A slower-than-normal arrival for spring has stalled the beginning of the season in a region of the country already challenged by market uncertainty.
“We’ve been hammered with snow and that’s put a damper on the market,” James Higgs, an agent in Halifax, told CREW‘s sister site REP. “No one is interested in jumping over a snowbank to get to a showing.”
The freezing weather isn’t the only thing stunting the sellers’ market in some parts of Atlantic Canada. Halifax, for instance, is affected by an abundance of inventory, which firmly re-established a buyer’s market.
“The lower interest rates have definitely helped push people off the fence a little bit,” said Higgs. “But realistically, in Halifax, it’s a perfect storm to buy. Our inventory has almost doubled from what it should be.”
Those entering the market for the first time, however, are at a particular advantage, especially in light of the Bank of Canada’s decision earlier this year to lower the overnight rate to 0.75 per cent.
To be sure, the spring thaw will eventually hit, even in Halifax.
