Thoughts on investing in Halifax(HRM)

[Yuan He]

Hello friends !

Hope all are doing great !

It is the end of Sep 2019 as I'm writing this post. Would love to hear more about folks thoughts on currently investing in Halifax(HRM).

Context: I got relocated to Halifax from NYC due to job change, and look to start my real estate investing here by doing house hacking. I've been looking at multi-unit properties with a broker for a while, two visits make me wonder whether current market is "irrational exuberance": 1)saw a gorgeous turnkey duplex only on the fourth day of it being on the market and someone else made an offer right before I preparing to make an offer..2)Booked a view for a four-plex at the earliest convenience of the owner(1 day after it being on the market), but only to find out there are 7 offers made already and some of them are made with site unseen !

So if the market is so white hot right now, should investor even consider jumping in on this wave since it might cool down a bit later ? Or if this is just a beginning which means the price is not going any cheaper, would investing in a place further but driving distance like dartmouth, bedford, sackville or even mahone, bridgewater be a better option ?

Appreciate any input on this !

Yuan

[Trevor Gaal]

Hi Yuan,

Welcome to beautiful Halifax!

There's a lot of competition in Halifax right now. Many investors from Ontario and out west are making offers sight-unseen. Most of them have a trusted Realtor in Halifax, so it's not uncommon... half the time I'll make an offer sight-unseen also because there's no time to hesitate. Their are many economic fundamentals that make Halifax an attractive market now and into the future, so I'm afraid you can expect this hot market to continue for at least a few more years. The most recent fourplex that we're closing on Friday had two other offers come in after us, but luckily ours was first, and the terms were good enough to get it locked up.

Prices will be lower in Dartmouth and Sackville, but generally higher in Bedford. If you're going further outside the city it depends how far you're willing to go... for example you can drive in from Truro in 45 minutes and prices are significantly cheaper.

Fantastic to hear you're going to start by house hacking! There's no better way to get started!

If you need a hand with anything feel free to contact me. I run a REI meetup in Halifax that's by invitation only (we might open it up and advertise sometime in the future, but we're currently getting about 30-40 people attending and don't want it to get too big too fast). I'd be happy to give you the details so you can come out and meet some fellow investors.

Cheers,

Trevor :)