentary cleaning service before you hit the market.

497 Views, 0 Comments

Monthly Market Snapshot | January 2023

January in 2023 represented the slowest month for sales since at least 2009, which is when our stats tool started recording data.  That sounds scary, but everyone needs to remember we still have a pretty significant inventory shortage. 

There are only 523 homes for sale in all of HRM - Single Family and Condos. That means we only have 1.2 months of supply (Strong Sellers Market). This is at a time when rental rates have increased nearly 10% year over year. 
Despite fewer sales and higher interest rates, the average price of a home has remained largely unchanged since September. This is due to a lack of inventory and sky high rental rates.
There's no question the market has slowed down and that's why you…

655 Views, 0 Comments

HRM Real Estate Year in Review | Fear and Volatility

The real estate market in 2022 was volatile. A cataclysmically low number of homes for sale in January caused real estate values to skyrocket.  It was almost impossible to determine what a house would sell for. A house may have sold a week or two ago, but then a similar house in the same area a week or two later may have fetched an additional 40-50K. You were competing against 15-20 other people and bids were inflated to ridiculous levels. In many cases, offers were also being submitted without conditions to protect the buyer.  It was a nightmare and one I am glad to say is over.

During the insanity, the bank of Canada decided to get involved to calm things down (while the media simultaneously…

1802 Views, 0 Comments

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:

--

"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…

1863 Views, 0 Comments

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…

5273 Views, 1 Comments


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…

2384 Views, 1 Comments