Get the Facts on Halifax's Economy
To learn more about Halifax’s economy and get a definitive look at Halifax’s economic and community progress, read the Halifax Index 2023.
See an overview of the most up-to-date economic statistics on Halifax
The average selling price for a home in Halifax was $561,454 in February, down from $581,302 in January. The February 2024 figure is a 4.4% increase over February 2023. The sales-to-new-listings ratio in February rose to 78.6, signifying a return to a “seller’s market” situation.
The latest estimates from the Conference Board of Canada show that Halifax's real GDP grew by 1.4% in 2023. It is expected to grow by 0.8% in 2024 and by an average of 2.5% per year between 2025 and 2028. Comparatively, in 2023 real GDP growth was 1.0% and 0.7% for Canada and Nova Scotia, respectively. Halifax accounted for 57.7% of Nova Scotia's 2023 real GDP.
Inflation returned to its downward trend in January. Halifax saw an annualized inflation rate of 3.5% in January 2024, 0.5 percentage points lower than the previous month and 3.1 percentage points lower than a year ago. Comparatively, January 2024 saw the national inflation rate fall to 2.9%, down 3.1 percentage points compared to a year ago, while the Nova Scotia rate fell to 3.0%, down by 3.9 percentage points. As compared to December, the national and provincial inflation rates were down by 0.5 percentage points and 0.7 percentage points, respectively.
Average monthly rent in Halifax, across all apartment types, increased by 13.3% from $1,347 in 2022 to $1,532 in 2023. The apartment vacancy rate remained stable near its historic low, at 1.0% for the third year in a row. Within Halifax, the largest rent increase was in Bedford/Sackville (+$303). These figures are derived from a survey of Halifax renters conducted in October 2023. They represent an average of the rents current residents were paying at the time the survey was taken.
The unemployment rate in Halifax remained unchanged at 4.9% in February 2024. Comparatively, the February rates for Canada and Nova Scotia were 6.0% and 6.3%, respectively.
The overall number of jobs in Halifax increased by 1,800 positions (+0.7%) between January and February 2024, and increased by 15,300 positions (+5.9%) compared to a year ago. Since February 2023, the educational services industry added the most jobs (3,000), while forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas lost the most jobs (-1,300).
Total retail sales in Nova Scotia remained unchanged in December 2023 compared to a year ago, but have increased by 1.1% since November 2023. Across industries, the largest annual increase in retail sales was recorded for motor vehicles and parts dealers (+8.9%), whereas the largest annual decline was recorded for building material and garden equipment (-9.3%). These figures reflect the the total dollar value of transactions, which are affected by both the volume of goods sold and the changes in their prices.
The vacancy rate for office space in Halifax declined 0.5 percentage points between Q3 and Q4 2023, and was 0.6 percentage points lower than a year ago, ending the year at 12.7%. Overall average asking rent for office space increased by $0.71 psf since the previous quarter. As for industrial space, the overall vacancy rate was 5.3%, up 0.4 percentage points since Q3 2023, and 1.2 percentage points higher than a year ago. Average gross rent for industrial space increased $1.09 psf from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023.
You can explore the dashboard below for figures in specific parts of the city.
To learn more about Halifax’s economy and get a definitive look at Halifax’s economic and community progress, read the Halifax Index 2023.
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