CMHC estimates N.S. will not meet housing demands for years
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says the record-breaking population growth in Nova Scotia is preventing the province from meeting housing demands.
According to the CMHC Housing Market Outlook report, new home construction in Halifax is expected to increase, but the completion of those projects is behind where they need to be.
“Given the level of population growth we’ve seen, we need to address both supply and demand,” said Kelvin Ndoro, CMHC’s economics lead.
The report showed while Nova Scotia is already seeing a record number of new units under construction, the completion of the projects is still lagging behind by roughly three years.
“In trying to complete these projects they’re also having to compete for the same labour in starting new projects.” Said Ndoro. “At the same time expect to see a slowdown in the rate of completion just because there isn’t enough labour to go around.”
Roughly 8,700 primarily apartment units are being built since February, according to the Nova Scotia Real Estate Association.
“We only have just over 360 single family units that are being constructed, so that 8,700 number, that’s new units over the next two or three years that we can see coming to fruition,” said Suzanne Gravel, president of the Nova Scotia Real Estate Association.
Construction in Dartmouth, N.S. (Hafsa Arif/CTV Atlantic)With the housing demands so high, the cost of homes has also increased, surpassing many buyers’ budgets.
“Most popular pricing of homes that does not last on our markets between to $300-$500,000. That’s is our fastest off the market homes,” said Gravel.
This is in-turn driving up rental costs, which is something the province has been seeing since the pandemic.
“Right now it’s leaving a lot of people continuing to rent and the challenge with that is that renting is not especially affordable either so you’ve got this situation where people feel like they don’t have a buying opportunity, but are also getting squeezed on the rental side of things,” said Nova Scotia realtor Chandler Haliburton.
As of now, Nova Scotia has 854 homes that are on the market within that range; 149 of them are in the Halifax-area.
Much of the new construction around the city is for rental units and Haliburton said that addresses another existing market issue.
“When you build on building, you can potentially add 100 units to the market. Housing doesn’t work the same. You could do a whole street and if you’re lucky you might add 16 units of single family homes,” he said.
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
How much more Canadian consumers are paying, compared to this time last year
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Amal Clooney is one of the legal experts who recommended war crimes charges in Israel-Hamas war
Amal Clooney is one of the legal experts who recommended that the chief prosecutor of the world's top war crimes court seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders of the militant Hamas group.
Flight PS752 victims' families say they're not sorry to hear of Iran president death
Members of a Canadian group representing families of those killed when Iranian officials shot down Flight PS752 in January 2020 say they are not sorry to hear of the death of Iran's president.