Halifax Housing Market

[Wishblade]

Figured this is a good article to start a thread with on this topic:

Halifax home sales down but prices up

By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Tue. Dec 9 - 6:17 AM

Existing home sales in Halifax will be down as much as 10 per cent in 2008, but prices are up, says a senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

"The local economy is holding up well," Matthew Gilmour, who works at the Atlantic Business Centre in Halifax, said Monday, explaining the rising price trend in the face of declining sales.

The corporation projects that Multiple Listing Service prices for existing homes in Halifax will increase by six to seven per cent in 2008, to an average $230,000, and by another three to four per cent in 2009.

Mr. Gilmour said the local economy’s emphasis on public sector employment, thanks to government, military and educational institutions as well as hospitals, makes it somewhat isolated from the challenges facing the manufacturing and export sectors.

"There’s . . . stability," he said.

Mr. Gilmour said there were 212,500 people employed in Halifax in November, a record high.

He said economic uncertainty has contributed to a projected eight to 10 per cent drop in MLS sales in Halifax in 2008.

But Mr. Gilmour said the Halifax housing market inventory was "picked over" as a result of record sales in 2007 and that 2008 sales levels are in line with "more traditional" 2006 levels.

He said construction levels in Halifax remain relatively high and demand for construction labour has helped keep unemployment rates low and driven wages up.

"Without labour force growth, it puts pressure on wages."

Mr. Gilmour said the difficulty in securing labour has slowed Halifax’s condominium construction market, as has the current economic situation, which he indicated is making developers think twice about proceeding with projects.