Key Facts & Figures:
- Population: ~503,000 (2024), up 2.4% from 2023 halifaxpartnership.com – growth driven mainly by immigration.
- Average Home Price: ~$579,600 (2024, +4.7% YOY) halifaxpartnership.com. Popular suburbs differ: Bedford ~$785K (+8.2%) thepikegroup.ca vs Dartmouth ~$495K (+5.8%) thepikegroup.ca.
- Rental Market: Vacancy ~2.1% in 2024 (up from historic low 1.0%) halifaxpartnership.com. Average rent ≈$1,636/mo (+6.4% YOY) halifaxpartnership.com. Lower-end units ($1,300 or less) remain extremely tight (vacancy <1%) cmhc-schl.gc.ca.
- Housing Starts: Record levels in 2024: 817 single-family and 3,874 multi-unit units began construction halifaxpartnership.com, reflecting a recent construction boom to close the supply gap.
- Office Market: Overall vacancy ~12% (Q2 2025) cbre.ca, trending down. Class A downtown rent averages ~$18.34/ft² (2024), the most affordable among Canada’s major cities halifaxpartnership.com.
- Industrial & Investment: Industrial vacancy ~11–12% (Q2 2025) cushmanwakefield.com after record new supply; average net rent ~$17–18/ft² (up 12.3% in 2024) halifaxpartnership.com. Halifax ranks among Canada’s top markets for retail strip plazas, suburban multi-family and industrial investment opportunities halifaxpartnership.com.
- Policies: Nova Scotia eliminated its 10% HST on new purpose-built rentals (Oct. 2023) cans.ns.ca; HRM extended a 5% annual rent increase cap through 2027 halifaxpartnership.com. The federal-provincial Housing Accelerator Fund aims to fast-track ~2,600 new homes in HRM by 2026 halifax.ca.
Residential Market Trends
Buying: Halifax home prices have risen steadily into 2025. The 2024 average sale price was $579,600 – about 5% higher than 2023 halifaxpartnership.com – after years of rapid growth. By mid-2025 market activity remained strong: e.g. May 2025 sales averaged a record $626,156 halifaxpartnership.com (a 4.1% YOY increase). Compared to other cities, Halifax is relatively affordable (benchmark price ~$537,600, a 3.3% rise halifaxpartnership.com), but prices have more than doubled over the past decade. Market conditions have tilted towards sellers – the May 2025 sales-to-new-listings ratio hit ~75.9% halifaxpartnership.com – indicating inventory is tight. Major suburban areas are the hottest in volume: Bedford led all communities (56 sales in Feb 2025) thepikegroup.ca, with very competitive bidding (43% of homes sold over asking) thepikegroup.ca.
Renting: Demand for rental units remains very strong despite some recent easing. The citywide vacancy rate climbed to 2.1% in 2024 (up from 1.0% the prior three years) halifaxpartnership.com, easing pressure slightly. Average rent is high and rising: Halifax Partnership reports $1,636/month average (6.4% higher than 2023) halifaxpartnership.com (CMHC data show a 2-bed at ~$1,707, +3.8% cmhc-schl.gc.ca). Newer, premium downtown condos have seen slower rent growth (~3.8%) cmhc-schl.gc.ca as inventory filled, while very affordable older units remain scarce (vacancy <1% for <$1,300 rent) cmhc-schl.gc.ca. Rental construction is surging (4,100 new apartments started in 2023 blog.remax.ca), but completions lag. New federal/provincial incentives (see below) aim to boost purpose-built rentals. Overall, rent growth is expected to moderate as more supply comes online cmhc-schl.gc.ca.
Neighborhood Highlights: Downtown Halifax (Peninsula) is the urban core with high-priced condos and office conversions; it commands the region’s priciest rents and prices halifaxpartnership.com. Downtown Dartmouth (across the harbor) offers a quieter, waterfront lifestyle at lower costs halifaxpartnership.com. Bedford is an affluent family suburb (parks, schools) seeing robust demand (average home ~$785K, +8% YOY) thepikegroup.ca. Lower Dartmouth and Clayton Park are mid-market hubs, with Clayton Park’s average ~$548K (+6.5%) thepikegroup.ca. Sackville (Bedford-Sackville area) is a large suburban district with retail and recreation. In the historic South End (universities, Victorian homes) prices are highest (~$832K avg) and rising fastest (+9.4% YOY) thepikegroup.ca. The up-and-coming North End is trendy/arts-focused halifaxpartnership.com. In general, prices are lowest in eastern Dartmouth/Sackville areas and highest on Halifax peninsula; each submarket has its own supply/demand dynamics and price levels halifaxpartnership.com thepikegroup.ca.
New Developments & Infrastructure
Several major projects and plans will shape Halifax’s landscape in coming years. The Cogswell District redevelopment (Downtown) is underway: a $122M joint HRM-Province project converting 16 acres of old road into a mixed-use neighborhood (new streets, parks, 1,400+ housing units planned) halifaxpartnership.com. It remains on schedule for completion by late 2025 halifax.ca, with streets (e.g. Dr. Alfred Waddell) and parks largely finished halifax.ca halifax.ca. The Young District in the North End (former Young Street lands) is being planned for up to ~12,500 new homes (≈26,500 residents) under Halifax’s Centre Plan shapeyourcityhalifax.ca. This area will be transit-oriented (two future BRT lines planned), and HRM has initiated infrastructure planning and neighbourhood plans to support that growth shapeyourcityhalifax.ca shapeyourcityhalifax.ca.
Transportation upgrades include the new Barrington Street Transit Terminal (completed Summer 2025) halifax.ca and planned Bus Rapid Transit lines across the peninsula and to Bayers Lake. The Windsor Street Exchange highway redesign (Bedford Highway/Lady Hammond) is another multi-year project to improve a key gateway into downtown (funded partly by federal trade corridor funds) halifax.ca halifax.ca. On housing supply, HRM launched a Surplus Land for Affordable Housing program (July 2025) to convey city land to non-profits halifax.ca. Federal-provincial Housing Accelerator Fund plans with HRM target 2,600 new homes in 3 years (and 8,866 in 10 years) halifax.ca, with actions to speed zoning approvals and infrastructure. These initiatives, along with as-of-right zoning reforms renx.ca, are intended to boost development of new housing (both market and affordable) in the coming years.
Demographic & Economic Drivers
Halifax’s real estate trends are underpinned by a strong demographic and economic foundation. The city’s population grew to just over 500,000 in 2024 (≈503,000) halifaxpartnership.com, a ~11,600 increase, driven almost entirely by immigration halifaxpartnership.com. While growth has slowed from 2022-23 peaks, it remains one of Canada’s highest rates. Employment grew ~5.5% in 2024 (≈13,900 new jobs) halifaxpartnership.com, the fastest in a decade, and the unemployment rate held at ~5.5% (second-lowest among benchmark cities) halifaxpartnership.com. Halifax’s GDP grew ~2.6% in 2024 halifaxpartnership.com. Key economic sectors include public administration (government/military), healthcare, education, technology, and tourism halifaxpartnership.com. Major post-secondary institutions (Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s, etc.) attract students and workers, underpinning rental demand halifaxpartnership.com. The Port of Halifax (a top-5 Canadian port) and proximity to Atlantic trade bolster industrial and logistics activity halifaxpartnership.com. Incomes rose faster than inflation (per-capita income +6.0% in 2024) halifaxpartnership.com, giving Halifax residents stronger buying power. These population and economic trends support sustained housing demand, particularly in rentals (strong student/military housing market) and in-demand neighborhoods.
Government Policies & Regulatory Changes
Recent policy moves are reshaping Halifax’s real estate landscape. In late 2023, tax incentives were introduced to spur rental construction: the federal government raised the GST rebate on purpose-built rental housing to 100%, and Nova Scotia eliminated its 10% HST on new rental apartments cans.ns.ca. These incentives (worth roughly $80–100M/yr province-wide) significantly lower development costs for rental projects. Locally, Halifax extended its rental increase cap (5% per year) until Dec 2027 halifaxpartnership.com to protect tenants amid rising rents. While this improves affordability, it may make some investors cautious about rental returns halifaxpartnership.com. Under the Centre Plan, HRM has eased zoning (e.g. more “as-of-right” building in growth nodes) to accelerate housing supply renx.ca.
At the same time, HRM and Nova Scotia offer programs for affordable housing: tax-relief grants, waived fees for non-profits, and the new Surplus Land program giving land to affordable housing providers halifax.ca. The Housing Accelerator Fund agreement (Oct 2023) commits HRM to fast-track thousands of homes halifax.ca. Overall, these regulatory changes favor more construction – especially of rental units – but investors and developers are watching potential new constraints (like the rent cap and stricter code/zoning rules) that could affect project economics halifaxpartnership.com renx.ca.
Commercial Market Trends
Halifax’s commercial real estate has been mixed but generally improving. Office: Vacancy has been high (≈13–15% in 2023) but is slowly falling. By Q2 2025 overall vacancy was ~12.1% cbre.ca. Notably, downtown Class-A vacancy hit multi-year lows (as tenants seek quality space) cbre.ca. Suburban offices (Bedford, Bayers Lake) continue to see steady demand. Net asking rents are modest: downtown Class-A averages ~$18.34/ft² halifaxpartnership.com, suburban ~$16–17. A shift to hybrid work has led to more sublease availability, but new tenants (e.g. tech firms, government) are taking space. The public sector’s return-to-office mandate (late 2024) may also boost downtown office use.
Industrial/Warehouse: Demand has surged due to population and e-commerce growth. Over 400,000 ft² of new industrial space came in Q3 2024 canadianrealestatemagazine.ca, driving availability up (to ~6.7% in Q3 2024 canadianrealestatemagazine.ca). By mid-2025 Cushman reported industrial vacancy ~11.8% cushmanwakefield.com (metrics vary). Even so, net absorption remains positive (266,000 ft² in Q3 2024 canadianrealestatemagazine.ca) and rents are climbing: net industrial rent averaged $17.21/ft² in 2024 (+12.3% YOY) halifaxpartnership.com. Burnside and Bayers Lake continue to be the tightest submarkets, with companies (especially in manufacturing and logistics) snapping up space halifaxpartnership.com.
Retail/Hospitality: Halifax benefits from tourism and local spending. Downtown retailers and restaurants are rebounding, fueled by cruise passengers and urban dwellers. Altus Group notes Halifax is top-3 nationally for investment quality in grocery-anchored and urban retail plazas blog.remax.ca. Commercial vacancies on main strips (Quinpool, Bedford Hwy) remain below long-term norms. Hotel occupancy also picked up through 2024 as travel recovered. The city’s growth in government jobs and universities adds steady daytime population to support downtown retail/offices.
Investment Outlook & Opportunities
Overall outlook for 2025–2026 is cautiously optimistic. Halifax’s fundamentals (growing population, diverse economy, stable governance) make it attractive for investors in both homes and commercial property. A Halifax Partnership analysis highlights Halifax’s low housing costs, high rental yields, and rapidly growing economy halifaxpartnership.com halifaxpartnership.com. With population now >500K halifaxpartnership.com, demand for housing (especially rentals) is expected to stay strong; this promises solid long-term rents and modest appreciation. The city’s strategic port and east-coast location also underpin industrial and institutional investment prospects halifaxpartnership.com. In fact, Altus’s Q1 2025 survey ranks Halifax top-three nationally for certain asset classes (strip retail, suburban multi-family, multi-tenant industrial) halifaxpartnership.com.
Government incentives (tax breaks for rental construction, Housing Accelerator supports) should unlock more development opportunities cans.ns.ca halifax.ca. Infrastructure projects like Cogswell and transit upgrades enhance neighbourhood values. Investors should note regulatory shifts – the 5% rent-cap, any new development charges or zoning rules – but these are well-telegraphed. Rising interest rates and broader economic uncertainty (e.g. trade tensions) could slow sales in the near term, but inflation and rate forecasts (bank economists anticipate cuts by 2026) may ease financing costs later. In summary, most forecasts expect moderate continued price growth and robust rental demand in Halifax through 2025–26, making it one of Canada’s more balanced, opportunity-rich markets for real estate investment halifaxpartnership.com blog.remax.ca.
Sources: Halifax Partnership Housing Market data halifaxpartnership.com halifaxpartnership.com; Altus/RE/MAX & CMHC reports cmhc-schl.gc.ca blog.remax.ca; Halifax Partnership Index 2025 halifaxpartnership.com halifaxpartnership.com; Pike Group market update thepikegroup.ca thepikegroup.ca; HRM planning & government releases halifax.ca cans.ns.ca; CBRE/Cushman marketbeats cbre.ca canadianrealestatemagazine.ca.
