Questions about Nova Scotia Real Estate?
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About the Author - Wayne Cochrane
About Wayne Cochrane has had an illustrious career, spanning the fields of electronics, technology, exporting, consulting, training, and real estate.
During his career he has become a successful teacher and trainer in several industries. In the late nineties and early two thousand he worked as a consultant in the Information Technology industry. During that time he worked with several fortune 500 companies to deliver technology support services for large business units.
He became involved in real estate in 2002 and quickly become the number 1 sales agent and recruiter for his company across the entire province. In 2003 he opened his first Exit Realty office and the second office in 2004. He is currently growing a successful real estate company and a software technology company. The last two years Wayne has been awarded several awards within his company, including a silver award for outstanding sales. Wayne is involved in several charities including Habitat for Humanity HRM (Chairman of the Board) and Junior Achievers of Nova Scotia (board of directors). You can find out more information about Wayne at his web site www.ExitWithWayne.com
Nova Scotia Real Estate Blog: Questions about Nova Scotia Real Estate?
Hello Wayne - thanks for creating this blog. I am interested in getting on the property ladder in Nova Scotia. I want to invest in land that will go up in value significantly in the next 3 years. Would you have any advice on areas of Nova Scotia I should look at & how much I should invest? What should I watch out for? Thanks Wayne, your the best! - Fiona
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Fiona,
Let me answer these one at a time...
Q: I want to invest in land that will go up in value significantly in the next 3 years.
A: Land in Nova Scotia that is serviced (on city water and septic) is a hot commodity. The problem is that the local government has stopped the approval of new serviced lots until they figure out an appropriate infrastructure plan to deal with the rapid growth. Serviced lots have increased significantly in value over the past few years, but they are not an option as you can not get approvals for new lots. Decreasing supply and high demand is driving up price. On other types of vacant land, including ocean frontage the growth is single digit. This is something that will probably not give you the return you are looking for.
Q: Would you have any advice on areas of Nova Scotia I should look at & how much I should invest?
A: In my opinion, if you are not looking for owner occupied, the best investment for ROI is in multi unit rentals. Cost would be anywhere form $250k to 2 million.
Q: What should I watch out for?
A: With multi-unit if you are starting small you need to be the property manager. This means you need to be within driving distance of the building. If you buy larger buildings (30 units or more) you can usually get a company to manage the property for 5% of the gross revenue.
Hope this helps,
Wayne
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Are prices for more expensive home over 400k coming down a bit in the near future?I have seen some price reductions over the last little while. and if they come down how much?
thanks
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As a whole I expect prices to continue to rise. The first time buyer market really drive all other price ranges. If the cost for a first time buyer goes up from 150k to 175k that drives everything else up. From Jan 2006 to Jul 2006, 107 properties sold between 400 & 500k. This year to date 173 properties have sold up to the end of Jul in that price range. So, as you can see, more people are willing to pay higher price ranges for homes. A few years ago 300k seemed like a lot of money in Nova Scotia to pay for a home. Now it seems as though the buyers that can afford it, have no problem paying it. I believe that the psychological barrier of price for the buying public is also rising each year.
With respect to a specific property you may be looking at, the average time on market tends to be longer when you get over 400k. Less buyers are buying in that price range. If a seller is highly motivated and they have not sold their home after a certain period of time, an agent may try to get them to reduce price. In my opinion, this may or may not be good advice, depending on the property price range/band and location. The four factors that determine how long a property will be on the market are: price, condition of the home, marketing, and ability to show it. Finally, I will say that all property is worth what a willing buyer will pay.
Hope this helps,
Wayne
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