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By Don McCooeye
The McCooeye Group – Royal LePage Atlantic
(Column formed through questions asked by Pat Healey in an interview)
ENFIELD: The housing market across the Halifax Regional Municipality and East Hants has undergone a noticeable transition since mid-2025. As someone working daily in both markets, I’m seeing clear shifts in buyer behaviour, pricing dynamics, and the balance of power between buyers and sellers.
The key takeaway from the first quarter of 2026 is this: we are no longer in the extreme seller’s market that characterized the peak years. Instead, the market has moved back toward balance.
Two different markets – one common trend
While HRM and East Hants share some common threads, the conditions in each market look a little different.
In East Hants, which realtors refer to as Area 105, the market is experiencing what I’d call a ripple effect from changes in the city. During the peak housing years, many buyers who were priced out of Halifax moved outward into communities like East Hants, pushing prices and activity higher in those areas.
Now that the Halifax market has cooled slightly and become more attainable again for some buyers, many of those same buyers are beginning to look back toward the city.
The numbers support that shift.
Through February 2026, closed home sales in East Hants are down 28.6 per cent year-over-year, with 30 homes sold compared to 42 at the same point in 2025. Homes are also taking longer to sell, averaging 75 days on the market, up from 58 days last year. Sellers are receiving 95.8 per cent of their asking price, compared to 100 per cent during the peak market period.
The median sale price has also softened slightly to about $500,000.
That doesn’t mean the East Hants market is weak. Far from it. The area continues to offer strong value for buyers looking for more space outside the city. However, sellers do need to recognize that the environment has changed and price their homes accordingly.
Halifax market cooling – but uneven
Halifax is also seeing some cooling, but the slowdown isn’t happening evenly across all property types.
Between Jan. 1 and March 9, 2026, the Halifax market recorded 627 residential sales, compared to 680 during the same period in 2025, representing about an eight per cent decline. The average sale price is around $594,717.
What’s interesting is where competition is still strongest.
The most competitive segment right now is the $400,000 to $600,000 range, particularly for well-priced, move-in ready single-family homes. In that bracket, buyers are still competing.
In fact, just last week I submitted an offer on a home priced below $550,000 where our clients found themselves competing with five other buyers. When properties in this price range are priced correctly and show well, they still generate urgency.
Meanwhile, the condo market is telling a vastly different story.
Recently, I helped a buyer purchase a South End Halifax condo $10,000 below asking price. That same unit had been purchased during the 2023 peak market for $55,000 more, meaning the seller took a significant loss. Situations like that highlight the opportunities currently available for patient buyers.
Buyers are thinking differently.
The biggest shift I’m seeing isn’t just in the numbers — it’s in buyer psychology.
During the peak years, many buyers felt intense pressure and fear of missing out. That emotional “FOMO” environment pushed people into quick decisions.
Today’s buyers are quite different.
They are more analytical, more cautious, and more willing to walk away if something doesn’t represent fair value. Home inspections are once again standard practice, and buyers are negotiating repairs or terminating deals if serious issues arise.
For buyers, this creates one of the most opportunity-rich environments we’ve seen in the last six years.
Advice for sellers
For sellers, the biggest adjustment is understanding that preparation matters more than ever.
In previous years, it was possible to list a home at an ambitious price and rely on market pressure to push offers upward. That strategy rarely works in today’s market. Buyers simply have too many options.
The work done months before listing — pricing strategy, staging, repairs, and presentation — is what determines success now.
Deferred maintenance is another factor sellers can’t ignore. Even if a seller tries to price the home lower to account for something like a roof replacement, buyers are increasingly preferring homes where that work has already been completed.
For rural properties in East Hants, we’re also seeing success by preparing detailed information in advance — things like septic inspections, water testing, and quotes for any potential upgrades. When buyers see that the seller has addressed potential concerns upfront, it builds confidence.
A market finding its balance.
Overall, what we’re seeing across HRM and East Hants is a market returning to its natural level after several years of intense pressure.
Homes that are well priced, well presented, and properly marketed are still selling, sometimes even with multiple offers at certain price points. But buyers now have more negotiating power and more time to make informed decisions.
That’s not a negative, it’s simply the housing market finding balance again.
Don McCooeye is a Realtor with The McCooeye Group at Royal LePage Atlantic, collaborating with buyers and sellers across Halifax Regional Municipality and East Hants.