Nova Scotia Non-Resident Deed Transfer Tax Increases to 10%

The government of Nova Scotia has announced changes to the province's deed transfer tax for non-residents—including those from other parts of Canada. Currently, if you purchase a home in Nova Scotia and do not intend to become a resident within six months of the closing date, you are subject to an additional deed transfer tax of 5% on top of the base rate of 1.5% that residents pay, for a total of 6.5%.

Effective April 1st (no joke), the government will increase the non-resident rate to 10% (plus the base 1.5%), resulting in a total tax rate of 11.5%. I am very disappointed by this change, which is likely a response to the recently announced operating budget deficit and a measure to help…

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Understanding Tariffs and Their Impact on the Canadian Real Estate Market

Introduction

Welcome to the world of tariffs! No conspiracy theories here, and we’re leaving politics at the door. The objective of this report is to demystify tariffs, explain how they work, and analyze their broader economic impact, particularly in the Canadian real estate market. By breaking down their mechanisms and historical implications, this report aims to provide insight into how tariffs shape market dynamics and influence homebuyers and homeowners, especially in Nova Scotia.

Before we dive in, I want to clarify that I am not a qualified professional in international trade—just someone interested in understanding current trade issues and their impact on real…

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Real Estate Outlook for Spring 2024 – Buckle Up

Our office had the senior economic analyst from the Canadian Real Estate Association speak to us this week, and his message was clear: "Buckle up." In a captivating and somewhat terrifying 45-minute presentation on the Canadian real estate market, he predicted a surge in activity as people, previously held back by high interest rates, get ready to jump on opportunities when Spring listings hit the market. While we haven’t seen the expected influx of listings yet, things are delicately poised, with homeowners gearing up for the busiest time of the year.

HRM Snapshot: Over the past 24 months, Spring has consistently seen home sale prices that were 10-15% higher than in Winter.

Where are prices going?

…

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2023 Real Estate Market - Was it bad, or was it just bad for Realtors?

Written by Chris Perkins, Broker/Owner - Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty.

I’m sure when you spoke to your real estate friends this year, most of them complained about how slow the market was. However, while it posed problems for us in the industry, it was a better market (in the Halifax area at least) than you might expect. 

To explain what I mean, we need to look at the years gone by:

Admittedly, sales were the lowest they’ve been since at least 2010 which is as far as I can go back in time. Sales volume like this would generally be catastrophic for prices were it not for the dramatic drop in inventory (you'll note the sale to new listing ratio is higher in 2023 than…

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Mortgage Renewals - How to deal with high interest rates

I’m not sure about you, but to me everything at the moment seems unreasonably expensive. The deodorant I like was on “sale” for $6.50 and I started to wonder if I’d really smell that bad without it. The other thing that stinks at the moment is the cost of borrowing money.  In twelve short months, the bank of Canada has raised interest rates from 4.79% to 7.09%.  While these aren’t the highest rates in history, the pain being felt is because of how low they’ve been in recent memory.  

The sticker shock of today’s rate environment has a lot of people dreading mortgage renewal time. We spoke to a mortgage specialist recently.  People walking into his office are terrified of making ends meet when…

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The Sackville Market is Hot. Hot. Hot!

I was out showing houses this past weekend in Sackville and one thing is certain, Sackville homes are in demand and selling fast!  That’s the case for much of HRM, but the majority of homes in the Sackville area are sitting in the sweet spot of market value.   More than 60% of home sales in the Halifax area occur between $300,000 and $600,000.  The less expensive a home is, the more competition it attracts.

For example, a home we viewed at $419,900 obtained a whopping 15 offers. Our client successfully bid on a home that was listed for $495,000, where we were up against 5 other offers. A near-new build listed for $574,900 attracted 8 offers, largely due to the location and that it was full of modern flair.

…

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If you bought a home at the Peak of 2022, you’re okay!

I’m sure that if you purchased a home in April or May last year, everyone you spoke to about it had a look of terror wash over their face. It would have followed with doom and gloom comments about rising interest rates and how they were going to cause a calamitous drop in home prices. While rising rates did cause a slowdown in sales and a 16% drop in average price, those losses are almost completely erased in six short months.

At time of writing, the average price of a home in the Halifax Regional Municipality is $572,000 (based on a rolling 3 months of data). At the peak, we were at $602,000.  At the bottom, we were at $506,000. Since the bottom in October, the average price has recovered by…

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New North End Condo - Navy Lane Update

We are edging ever closer to the launch date for Navy Lane condo and we are excited to learn all about it while sharing the information with you.  Prior to then, we have a glimpse into what the rooftop “play space” has to offer.  There’s both an indoor and outdoor gym, a lounging area with firepits, pool, and an indoor private space for your fun get-togethers! 

With a view of the Halifax harbour, the developer has also made sure to give a nod to the historic ties to the Navy in the area.  You’ll be able to use the retro-style tower viewer (fancy binoculars other tall buildings make you pay for) to see all the goings on in the harbour!

Check out the image below:

 

While You’re here

Pros and Cons of…

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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…

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The Art of Negotiation

For the past two years, the value we’ve brought to our clients has been in the form of winning competing offers when buying a home, or leveraging multiple offers when selling. Now that the market has taken an abrupt turn, it is important that your Realtor changes their tactics to ensure your success when making a move. 

When selling, your Realtor now needs to do a lot more work to obtain feedback from buyer agents while encouraging them to submit an offer.  Obtaining an offer is half the battle, the other half is negotiating favourable terms.  It’s unlikely you’ll like everything about an offer when it is submitted, but it is always advisable to work with the buyer to reach an agreement where everyone is happy.

Buyers today…

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