Small Drop In Rent Prices In Halifax
HALIFAX–The cost of rent in Halifax has gone up 33 percent over the last two years but fell slightly on a month-over-month basis.
A new report from Rentals.ca shows the average cost for a one-bedroom apartment in the city is $1,650, while a two-bedroom is more than $2,100.
Halifax finished 17th on the list of 35 cities for average monthly rent. Meanwhile, Nova Scotia had the third highest average rent in July of the seven provinces surveyed, at $2,220. However, that’s still a 25 percent increase year over year.
Year over year, average monthly rent in July for a one-bedroom unit in Halifax was up 4.6 percent. It was up 4.2 percent for a two-bedroom.
However, on a month-over-month basis, average rents in the city were down: 3.7 percent for a one-bedroom and 1.3 percent for a two-bedroom.
Until now, rent prices in the city had been steadily rising. A reversal to falling rent prices comes at the same time the real estate market in the city is also softening.
Recent data from the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors shows that homes in Halifax have lost almost $100,000 of value over the last three months as purchase prices drop.
Despite some fears that large corporations are buying up single-family homes to rent out, fewer than 6 percent of all rental properties on Rentals.ca are single-family dwellings. That’s up from 2021 but “virtually unchanged” from 2020.
However, the report says record-high rents for single-family properties in 2022 will attract investors if house prices continue to decline.
The report says the two major factors impacting rent are workers returning to the office (which has boosted rent in the most expensive central markets), and interest rate hikes that make it harder to afford a home and cause uncertainty for would-be buyers worried about future price declines
It also says that, despite the threat of a recession, the rental market remains strong because of elevated immigration levels and low unemployment rates.
Steve MacArthur is the news director with CKHZ 103.5 in Halifax, a Huddle content partner.