Historically Low Inventory Levels Fuel Halifax Home Prices

Halifax's seller's market to continue to see prices gain through the remainder of the year

HALIFAX, July 10, 2019 /CNW/ - According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey¹ released today, the aggregate price of a home in Halifax rose 3.4 per cent year-over-year to $328,023.

The median price of a two-storey home increased 3.7 per cent year-over-year to $346,221, while the median price of a bungalow rose 3.0 per cent year-over-year to $272,931. Meanwhile, the median price of a condominium increased 1.4 per cent year-over-year to $345,244.

"There has never been a stronger seller's market in Halifax," says Marc Doucet, broker of record, Royal LePage Atlantic. "While there have been more active spring markets in the past, inventory and days on market are at a historic low, which significantly favours the seller."

Looking ahead to the end of the year, Royal LePage is forecasting prices to maintain upward momentum, with the region's aggregate price expected to increase 4.0 per cent compared to year-end 2018.

"The momentum that we have seen leading up to and during the 2019 spring market indicates that the steady climb in prices will continue through the end of the year," said Doucet.

Doucet added that potential buyers in Halifax have not been largely affected by the mortgage stress test implemented in 2018 and will benefit from 2019 federal incentives such as the increase to the First Time Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal limit and the CMHC's shared mortgage initiative.  

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 1.1 per cent year-over-year to $621,696 in the second quarter of 2019. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 1.0 per cent year-over-year to $727,165, while the median price of a bungalow dipped 0.4 per cent year-over-year to $516,048. Condominiums remained the fastest growing housing type on a national basis, with its median price rising 3.8 per cent year-over-year to $452,451.

"We now have evidence of a sustained market recovery in the nation's largest market, and signs of a price floor in other regions hit hard by the eighteen month-old housing correction," said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. "Only in the West do we see a significant number of home buyers remaining on the sidelines, depressing sales volumes and causing prices to sag. Buoyed by supportive economic conditions, many stubborn homeowners in B.C. and Alberta remain unwilling to let their precious real estate go for less than what they perceive as fair value, which has gone a long way to protecting existing home values."

Royal LePage expects national home prices to see a modest uptick by the end of the year, rising 0.4 per cent compared to the end of 2018.

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey
The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada, in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets. Housing values in the Royal LePage House Price Survey are based on the Royal LePage Canadian Real Estate Market Composite, produced quarterly through the use of company data in addition to data and analytics from its sister company, RPS Real Property Solutions, the trusted source for residential real estate intelligence and analytics in Canada. Commentary on housing and forecast values are provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts, based on their opinions and market knowledge.

About Royal LePage
Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of over 18,000 real estate professionals in over 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's and children's shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbolTSX:BRE. For more information, please visit www.royallepage.ca.

¹ Aggregate prices are calculated using a weighted average of the median values of all housing types collected. Data is provided by RPS Real Property Solutions.

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

Angela Pinzon, Kaiser Lachance Communications, 647.295.0517, [email protected]