Andrew Perkins

How did the Halifax Real Estate Market perform in the 3rd Quarter?

Sales for the third quarter down 5% year over year and trail 2007 by 7.3% up to and including the third quarter.

Number of sales 2008 = 5325 Number of sales 2007 = 5746

Active Listings are up 16 percent

The only area that had a slight increase in sales was Dartmouth up 2.8% year over year.

Fall River, Bedford, Sackville, Hammonds Plains all recorded double digit declines in the number of sales year over year.

Despite the declines, sales in the third quarter remain at the second highest on record and average price growth remained steady at 6.7%

Areas of Note

Sackville - average price rose by 13%

Halifax North End - 10.5% average price increase

Halifax South End - 19.7% average price increase

Fall River - 9.4% average price increase

Crichton/Albro Lake - 13.9% average price increase

Spryfield - 22.4% average price increase

Average days on Market down by 5 days from 84

The Halifax Real Estate Market remains healthy through the 3rd quarter of 2008. Most forecasters were predicting a 2-3% price increase and we continue to see a 6-7% percent increase. What does all this mean? If you are buyer it is a great time to buy. Prices are continuing to rise and inventory is high, thus it is a buyers market. If you are sitting on the fence now is not the time to wait. Our economy in Halifax remains strong in the face of all the financial turmoil going on around the world. If you would like more information on this, or you are looking to buy or sell Halifax Real Estate Contact me anytime.

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Andrew Perkins

Your Halifax Real Estate Expert

I came across this great forum today and I wanted to pass along the info that I found. It is very useful and gives you a look into what is going on in Halifax, Dartmouth and surrounding areas with regards to development.

PROPOSED:
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Roy Building | ~70m | 16 floors | N/A | 01172
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Hollis & Morris | ? | 10 floors | N/A | 01162
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | 1860 Upper Water St. | ? | 9 floors | PH - September 16, 2008 | 01114
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Water Street Power Plant | ? | ? | January 2009 | Not Issued
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Queen's Landing | ? | ? | N/A | ?
HALIFAX - NORTH | 5552 Kaye St | 22m | 7 floors | N/A | 01113
HALIFAX - WEST | 6955 Bayers Road | ? | 16 floors | N/A | 00930
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Rockcliffe Village | ? | 3X10 floors | N/A | 01179
DARTMOUTH - DOWNTOWN | King's Wharf | ~100m | ? floors | N/A | 00798
DARTMOUTH - NORTH | YMCA Towers | ? | 2x17 floors | N/A | ?
DARTMOUTH - WEST | 249 Windmill Road | ? | 12 floors | N/A | 00996
DARTMOUTH - WEST | Trinity Harbourview | ? | 6-5-5-5 floors | N/A | 01009/01010/01011
DARTMOUTH - WEST | Notting Village | ? | 6 floors | N/A | 00781
DARTMOUTH - BURNSIDE | Harbour Isle | ? | 12 floors | N/A | N/A
BEDFORD | Southgate Village | ? | 4 floors | N/A | 00762

APPROVED:
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | United Gulf Towers | ~90m | 2X27 floors | N/A | ?
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | International Place | ? | 22 floors | N/A | ---
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Trillium | ? | 19 floors | October 2008 | 01046
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | The Alexander | 55m | 19 floors | N/A | 00971
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Salter Street Block | 41m | 12 floors | Spring 2009 | ?
HALIFAX - NORTH | Trinity Site | ? | 18 floors | Fall 2008 | ---
HALIFAX - SOUTH | Seaport Farmer's Market | ? | 2 floors | Fall 2008 | Not Issued

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
HALIFAX - NORTH | Hydrostone Place | 25m | 7 floors | Exterior | N/A
HALIFAX - NORTH | Spice | ~20m | 6 floors | Exterior | N/A
HALIFAX - NORTH | 5505 Falkland | ~20m | 6 floors | Frame - 2 | N/A
HALIFAX - NORTH | Armoury Villa | ? | 5 floors | Site Prep | N/A
HALIFAX - SOUTH | 5800 South | ~30m | 9 floors | Exterior | Fall 2008
HALIFAX - SOUTH | Life Sciences Research Centre | 20m | 5 floors | Site Prep | N/A
HALIFAX - SOUTH | The Atrium | ? | 3 floors | Site Prep | N/A
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Waterton Towers | 40m | 2x12 floors | Exterior/Foundation | N/A
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Crown Bay | ~15m | 6 floors | Unknown | N/A
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | 273 Bedford Highway | ? | 3 floors | Foundation | November 2008
DARTMOUTH - DOWNTOWN | Founders Corner | ? | 5 floors | Exterior | N/A
DARTMOUTH - BURNSIDE | Park Place V | ~20m | 5 floors | Exterior | Winter 2009
BEDFORD | Dockside | ? | 5&6 floors | Sales Center | Unknown

RECENTLY COMPLETED**:
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Armoury Square | ~40m | 10 floors | August 2008 | ?
HALIFAX - NORTH | Gladstone Ridge | ~40m | 2x12 floors | August 2008 | ?
HALIFAX - SOUTH | St. James Place | ? | 10 floors | June 2008 | ?
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Lakelands Blvd Office Building | N/A | 5 floors | June 2008 | ?
BEDFORD | RIM Customer Support Centre | ~25m | 6 floors | May 2008

MUNICIPAL INITIATIVES***:
DISTRICT | PROJECT NAME | STATUS | EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE | COST
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Spring Garden Road Revitalization | Proposed | September 2009 | $3 Million
HALIFAX - DOWNTOWN | Halifax Central Library | Proposed | N/A | $30 Million
HALIFAX - NORTH | Barrington Street Trail | U/C | Summer 2009 | N/A
HALIFAX - SOUTH/WEST | Halifax Urban Greenway | Approved | N/A | N/A
HALIFAX - MAINLAND | Halifax Mainland Recreation Centre | Approved | 2011 | $40.5 Million
DARTMOUTH - EAST | Main Street Revitalization | U/C | 2038 | $7.9 Million
BEDFORD/HALIFAX | Fast Ferry | Approved | Fall 2010 | $27 Million

*Not the final public hearing. Usually only for amendments or land zone changes.

**Anything completed on the outside within the last 6 months.

***HRM major projects. Includes redevelopment, revitalization, and paths. No car-oriented projects (there are too many).

Thanks to Bedford DJ for this list

As you can see there is lots of new developments coming on board in the future. Keep checking back as more information becomes available. If you would like more information on these projects let me know and I will dig a little deeper to find the info you require. If you are looking to buy or sell Halifax Real Estate, contact me.

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Andrew Perkins

Your Halifax Real Estate Expert

Halifax Real Estate Condo Update September 11/08

It looks like the downtown Halifax area can be expecting some exciting new condo projects coming on board in the near future. Their are two major ones. The first being The Trillium. This condo building is going on the corner of South Park and Brenton. A great location to say the least. There is not a great deal information available yet. Another one that has just passed council approval is The Alexander in the brewery market. This project looks very exciting. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.

A couple of other projects worthy to note are in the north end of Halifax. Hydrostone Place is a great looking condo building. This area is rapidly becoming one of the most popular in Halifax. Falkland St condos have broke ground and according to the sign there has been 30% sold. I think once this project gets closer to completion they will sell out very fast. Spice is also coming along, albeit quite slow. They need to finish this one soon as it is a eye sore right now. I am sure once it is done it will be very nice. Armoury Villa has also broken ground and is situated across from the Halifax Common.

If you are interested in receiving more info on these or any other condo projects in Halifax do not hesitate to call or email me anytime. I will be keeping a close eye on the Trillium and The Brewery market condos so check back for regular updates.

Andrew Perkins

Your Halifax Real Estate Expert

Canadian Real Estate home sales for July 2008

Today I will be looking at other provinces and how their Real Estate Markets are performing. I have created a table to show you the average prices in all provinces in Canada. This will give you an idea of what markets are hot and what markets are cold.

National Average 07 - $309,885

National Average 08 - $302,298

Based on MLS® Statistics

As you can see from these numbers, Atlantic Canada's average price continues to rise, none more so than Newfoundland. The average price there went up by 18.7%. Mainly due to the announcement of the Hebron Oil Deal. Here in Nova Scotia we saw a modest 5% increase. The surprising markets are out west which saw actual declines in average price. In Alberta we saw a 5.5% drop in average price. Price skyrocketed their way too fast and a correction needs to happen. Also in BC the average price fell slightly.

What does all this mean for the Halifax Real Estate market? Are market is still going strong. I am seeing a slight shift to a buyers market. Number of sales are down but the average price continues to rise. In the second quarter we saw a healthy 7.3% increase.

If you are looking to buy or sell Halifax Real Estate contact me anytime for a free market analysis.

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Andrew Perkins

Your Halifax Real Estate Expert

Halifax Real Estate Market Report Multi Unit Buildings(4 units or less) based on MLS® data.

So today I figured I would look at something a little different. I have many clients who have and are actively looking for multi unit buildings as another way to enhance cash flow. There are things you need to look for when thinking of purchasing a multi unit rental. Firstly you have to make sure that the building generates income, a lot of multi units on the market today just won't carry themselves and they are better served as an owner occupied so someone will help with the mortgage. I always advise my clients to look at the net income(rent minus heating, maintenance, and other expenses associated with the property). A general rule of thumb is if the net income is 10% of the purchase price it is definitely a building worth taking a closer look at. Secondly what a lot of my clients look for and I reccomend is electric heat and separate electrical meters. This way the heating and electricity of the units can be passed off onto the tenant. Obvisously there are many other factors to look at but these are the main ones in my mind.

So lets take a look at the numbers over the years.

From Aug 20,2006 - Aug 20,2008 for area 1-40 which encompass all of HRM for multi unit buildings, 4 units or less.

number of sales - 330

average sale price - $274,920

number of days on market - 72 days

From Aug 20,2004 - Aug 20,2006 for area 1-40 which encompass all of HRM for multi unit buildings, 4 units or less.

number of sales - 282

average sale price - $247,671

number of days on market - 66 days

Looking at these numbers we can see that the same trend continues throughout the Halifax Real Estate Market, average price continues to rise, an 11% increase. Number of sales are up 17% from the same period 2 years ago which goes against the trend in residential unit sales. Average days on market are up slightly.

What does all this mean? Well if you are in the market for a rental units it may now be the best time as I don't see the market going down anytime soon. Also the rental vacancy rate in Halifax is very low so there are a lot of prospective tenants out there. Rents continue to rise. If you would like more info on Rental units or what like a market analysis done specific to your area let me know.

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Andrew Perkins

You're Halifax Real Estate Expert