Green Condos in Halifax
I was browsing through The Coast weekly Halifax newspaper and noticed this project that Greater Homes is constructing on the Northwest Arm Drive. Looks like a great investment and place to live.
Located in a desirable area of Halifax, The Waterton is Halifax’s first condominium project to use geothermal. The Waterton condo project uses the breakout geothermal heating system that extracts stored heat energy from the crust of the earth. Geothermal takes the guess work out of your energy costs by using renewable energy.
It is great to see projects like this in Halifax. I think in the coming years we will be seeing more and more green projects come to fruition. The green shift is starting to happen and I feel in the coming years it is going to accelerate at crazy pace. We have waited to long to shift our focus and our environment is paying dearly for our neglect.
If you would like more information on this condo project or any other condos in Halifax contact me by email or call 902-488-0012. I would be more than happy to help you out.
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Halifax Home Buyers Take Notice!
Thinking about buying a home and not sure how the financial crisis will affect your purchase? The Government of Canada is injecting 75 billion dollars to purchase Insured Mortgages. This is great news for home buyers. This should also help interest rates go down and make the purchase of your next home that much more affordable. Below is a press release from the government.
Federal Government’s $75-Billion Purchase of Insured Mortgages Should Benefit Home Buyers
As part of its efforts to address the current financial crisis, the federal government announced that it will inject $75 billion of new money* into the financial system, by buying insured mortgage pools from Canadian financial institutions.
The purpose of this measure is to add liquidity to financial institutions – money they can then lend to businesses and consumers. The main effect of such an initiative is to increase the availability of credit while, at the same time, making the cost of credit more affordable. As a result of this plan, financial institutions’ mortgage interest rates should drop, which is likely to stimulate activity on the resale market.
This announcement is good news for our financial system and for the economy in general. Ultimately, it is borrowers who will benefit from this initiative, particularly future home buyers.
This federal government intervention was made necessary by the fact that the financial crisis has led to a significant reduction in the amount of credit made available by the private sector and, as a result, higher costs. In this context, banks’ financing costs increase, which translates into higher prime rates and mortgage rates.
The purchase will be made through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and will focus exclusively on mortgages that are already insured under its mortgage loan insurance program.
*Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, made an initial announcement of $25 billion last October 10, and announced an additional $50 billion on November 12.
“Excerpted from The Montreal Real Estate Blog”
The market is starting to show signs of slow down in the last couple of months. Sales are down although average price continues to rise. Now is not a time to wait to buy, it’s a buyers market right now. If you are thinking of getting into the spring market you will be looking at higher prices, although inventory will be up and more selection will be available.
If you would like more information on market stats and trends in the Halifax Real Estate market contact me or send me an email.
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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Fall 2008
Economic Overview for Halifax
Halifax has had sound economic fundamentals in the past few years but the economy is starting to show signs of change. Overall Employment in Halifax remains strong, rising 2 percent in 2007 and reached near record levels midway through 2008, however growth has moderated to 0.7 percent and is expected to remain near 1 percent in the next two years.
Metro Halifax is experiencing a high level of economic activity. Commercial and residential construction projects have boosted the demand for labour. Developments such as Dartmouth Crossing, Russell Lake West, the parking facility at the airport and hotel construction spurr on economic growth
Both residential construction and home sales are fore casted to ease, however sustained employment and strong unemployment will help bolster housing demand.
New Home Construction
2008 saw a decline in new home construction and is expected to remain the same in 2009. New Single detached homes however has remained strong. After the record year for sales in 2007 inventory was depleted and builders built new to catch up to demand. Single starts are up 12 percent in the first three quarters compared to 2007. This trend should soften in the last quarter and into 2009.
There are several reasons for the expected drop in single family detached starts. Inventory is up giving buyers more choice. Also increased economic uncertainty, weaker economic growth, slower employment and wage growth will result in weaker demand for new housing.
In the re-sale market, home sales have cooled compared to last years record. Average price for an existing home continues to rise while price growth will remain positive through next year. Sales are down 7 percent over last years record. Average price is forecast to be 235,000 in 2009. New home average price is forecast to be 355,000. Average days on market has decreased from 89 to 84 days on market.
The Halifax market is sound and there is no reason to panic. Sure sales are down, but only from last year which was a record, they are on par with 2002 and 2005 which were records at the time. Average price continues to increase. I hear a lot of people saying they are going to wait it out to see if prices come down. In our market this is not a good idea, prices are forecasting to rise steadily for the next couple of years.
If you are in the market for Halifax Real Estate, give me a call and I can discuss your options. I have a great team of mortgage brokers, inspectors, insurance agents, tradesman, contractors at my disposal to make your next home purchase as stress free as possible. I can be reached at andrew@halifaxrealestateguy.com or by phone 488-0012.
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How is the Sackville Real Estate Market performing in the Last 3 months?
Sackville Real Estate Market update for August, September, October 2008 for single family detached and semi-detached homes.
| Halifax Real Estate Blog Sackville Market Update | |||||
| Month | Average List Price | Average Sale Price | Sale to List Price | Average List Duration | Number Of Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCT-2008 | 195396 | 190686 | 98% | 72 days | 28 |
| SEP-2008 | 210579 | 206769 | 98% | 71 days | 36 |
| AUG-2008 | 204205 | 200016 | 98% | 64 days | 40 |
| Averages: | 204040 | 199842 | 98 % | 68 days | 104 |
Sackville Real Estate Market update for August, September, October 2007 for single family detached and semi-detached homes.
| Halifax Real Estate Blog Sackville Market Update | |||||
| Month | Average List Price | Average Sale Price | Sale to List Price | Average List Duration | Number Of Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCT-2007 | 183873 | 179752 | 98% | 64 days | 33 |
| SEP-2007 | 192301 | 188185 | 98% | 81 days | 37 |
| AUG-2007 | 194631 | 190164 | 98% | 46 days | 35 |
| Averages: | 190429 | 186194 | 98 % | 64 days | 105 |
Number of Active Listings = 216
The Sackville Real Estate continues to be one of the fastest growing markets in HRM. Average sale price continues to rise, the last three months by 7.3%. Unlike many other areas of HRM which saw a sharp decline in the number of sales, Sackville only declined by 1 sale. Days on market are up by 4 days. I attribute this to Sackville still remaining affordable. For what you get in Sackville for your money and what you get in Halifax, Bedford, Hammonds Plains, there really is no comparison.
If you are interested in Sackville Real Estate or have any questions regarding Real Estate in Halifax and surrounding areas contact me at 488-0012.
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