Halifax Real Estate - A Modern Approach

One thing is for sure, the Halifax Real Estate market is still alive and well. Last week alone, there were as many listings sold as there were new listings. Despite speculation about a housing bubble, likely from negative press on the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets, the Halifax housing market continues to thrive. 

The Halifax Peninsula is the hottest spot on the map. Property from single family homes to condos are being gobbled up within a matter of days. Many of these properties are in such high demand that bidding wars are a common place. Asking prices eventually sit lower than the actual sale price. This is good news for sellers in this area as they are likely to bank on a good return. For buyers, this is equally good as it indicates a healthy market place and a higher chance of incremental growth on the value of their homes. As the city continues its outward expansion, the centre of the city becomes more and more valuable. 

Mainland Halifax has seen nearly the same kind of demand, with homes in former suburban areas lasting no more than a few weeks. Though significantly lower in price, these properties fetch a pretty penny for any seller. 

The biggest spike, in terms of sales increase and price increase, is seen within the Sackville and Dartmouth areas. Properties in this area, formerly undervalued, are now the suburbs that Mainland Halifax used to be. As the core densifies, the outskirts are seeing large spikes. If you’re buying your first home, I highly recommend considering these areas as they are still affordable and have not yet reached their peak of worth. 

Bedford continues to lead with the highest priced homes in municipality. As it continues to grow past the 102, old Bedford is solidifying its grasp on high prices and average turnover. 

So, in essence, the housing market in Halifax is stronger than ever. Rates continue to hover low, making affordability less of an issue for first timers and anyone looking to downsize. 

My only advice for buyers - use an agent. It costs you nothing in the form of commissions and the agent will do all the work and protect you from the other side. The listing agents have their sellers best interests in mind and will only do the paperwork for you, nothing else. 

Think Different!

I’m usually a fan of the federal government. Though they typically make unpopular decisions, I firmly feel that, for the most part, the decisions they make are for the long term benefit of all Canadians. However, since the ‘Great Recession,’ Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has been under increasing pressure from economists and the banking system to tighten lending rules around mortgages. A few rule changes have already been made, intelligently eliminating the 0% financing mortgage bundle. However, recent media reports Mr. Flaherty is considering increasing the minimum downpayment from 5%-7% and the maximum amortization period from 30-25 years. 

In so doing, the federal government will be tightening its fist around the only lending practice that benefits Canadians in the long term - in direct contravention of the majority of their long term decisions. Foremost on my mind is the media hysteria around rising Canadian household debt. Economists declare it is rising faster than our cousins down south, and something needs to be done. However, in that same grain, the media fail to state that while our household debt is rising faster than our American cousins - our assets are rising faster!

What’s more, if household debt is becoming such a problem, why not tighten rules around credit card applications, or car loans, or retail credit cards? Purchases of vehicles, household goods and other merchandise does not increase in value over time. In fact, it is the opposite. By leaving the access to these higher interest and impulse purchase loans open and easy, the federal government is encouraging Canadians to spend money on items that will grant them no long term benefit, and will only succeed in sinking them deeper into financial ruin and un-sustainability. 

That being said, low interest mortgages, which allow today’s growing young professional demographic to invest in appreciating property values, are being choked. Real-Estate purchases and financial investment in the financial markets are the only income generating purchases Canadians can make. And with the purchase of real property, there is the added benefit in the retail sector. Home owners will then hit to the department or speciality stores and buy drapes, appliances, televisions, etc. Not to mention the fact that as the real estate market continues to grow, so too does development based on demand. With that, comes more tax revenue. With more tax revenue comes more services, and so on.

Why is the federal government restricting access to the only sound purchase Canadians can make? Is it because of pressure from banks who want to make more money through higher interest on credit cards? Is it because they’re currently offering mortgages at a steal? Whenever the majority of a population of any country, in history, have been home owners, the economy of said country has seen dynamic growth and an increase in productivity. The reason? Pride of ownership, ambition and creating a larger sense of community.

Minister Flaherty, don’t give in to special interests or bank lobbying. Show Canadians you are looking out for their best interests and keep rates and lending rules as they are. If you want to do Canadians a favour, restrict access to bad credit and keep the big big spenders in check.

It’s amazing how just when a city and region is considered down and out, we get an announcement that is going to radically change the face of Halifax for at least the next twenty years. For those of you who don’t know (which is, I suspect, a great few), Irving Shipyard in Halifax won the largest portion of a federal contract to build warships for the Royal Canadian Navy. A ship building program of this size hasn’t taken place in Canada since the 40’s. 

What this means for Halifax, in terms of business, accumulation of wealth and way of life, is massive. Obviously, the population is going to increase slightly due to increased work in the city, whether from the rural areas of the province, or other provinces in the country. With the contract will come their pay cheques. With their pay comes either renting dwellings which are currently high in demand (means new ones need to be built to meet that demand - great for new construction), or new and old homes will be purchased. Of all the areas in the city that is going to be impacted by this contract the most, it will be North End Halifax.

Situated just within walking distance of the shipyards themselves, these relatively inexpensive homes have been on the upswing and the area has progressively increased in value over the course of the last ten years. With it being the closest to the shipyards themselves, these properties will be in heavy demand, and with demand comes higher prices. 

If you are currently thinking about purchasing your first home or condo, I highly recommend buying it in North End Halifax. The reason is simple - the money hasn’t arrived yet, and neither have any of the new workers with their new incomes. Buy in this area now, sit on it for a year or two, and you will be in very good shape when you’re ready to sell.

It’s a true story - when I first got into the business of real estate, I wanted to come out swinging and immediately contacted advertisers to get my name out there so I didn’t become one of the the thousand + real estate agents in HRM. I had investment capital, I had a great plan and marketing strategy, so I just assumed that traditional media was enough to get my message out there. I was wrong.

Like the old 60’s song “sign sign,” it’s become more and more apparent that traditional marketing and media just isn’t catching anyone’s attention anymore, especially the attention of young professionals who are far to busy and mentally distracted to pay attention to the thousands of ads in flyers, bulletin boards and so forth, that are advertising products and services. It took about a year, but I finally realized that traditional marketing just wasn’t working to get my business off the ground. Sign Sign, everywhere a sign.

So, I moved to advance my social media presence with a new drive to connect with anyone and everyone currently subscribing to both Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Delicious and Flickr. It’s actually rather time consuming, but when you, as a business owner or business person in general, get your social media presence to a high standard and volume it starts to pay. To date, over 80% of my clients have been referred to me via social media. Facebook is the most effective to date, in that it is part of an intimate circle of friends and associates. But Twitter comes a close second. To date, two clients have been referred to me via Twitter and making good connections, friendships and business partnerships with people.

If you’re in real estate, own a small business, or wish to enhance your clientele and build a strong base - forget traditional advertising. Forget radio, forget print, etc. Traditional media only serves to reenforce your market share and overall impression upon people. It does little, if anything, to actually generate business on its own. The times have changed, and Modern Approach Real Estate, working with EXIT Realty Professionals, is really on the leading and cutting edge of mobile technology, search engine optimization, social media presence and more.

If you’re in the market for buying or selling, wishing to work as an agent in our team, or even wishing to work closely with one of our agents in a business relationship, you know where to find us. We are everywhere.