Nova Scotia home sales down in March: report

Nova Scotia home sales dropped significantly in March.

Nova Scotia home sales were down in March according to the price index report from the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors.

“Our home sales are down about nine per cent,” says Sandi Carroll, president of the association.

Carroll says the average sale for a residential home in Nova Scotia is just under $465,000, which she notes is up 0.6 per cent year-to-date.

Carroll says this market seems to be heading more towards normalcy compared to previous years when COVID-19 was involved.

“There are three regions – Halifax, Yarmouth and Cape Breton – that are just slightly down in their year-to-date pricing,” says Carroll.

The report found 1,862 homes were sold in March and new listings were down by 8.6 per cent with 3,258 listings added.

Realtor Kaycee Bessette says she’s found the market to be similar to last year.

“Honestly it’s pretty comparable to last year is what I am finding, here in Halifax anyway. I do have one listing in Cape Breton and it is not getting a whole lot of attraction to be entirely honest, so it could be different in different parts of the province,” says Bessette.

Realtor Rion Powell says learning sales are down by about nine per cent means the numbers aren’t great. He’s having conversations with sellers about the reality of softening prices.

“If you wanted to see at the price two years ago, you should have sold two years ago and we are in a different market then we were then. The expectation when we are sitting with sellers is more of an educational conversation and setting expectations in that the price that we think its going to sell for is not comparable to what it would have sold for two years ago,” says Powell.

Powell says it’s a tough market for sellers since it’s more competitive.

“Days on the market are going up. The amount of active listings is increasing so when you have more sellers competing against one another for a smaller pool of buyers, that’s what we kind of see is going on right now,” says Powell.

But there is hope for the spring. Powell says their data show the peak number of buyers using their system is mid May and that’s the most activity with sellers, too.

“It will be interesting to see with all the inventory that’s still on the market plus an influx of sellers coming to market, what’s going to happen,” says Powell.

Bessette has been working with a number of clients who are preparing to hit the market this spring.

“There are a number of clients who are preparing to sell but they have all chosen to wait for springtime, so this is when they start to come on the market,” says Bessette.

Bessette says when it comes to buyers, it’s tough because there are a number of requirements they are looking for.

“I do think the biggest box to check is the price point for buyers,” says Bessette.

The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors says this year they are seeing a bit more normalcy across the province.

“I think every year has its own issues, because it’s never a given. We can only predict based on the years past. COVID was a whole different set of issues, hopefully that will never repeat again. But certainly, our market is tending towards more normalcy if I can use those words,” says Carroll.

There are still several factors that could shake up real estate, including uncertainty about the job market, trade issues and the impact of the war in Iran.

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