Found 11 blog entries tagged as halifax.

Leveraging Your Equity

Even with the recent slow down in the market, property values are still significantly higher than they were last year.  Many homeowners have no idea how much equity they have in their home and similarly, are not sure what opportunities that equity provides.  I often hear people say how they could never afford to buy a new home because they are too expensive now.  However, most people I speak to do not fully understand their borrowing potential when leveraging their equity. 

For example, I had a client who purchased their semi-detached home many years ago for $170,000. We recently sold their home for $340,000, which meant they had some $200,000 in equity to play with.  Instead of rolling that entire amount into a new mortgage,…

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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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A NORMAL PERSPECTIVE

As summer is in full swing, a cooler real estate market still represents a hot one. It is easy to lose sight of perspective when it comes to Halifax real estate.  For years, it ticked slowly upwards without absurd swings in either direction.  The last two years dominated the media and in turn, dominated conversations across the province.  It is important to understand the statistics that form the foundation of our current housing market.

The number of sales in June 2022 was only beaten once in the past twelve months - in May of 2022.  Sales remain strong even though inventory is on the rise.  However, we still only have 1.4 months of supply.  This means that if nothing else were listed, it would only take a month and a half for…

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Did several weeks of lockdown change the way people think about high-rise living? It would not be surprising that a modern and minimalist space that once fostered feelings of freedom to do whatever you want quickly turned into the opposite - four walls closing in with COVID claustrophobia, causing you and your cat to figuratively and literally climb the walls.

Suddenly, the desire to live inside to avoid outdoor chores has been replaced with the desire to have outdoor space to complete those very same chores, but willingly. Time outside to have the privilege to achieve the same tasks that seemed taxing before. It's amazing how a slice of perspective can so drastically change your views on things you thought you'd figured out.

Condo sales in…

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Before we talk about how challenging this market is for home Buyers, let's talk about what is causing this unprecedented demand.  The number of sales year over year are only up by 8% and that alone would not cause a substantial price jump.  However, prices have risen by 12% in the last twelve months and it is almost entirely down to a lack of supply. The number of listings available in September 2020 is down by a whopping 51% from 2019. It is down an even more alarming 64% from 2018.  There are simply not enough homes for sale to satisfy demand and this is causing an extremely competitive environment for home Buyers in and around Halifax.

The Landscape

Almost all homes that hit the market in Halifax are being put on a "program" by Real Estate…

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For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Chris Perkins and I’m the Broker/Owner of HaliPad Real Estate Inc.  I’ve been selling real estate since 2007 and moved to Halifax with my wife, Joelle in 2018.  We founded HaliPad Real Estate Inc that same year and opened an office on Gottingen Street, we’d love to have you stop by when things return to normal.

Now, before they return to normal, what does that mean for the local real estate market and how we do business. From a market perspective, things are more active than I was expecting.  We’ve written a couple of blog posts looking at new offers written and new listings in the past three weeks.  From March 16-22nd there were 133 offers written in comparison to 117 the year before.  From March…

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Best practices from Dr. Robert Strang when buying or selling a home amid the COVID crisis

The Real Estate Commission reached out to the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang, asking what advice they would convey to the real estate industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was recommended that we comply with the following information:
  • Social distancing, travelling in separate vehicles and not showing houses of those in self-isolation.
  • Frequent hand hygiene. Real estate licensees and buyers will be going into homes where the risk may be unknown. It is extremely important for these individuals to touch as little as possible during the viewings and practice hand hygiene before entering and after leaving the premise.

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What is Centre Plan?

Centre plan has been in development for several years.  It is focused on simplifying zoning bylaws and the development application process in the urban core of Halifax and Dartmouth. The goal is to add density to address our increasingly competitive housing market.  To date, this has been achieved by creating density corridors that allow taller buildings to be constructed along the busiest transit routes like Gottingen Street, Robie Street and Quinpool Road. 

Introducing Package B – Draft Stage.

Some changes are significant but perhaps the most impactful is R1 zoning will no longer exist.  R1 zoning states that you are only allowed one unit per household, meaning you are not allowed to have a legal secondary suite.  In…

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After a lot of thought, you’ve decided your home is too big.  You haven’t seen the cat in days and the living room hasn’t been lived in for years.  The kids have moved out or you quite simply hate the idea of cleaning three bathrooms.  The reasons for downsizing are numerous, but the tactics to accomplish the goal of downsizing are very similar.  We simplify the downsizing process so you can focus on the things that matter most.

On November 26/19 join Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty and renowned Organize Anything expert, Colette Robicheau to learn how to effectively right size your life.

Why you might want to downsize:

  •         Less upkeep and responsibility
  •         Financial freedom
  •         More flexibility
  •         Your…

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What is Kitec Plumbing?

Scary stuff.  Well, not really.  A highly publicized lawsuit settled in 2012 put a big black mark on that bright orange plumbing.  On a regular basis, I hear people talking about the product and the stigma surrounding it.  So I decided to call a reputable plumber to ask his opinion of the pipe and what the drawbacks are.  I am not a plumber and do not claim to be a professional in the field!  All information below is a regurgitation of the notes I took from our conversation.

There are drawbacks

This blog is not to claim the product does not have its failures.   My plumbing contact stated that failures occurred in systems operating at high temperatures between 180 and 200 degrees.  This is limited to hot water baseboard…

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