August 2026 Newsletter

HALIFAX REAL ESTATE NEWS

Hello,

AUGUST

AUGUST — 2026

FROM THE EDITOR First, thank you for joining me here each month. I really do enjoy putting these numbers together because, for me, they tell a much more interesting story than simply saying the market is “up” or “down.” I hope you find them just as useful.

We are also relying heavily on local buyers right now, and local buyers generally don't have the same urgency as someone relocating here who needs to secure a home by a certain date.

When I look at July over the past three years, the number of single-family homes sold has actually remained relatively close: 424 in July 2024, 438 in July 2025 and 399 in July 2026.

They can wait.

They can compare.

And if they don't see value, they can move on to the next property. That has made pricing one of the most important parts of selling a home in 2026.

Where the difference becomes more noticeable is when we look at the year as a whole.

From January through July 2024, 2,527 homes sold. During the same period in 2025, that number was 2,596. This year, we are sitting at 2,326 sales.

So, yes, 2026 is running behind.

Our spring market was slower to arrive than I expected this year, and we never really got that strong burst of activity that we traditionally associate with spring.

Weather may have played a part. Economic and political uncertainty may have contributed as well. There is rarely one single explanation for buyer behaviour.

What has been interesting is that first-time buyers have continued to be active. Where I have noticed more hesitation is in the higher-end market.

Aspirational pricing simply isn't working the way it once did.

I've lost listing appointments this year because another agent was willing to suggest a higher price. Of course I want every seller I represent to make as much money as possible.

That's the goal. But there is a difference between wanting a certain price and the market supporting that price.

A seller can't necessarily rely on what a neighbour received last year—or sometimes even six months ago. In a changing market, a sale from the last 30 days can tell us far more about today's value.

And this is where sellers need to be careful.

The agent who gives you the highest suggested list price isn't necessarily the agent who will ultimately put the most money in your pocket.

If a property starts too high, sits on the market, accumulates days and eventually goes through price reductions, buyers start wondering what's wrong with it. Sometimes the result is a lower sale price than the seller may have achieved by positioning the home correctly from day one.

The market is still moving. Buyers are still buying.

They're simply more patient, more selective and far more aware of value.

And as we head toward the fall market, that's what I'll be watching most closely.

HALIFAX SINGLE-FAMILY MARKET REPORT

Halifax Regional Municipality recorded 364 firm single-family sales in July 2026, representing approximately $233.8 million in transacted volume. The median sale price was $585,000, and the median home went firm in 15 days.

Those headline figures conceal a market that is running at two distinct speeds. Nearly four in ten homes — 38.2% — went firm within a week of listing. At the same time, 64.6% of sales closed below their original list price, and 18.4% required sixty days or more to find a buyer. The determining variable is not location or property type. It is initial pricing.

R E A D T H E F U L L J U LY M A R K E T R E P O R T

245 LISTINGS EXITED UNSOLD

40.4% OF FAILED LISTINGS RETURNED

425 CLOSED SALES

EXPIRED, CANCELLED & RELISTED Buyer demand in June concentrated squarely in the $400K–$599K range — nearly half of all sub-$1M showings and the highest showings-perlisting in the market. Demand thins steadily above $700K, and in the luxury tier the active market sits below $1.4M. For sellers, the read is clear: price-band positioning and presentation determine whether a listing captures that demand.

F U L L T E R M I N AT E D D E A L S B R E A K D O W N

JULY 2026 SHOWING ACTIVITY REPORT

Buyer

traffic

across

Halifax

Regional

Municipality

remained

decisively

concentrated in July 2026. Single-family homes priced below $1 million in the Halifax–Dartmouth market recorded 4,995 showings across an estimated 1,050 listings shown — an average of 4.76 showings per listing, or roughly 161 showings per day and approximately 1,128 per week...

SEE WHO'S LOOKING AND WHERE.

HALIFAX CONDO MARKET REPORT JULY 2026 Nova Scotia's condominium market recorded 63 sales firmed in July 2026 at a median sold price of $399,900 and an average of $449,490. Fifty-nine of those transactions — 93.7% — occurred within Halifax Regional Municipality, confirming that the provincial condominium market remains functionally an HRM market with satellite activity in Truro, Lunenburg County and Pictou County.

63

CONDO SOLD

38

MEDIAN DAYS ON MARKET

97.6%

MEDIAN SALETO-LIST

EXPLORE THE FULL CONDO MARKET BREAKDOWN →

NEW CONSTRUCTION MARKET REPORT Nova Scotia's new construction sector recorded 51 firm single-family sales in July 2026 against 98 new builder listings brought to market — a supplyto-absorption ratio of roughly 1.9 new listings for every sale. The median disclosed selling price was $709,900, effectively identical to the $712,400 median asking price on July's incoming inventory. That alignment is the defining characteristic of this month: builders are pricing to the market rather than testing it.

CLOSED SALES

M E D I AN S O L D P R I C E

51

$709,900 NEW LISTINGS

98 V I E W N E W C O N S T R U C T I O N A C T I V I T Y A C R O S S N O VA SCOTIA →

Now available

289 ORCHID COURT MLS®: 202600832

209 ORCHID COURT MLS®: 202607633

8

16 Wanders Way Timberlea MLS® 202602171

15 Wanders Way Timberlea MLS® 202600362

12 Wanders Way Timberlea MLS® 202602163

Now Available 4 bedrooms | 4 bathrooms | MLS® 202613191 C 118 Stephs St, Bedford

10

“Halifax Is Full of Foreign Buyers Buying Up Our Housing”

New blog post.

I see a version of this every time I post about the Halifax market. The comments arrive within the hour: the houses are all going to buyers from away — often with a specific country named, and always with complete confidence. It is one of the most durable beliefs in Nova Scotia housing conversation, and it is worth taking seriously, because it shapes how people vote, how they talk to their neighbours, and how they price their own homes. blogs update

read now

OUR NEWEST EPISODE

NOW LIVE BUYING IN HALIFAX? WHY YOU NEED TO WATCH SETON RIDGE TODAY

to Market 1 Shaw Cres Jollimore 99 Thistle Street Dartmouth

$745,000 $709,000

1 Shaw Cres Jollimore 280 Daisywood Hammonds Plains

$745,000 $680,000

1 Shaw Cres Jollimore 15 Ernest Avenue Beaver Bank

$745,000 $498,000

Listed Homes

1006 McCabe Lake Drive Middle Sackville

41 Bayberry Lane Seabright

235 Boutiliers Cove Road Hacketts Cove

179 Meek Arm Trail East Uniacke

4 Emerald Drive Three Fathom Harbour

106 Edward Dr Enfield

238 Nelson Drive East Lawrencetown

331 Masons Point Road Head Of St. Margarets Bay

Listed Homes

232 Summer Field Way Woodlawn

60 Saskatoon Drive Fairmount

1 Shaw Cres Jollimore 2 Woods Court Beaver Bank

$745,000

705-1990 Vernon Halifax South

122 Sunnybrae Avenue Halifax

231 Jeep Cres. Crescent Eastern Passage

STAYED TUNED FOR OUR NEWEST LISTING COMING TO SACKVILLE AUG 27!

PERFECT FOR THE FIRST TIME BUYER

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