Halifax Home Prices Relatively Flat in Fourth Quarter

Tight rental inventory expected to motivate buyers and put upward pressure on prices

HALIFAX, January 9, 2020 – The aggregate price of a home in Halifax remained relatively flat in the fourth quarter of 2019, increasing 0.6 per cent year-over-year to $318,768 according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey.

The median price of a two-storey home increased 0.4 per cent year-over-year to $336,353. The median price of a bungalow was flat, decreasing 0.2 per cent year-over-year to $267,036, while the median price of a condominium saw a decrease of 3.7 per cent year-over-year to $319,897.

“Momentum and consumer confidence is building in Halifax,” said Matt Honsberger, broker and owner, Royal LePage Atlantic. “Rental inventory is tight, and inventory among homes listed for sale is a little over half what it would have been last year. That’s a formula for price growth in the spring when demand escalates.”

In the Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast released in December, Royal LePage forecast that the aggregate price of a home in Halifax would increase 1.75 per cent year-over-year in 2020, rising to $323,800.

“We are expecting many potential renters to see the benefits of owning after being discouraged by the lack of availability in the rental market” said Honsberger

Nationally, the aggregate price of a home in Canada increased 2.2 per cent year-over-year to $648,544 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Similar to the third quarter, potential buyers are continuing to come back to the real estate market. In the first half of 2019, buyers had remained largely at the sidelines waiting to gauge the potential impact of the federal mortgage stress test.

“The federal government has signaled that changes could come to the mortgage stress test mechanism in 2020,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “The stress test pushed people out of real estate markets across Canada temporarily. For the most part, buyers have adjusted, yet it still represents a significant hurdle as families pursue the dream of owning their own home.”

Soper added that the impact of the regulations-driven drop in demand is felt very differently in different parts of the country.

“We believe policy makers have the necessary experience to modify the tool to meet the reality of today’s Canada – that we have very different and varied economies, and by extension housing policy needs, from region to region,” said Soper.

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite is compiled from proprietary property data in 64 of the nation’s largest real estate markets. When broken out by housing type, the media price of a two-storey home rose 2.3 per cent year-over-year to $761,817, while the median price of a bungalow increased modestly by 0.7 per cent to $537,622.

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See The Full Report Here: https://www.royallepage.ca/en/realestate/news/canadians-can-expect-a-vibrant-spring-real-estate-market-with-home-prices-rising-modestly/

See the Halifax Region Report Here: https://docs.rlpnetwork.com/HousePriceSurvey/RegionalUpdates/2019/Q4/Halifax_RoyalLePage_House_Price_Survey_Q4_2019_EN.pdf

Courtesy of Royal LePage Canada’s Q4 2019 Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Forecast
Learn more: www.royallepage.ca