What's happening with home prices?

One of the biggest questions people are asking right now is: what’s happening with home prices? There are headlines about ongoing price appreciation, but at the same time, some sellers are reducing the price of their homes. That can feel confusing and makes it more difficult to get a clear picture.

In the Halifax Dartmouth Area Prices have been steadily dropping since the all-time high in April where the Median Sales prices was $564,000. In May it dropped to $517,000, June $500,758.00, July $481,000 and to August $430,000. By looking too closing at the short term data, some sellers started to panic. Remember, Real Estate is a long term investment so it best to analyse all the data to get a bigger picture of what is happening.

To put this in perspective year to year, home prices are up 7.5%  Despite the recent monthly free fall, the market has not come crashing down just yet nor has it shifted into a buyers market. With just over 2.2 months of Inventory we are still in a strong sellers market. Just not an "on fire" seller's market.

It's still a great time to buy or sell - here's why. We are still in a short supply of housing which creates buyer demand. Even though market times are extending and prices have fallen, they are still up. Compared to 2020, prices are up 25.6%. And for those of you that have owned your home for much longer, prices are up 74.4% since 2012!

Sellers may feel they missed the lottery and if you are currently trying to sell your home with the idea that it will be worth what the neighbours fetched in April, you will need to adjust your expectations. You will have to evaluate the data closely. If you are getting showings but no offers, then it probably is price. If you not getting showings, it is definitely price. The market is active, there are buyers out there

For the buyers out there thinking they will ride this out and prices will fall, just consider the upwards trend since 2012. With rates going up, the slight downward trend in pricing today still makes it a good time to get into the market. Housing is a long-term investment, and you just can't time the market. Rental prices are on an upward trend, so jumping into home ownership and building long term equity is a great way to secure your future wealth.