Atlantic bubble attractive to home buyers
COVID-19 concerns boost market in region
As COVID-19 cases continue to be a concern in places like Ontario, Atlantic Canadian real estate agents are getting calls from potential buyers in that province looking for homes with more space in a location with a better handle on the pandemic.
“They’re coming here a week or two before closing, and they’re doing their selfisolation somewhere and they’re moving into a house after that and they’re seeing it face to face for the first time after buying it," said Ryan Hartlen, a real estate broker and partner with Re/Max Nova in Halifax.
"So it’s certainly been an exciting time to be in real estate. I mean, exciting in the sense that it’s busy. It’s good for the economy. There’s lots of activity, and the financial implications. But it’s also exciting because it’s different.
“You’re dealing with people who are learning about the community. They want to move here because it’s getting them away from whatever they’re coming from."
P.E.I. real estate agent Michael Poczynek recently sold a home to an Ontario couple willing to pay $10,000 above the asking price. The couple said a reason for moving to the Island was the desire to get away from the rise in COVID-19 cases in Ontario.
Poczynek, of Century 21 Northumberland Realty (1987) Ltd., often sells homes to off-Island clients who haven’t seen them in person. He takes advantage of technology, such as 360-degree video, to help buyers.
Poczynek said that paying above the asking price for a home on P.E.I. isn’t a huge issue for Ontario buyers who are selling a nice home in a decent neighbourhood for a comparatively higher price than a new home on the Island.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, residential property sales were up 24.5 per cent in P.E.I. in September compared to the same month a year ago, and the average price of homes sold ($297,290) was a record for the province and an 18.1 per cent increase from September 2019. Year to date, home sales were up by 4.6 per cent.
Residential sales in Nova Scotia are similar. They were up 38 per cent in September, compared to September 2019, and up 4.2 per cent year to date, compared to last year.
The average price of homes sold — $303,599 — was a record amount and a 22 per cent increase, compared to September 2019.
A recent survey conducted on behalf of Re/Max states that 32 per cent of Canadians want to leave urban centres for rural and suburban areas, and that 44 per cent want a home with more space. It has also been recently reported that condominium owners in Toronto have been selling their property and moving to areas outside the city for more affordable homes with backyards and more space for home offices, in order to cope with COVID-19.
Hartlen isn't seeing the same condominium trend in the Halifax area, but he is hearing from agents that the pandemic is a factor with some out-of-province sales, especially those that are conducted sight unseen.
Still, Hartlen notes that there was already an upward trend in sales in Nova Scotia before the pandemic hit, and other fundamental factors, such as low interest rates, decent job numbers and former residents returning home, are playing a role.
"So it’s definitely a trend. There’s no question. How much of it is specifically pandemic related, that’s a hard thing to nail down."
Hartlen said some of the hot spots in Nova Scotia are in, or near, Halifax, such as the north end, Clayton Park and Bedford-Sackville. Hartlen recently spoke with one of his agents who had 14 offers on a Sackville home for sale.
A concern with being in a seller's market is buyer fatigue and motivating potential buyers to keep making offers on properties when they are unsuccessful, he said.
"The inventory in some of these places is so low that you put something that is reasonably priced and in decent shape on there, you're talking about multiple offers," he said.
"That's the type of thing that we're not used to here, not only as an industry but as a marketplace ... as a set of buyers. It's hard when you're not used to working like that. But it's a great environment if you've got something to sell and you don't necessarily have to buy something. It's the opportune time to sell, there's no question."