Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® numbered 1,006 units in April 2018. This was an increase of 15.8% from April 2017 and marked the best April sales figure 2012.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 3,051 units over the first four months of the year. This was up 10.9% from the same period in 2017 and was also a six-year high.

The average price of homes sold in April 2018 was $248,672, edging up 1.6% from April 2017.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $237,902, up 5.8% from the first four months of 2017.

There were 2,038 new residential listings in April 2018. This was down just 0.7% (14 listings) on a year-over-year basis.

Overall supply has trended lower over the last year and is running at the lowest level for the month since 2005. Active residential listings numbered 7,428 units at the end of April. This was down 7% from the end of April 2017.

Months of inventory numbered 7.4 at the end of April 2018, down from the 9.2 months recorded at the end of April 2017 and below the long-run average of 8.7 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

The total dollar value of all residential home sales in April 2018 was $250.2 million, rising 17.6% from the same month in 2017. This was a record for the month of April.

The resulting prices  of some recent house sales in areas of Halifax is great news for sellers, but it’s perhaps a bit of a shock for buyers. This is due to detached, single-family homes that “show well” in such popular real estate spots as the west end are sometimes selling for more than the asking price. This is expected in much larger markets (like Toronto), but most home buyers in Halifax are shocked at seeing house sales over the list price – sometimes taking place following multiple offers.

After a extended lull in the local marketplace, it is “a seller’s market in selected areas” of the peninsula, including the west end, identified by a number of veteran real estate agents.“If you’re in one of these sought-after areas, and you’re thinking of selling and everything looks nice on the inside, (then) price it … what the market is suggesting or maybe $3,000 to $5,000 even less, Some agents are now suggesting that seller price their home slightly under market value in order to stimulate a bidding war.

Now that the winter of 2017-18 is history and the Easter long weekend has come and gone, lawn signs announcing homes for sale are popping up like tulips and depending on number of listings may affect local market conditions. A local Halifax Realtor said in the last 90 days, nine residential properties on the peninsula went for over the list price and two sold for the asking price. Others sold for close to the list price, he said.

Going back three months, there were 94 detached, single-family houses listed for sale on peninsular Halifax, a Local Realtor said. During that same time period, 41 have sold. For buyers seeking a resale home in their price range, the desire to live in a certain neighborhood – one that attracts a lot of interest from potential homeowners – may push their purchase offer outside their financial comfort zone.

“If (buyers) are focused on a particular neighborhood or street, (and) … it happens to be in what may be deemed as a hot area, get ready for battle,” said a Local Realtor

Sellers, on the other hand, are celebrating.

Here are examples of the pay-more-than-the-asking-price situation: Last month, a single-family house on Oak Street sold for $400,000. The seller was asking for $379,900. Another sale in March involved a single-family home on Berlin Street going for $462,000. The seller had received a handful of offers and been asking for $419,900.

In February, a single-family house on Allan Street sold for $416,000. The seller was seeking $409,000.

There are plenty of other real estate transactions in peninsular Halifax that still involve the traditional way of negotiating a sale price that’s lower than the list price.

But depending on the condition of the home, the neighbourhood (and its supply of properties) and the number of prospective buyers competing for a house, sellers could end up with more money than the dollar figure on their home’s original price tag.

A Local Military Relocation Realtor, who said he enjoys working with first-time home buyers, acknowledged exceeding a seller’s asking price is a hard pill for a rookie purchaser to swallow. He said if they’re willing to broaden their search into other neighborhoods, “then they might stand a little better of a (house) shopping experience.”

According to the fall 2017 forecast from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Halifax’s resale market saw growth – increases in sales transactions and average prices – last year, and it was anticipated to continue.

Because active listings have been steadily declining and the resale home inventory remains low, CMHC’s report said, “this will have an impact on price growth as sellers will have the upper hand in price negotiations.”

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