Take a trip through Halifax or Dartmouth and it is immediately obvious.
New high -rise projects are increasing from the municipality, but that leaves a lot to ask: “Who can afford them at home?”
Local researchers say that Nova Scotia living with tight budgets, especially families, continue to grow from the urban rental market.
He left some people, including a Haligonian, to consider leaving the city.
“I looked at these beautiful views, the port and the hills in the distance,” said the woman who goes through Jaki, adding that the noise of constant construction means “there is never a moment of silence.”
“It’s not affordable for people, and I don’t like it.”
Halifax is one of the fastest growth cities in Canada and the demand for housing changes the landscape.
According to the Halifax 2024 index, of the public organization of public economic development of the city Halifax Partnership, population growth reached a record in 2023.
“It was good news to meet long -term demographic challenges. However, this also meant continuous and serious pressures on housing, transport and health care, “wrote Ian Munro, chief economist at Halifax Partnership.
“Pushed largely by the rise in housing prices, inflation has remained stubbornly high compared to the last 30 years.”
Statistics have revealed that record demographic growth was driven by international migration.
It should be noted that more people have left Halifax in other parts of Nova Scotia than what went in the other direction – for the second consecutive year.
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The index also found that the price of the average Halifax accommodation reached $ 550,605 in 2023, more than double the level ten years ago.
“In the longer term, the rent has increased by $ 602 since 2014, while a typical monthly rate was $ 936,” notes the index.
“Price pressures are not isolated in Halifax urban centers; Each Halifax region has experienced two -digit growth in the average rent. ”
“New apartments”
Elijah Walsh, who currently lives in downtown Halifax and is a student at the university, wonders what will be the cost of rent for these new high height developments.
“It will tackle things in the next five or 10 years, but during the immediate term – there is really nothing to do,” said Walsh.
An urban planning expert, Jill Grant, has the same questions. The teacher of the Dalhousie University School of Planning says that the development speed that takes place is simply unbearable.
“There is a little more overabundance. There are many things that happen on the market and not enough high income employees to necessarily fill all these new expensive apartments,” she said.
She adds that people who live in the city center are probably young and single, but many new projects that cultivate are explicitly announced as “luxury”.
“This means that they have beautiful kitchens and household appliances and so on, but they tend to be small spaces,” she said, adding that equipment such as gymnasiums are also integrated into rent prices and will increase costs.
According to a recent online Marketplace, Rentals.ca report, the average rent in Halifax is more than $ 2,200. It is up 5% compared to last year.
However, the provincial government claims that the market is stabilizing and that the vacation rate has increased by 1% since last year – now to 2%.
But housing defenders warn that the situation remains disastrous.
“It falls at a percent vacancy rate if you really explore any type of affordable accommodation. It is therefore extremely tight and very difficult, “said Jeff Karabanow, social labor teacher at the University of Dalhousie.
Researchers say that additional government support could help, including greater investment in public housing. There could also be a return to housing programs in wartime, in particular the construction of prefabricated houses and encouraging developers to build affordable rentals.
“We need this kind of program if we want to have enough accommodation to keep people from the street away. So they are not forced to live in tents,” said Grant.
In the second part of our series by looking at development in the Halifax region, we will talk to a developer behind some of the new high -rise buildings of the city’s horizon.
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