Summer is bringing the heat in more ways than one in Halifax this year.
With currently 836 active listings in the city, our market remains competitive. Buyers are dealing with competing offers once again, and sellers are receiving above-market value for their properties. The summer real estate market tends to be a bit slower than the spring market, and we’ve noticed that in terms of number of sales, however, this market remains competitive due to a lack of inventory.
Our inventory has been slowly replenishing for the past few months, but not at the rate that our city needs to slow our market. We are sitting at 85 more available properties than this we had in May, however, in October of last year, it was reported that Halifax will need an additional 38,000 housing units to address the housing shortage and account for our population boom. We are still a long way away from that.
Sales have decreased slightly in single-family homes and increased in condos in comparison to this time last year. When looking at all property types combined, sales are down this month overall. We attribute this to less inventory in the 300-500K range that is most affordable for the average Halifax resident, rising interest rates, and inflation. We talk to buyers almost weekly who state that they have been holding on their searches to see what the interest rates and cost of living will be like in the coming months.
Even with sales being down, prices continue to rise. This is a direct result of our limited inventory. Without enough properties to buy, competing offers inevitably results, and with the blind bidding system we have in Nova Scotia for offers, buyers offer over asking to secure their sought-after property, which drives prices up. We don’t anticipate this trend ending anytime soon.
Properties are still selling extremely fast when priced properly. Both single-family homes and condos are selling in under one week. There are outliers to this statistic, where properties sit on the market for much longer, but we have found that is normally due to being priced too high, or if a property is above the 300-500K mark, which is the most competitive price range in Halifax.
Our market cannot seem to get past 2.5 months of inventory for more than a year now. We are currently sitting at only 2.2 months of inventory for single-family homes and 1.9 months for condos. This means that if no new properties came to market and the rate of buying remained the same, we would sell out of all inventory in around 2 months. Why does this matter? This shows us that we are in a strong seller’s market. 6 months of inventory is considered a balanced market, which we are a long way away from.
Sellers, we continue to remain in a market that benefits you. If you have been on the fence about selling, now is a great time to make a move. Buyers, we feel like a broken record, but these challenging times are not going anywhere anytime soon. There are still many buyers succeeding in this market, and the best time to buy is when you are ready. Many buyers waited during the COVID-19 pandemic for fear of a market collapse, and are now wishing they purchased back then. If you are ready now, we are ready to help you secure your new home.
Author: Jordan Gunn
Real Estate Assistant
Andrew Perkins Real Estate
Keller Williams Select Realty