Halifax Real Estate: 2025 Spotlight on Luxury

Strong population growth continues to contribute to the Halifax real estate market in 2025, with the city’s luxury segment reporting a close to 43-per-cent increase in sales over the $1.2 million price point. Twenty properties, including 19 freehold and one condominium, changed hands over $1.2 million in the first two months of the year, up from 14 sales during the same period in 2024.

With demand for housing consistently outpacing supply in the Halifax real estate market and surrounding areas, upward pressure on prices have been a factor in increased homebuying activity over $1 million. As sales have climbed, so have listing inventories, with 59 properties currently listed for sale over $1.2 million. More sellers have had the confidence to move forward with their plans to move given solid equity gains in recent years, while economic newcomers to the country have the financial wherewithal to purchase upon arrival. Halifax’s population is up close to 2.4 per cent, with immigration adding almost 13,000 new residents to Nova Scotia between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024. Immigration was concentrated in Halifax, with more than 10,000 new Canadians added to the city’s population.

Demand is greatest for luxury detached homes in Halifax’s urban neighbourhoods and exclusive waterfront properties. Bedroom communities with newer construction in areas like Bedford, Fall River, Hammonds Plains, and Porters Lake are also drawing affluent purchasers. Days on market fluctuate depending on inventory, with high-end homes in areas where listings are tight moving in as little as a week, while other areas where homes are more plentiful can be on market for as long as five months. Well-priced uber-luxe properties continue to attract the lion’s share of attention, but some of the city’s most unique properties – including older renovated/unrenovated homes on the peninsula or water frontage estates—present a challenge in terms of pricing, given fewer comparable sales in the area.

Non-resident buyers in Nova Scotia are facing a deluge of taxes, including the non-resident tax and deed transfer tax that add 10 per cent on top of their purchase price, prompting some would-be buyers to extend their search for property to neighbouring PEI. While Chester, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay remain perennial favourites with out-of-province buyers, higher housing values and taxes have redirected attention to more rural communities such as Truro, Antigonish, Cape Breton and Bridgewater in recent years.

Inclement weather and economic concerns have overshadowed the Halifax real estate market to some extent over the past month or so. Although the top end continues to experience activity as buyers are more insulated at the top end, consumer confidence in the overall market is waning with concerns over the direction the housing market is heading. Many buyers and sellers have chosen to wait and see what the outcome will be before jumping into the market. With the advent of the spring market and Canadian efforts to mitigate US tariffs through the buy local movement and interprovincial trade, buyers may be able to strike a happy medium. Once the market stabilizes and interest rates fall further and consumer confidence is revived, Halifax is expected to continue its upward trajectory – with luxury sales and prices expected to climb.

Have questions, or are you ready to engage in the market? Connect with a RE/MAX agent today.