Houses sell well over asking in the Maritimes

The real estate market in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), has “exploded” says real estate agent Brehannah Hopgood.

The number of properties for sale is down — causing prices to soar. Hopgood says it’s common for sellers to receive offers up to $170,000 above the asking price, in some cases even more.

“This past weekend, I had clients write an offer in St. Margaret’s Bay. We offered $250,000 above the listing price, and it was rejected,” says Hopgood.

It’s a similar story in New Brunswick.

“The pricing here is less than half of what Ontario pricing is,” says Sara Robinson, who moved her family from Niagara Falls to Dieppe last September.

“The reason we ended up choosing New Brunswick was, number one, is that we found a house that we really, really liked here, but also because it’s close enough to the surrounding provinces,” she said.

Like the Robinson family, the majority of real estate agent Danielle Johnson‘s clients are coming from other parts of Canada — making it difficult for Maritimers.

“The sad truth about our market is that it’s definitely pushed out the local buyers. It’s really tough for someone making our salaries in the Atlantic provinces to compete against Ontario dollars,” Johnson says.

Hopgood says she doesn’t see prices going down, but the 20 per cent year after year increases will eventually slow down.