Average home prices in Halifax continue to top record highs

The sharp increase in the average price of homes in Halifax, combined with the shortage of active listings on the market, is creating intense bidding wars and leaving those looking to enter the housing market on the outside looking in.

Dennis Mazur has been trying to buy a home in Halifax for more than a year.

The 46-year-old is an avid surfer and is currently landlocked in Saskatchewan with a collection of surfboards that haven't seen water in years.

He’s made a dozen offers on homes but keeps getting outbid.

"Morale has been low, the last little bit," said Mazur. "Now every time I put an offer in, especially moving forward, I try not to get my hopes up because it knocks me down pretty hard."

Mazur says he found his dream home in Lawrencetown, N.S., and put forward a generous bid that was well over the asking price but he was outbid again by multiple buyers.

“Right out the gate I came in $200,000 over asking price and took off all conditions and I was still outbid by four other people," said Mazur.

At last glance, there were just 229 homes listed on the market in Halifax and Dartmouth. According to Century 21 realtor Suzanne Gravelle, that's incredibly low, even for the winter.

“It’s very hot and there are no signs of it going down," said Gravelle. "The best seat to be in right now is the sellers' seat.”

Gravelle says homes are going well over $200,000 above the asking price, as the average price of a home in Halifax continues to reach record highs.

According to the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, the average price of homes sold in January 2022 was a record $392,828, an increase of 23.2 per cent from January 2021.

Gravelle says some buyers are getting desperate and waving all conditions and inspection clauses to improve the chances of their bid, but that comes with great risk and a move she says might not be worth making.

"That’s our new market and that's the kind of competition we are heading for," said Gravelle. "Not even headed for. We’re in it.”

Independent Mortgage Broker Karen Millington said more pre-approved loans are being offered at this time, but homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers, are being outbid beyond their affordability, and it's creating stress.

“It’s like the roll of the mortgage broker is also turning into the of the counselor, by trying to calm them (homebuyers) down and to not get so discouraged," said Millington. "There are so many people out there looking."

Millington says first-time homebuyers need to remain patient and says there are always lulls in the market and that's when you and your realtor should jump in.

"Last year that happened because there was buyers fatigue. People were getting tired and so everybody kind of stopped looking," said Millington.  "The market got quiet for seven days and some of my clients got their offers accepted because there weren't 30 offers coming in."

Sheila Gilligan and her husband are moving back to Alberta where they previously qualified for a mortgage. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for a loan here in Nova Scotia.

“I’m a registered dental hygienist and I make a fairly good living and not to qualify for a mortgage is heartbreaking and now our story is that we are going back to Alberta," said Gilligan. "The wages here really need to increase in order to accommodate this lifestyle. Unfortunately, the dream has ceased to exist here in Nova Scotia."

At the end of January, there were 1,565 active listings on the market – a decrease of 37.4 per cent from January 2021.

The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors says listings haven't been this low for the month of January in more than three decades.