After a turbulent 2020, the Nova Scotia real estate market has experienced a number of changes. Overall, the housing market in Atlantic Canada has been on the rise right from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic; statistics has it that the trend will continue in Nova Scotia and the neighboring provinces.
So, what are the statistics behind this trend?
Nova Scotia’s Record High Gains in Real Estate
The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors new report indicates that real estate sales increased by 159.5% per year in April which translates to 1731 units.
When comparing these figures to the previous trends, home sales increased by 73.4% above the ten-year average and 57.2% above the five-year average in April.
These stats represent the best performance in the history of the Nova Scotia real estate sector. In a nutshell, the increase in home sales can be equated to an annual rate of 74.4%, recording an all-time high of 5,334 units.
Pricewise, the average cost of homes sold in April 2021 increased by 39.5%, indicating a record high of $372,354. The up-to-date average price in 2021 rose by 39.5 percent than the first four months of 2020, and the industry stakeholders are affirming these figures as comprehensive.
Generally, the total home sales dollar value increased 261.9 percent, translating to $644.9million, which is a new record for April than any other month in history.
For instance, houses for sale in Nova Scotia went up by 47% in the first quarter of 2021 over 2020, with the average price going up by 27%.
According to the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, Halifax-Dartmouth was behind the availability of houses for sale and the prices. The data showed just a 26% increase in home sales and a 35% increase in price in the first quarter of 2021.
At the front is northeastern Nova Scotia, which includes Guysborough, Antigonish, and Inverness counties recording 121% in sales. Yarmouth and Cumberland-Colchester closely followed at around 90 percent.
The real estate market in Nova Scotia is still low on inventory levels and listings a year after covid-19 triggered a record rise in the Canadian housing markets. There is still time to get into the action. New listings increased 174.8% from the same time one year ago to 2,242. This record was the highest of new listings in April since 2016. On the contrary, active listings reduced to their lowest points in April in 30 years, falling by 34.4 percent every year to 2,792 units.
On the months of inventory, it would take a total of 1.6 months to sell the current stock at the current rate of transaction activity by the end of April.
The Short-Future of Nova Scotia Housing Sector
In a bid to combat new outbreaks of the pandemic, the province imposed new border restrictions barring people from getting in or out of Nova Scotia. This move has raised concerns among real estate agents and sellers as they block buyers from outside the province.
Despite these concerns, the chairman of the Nova Scotia Realtors association, Donna Malone, is optimistic that they will not affect the uptake in the home buying trend in the province.
Yet, nothing will slow down the housing boom in Nova Scotia. Whether through government restrictions or monetary policy normalizations. The broader boom in the Canadian housing market will only reduce with the new injection of a fresh supply of housing stocks.