Living & Affordability

At $47,600, Halifax’s residents earned the lowest household income per capita of the 6 benchmark cities. Per capita income grew by 2.6% in Halifax throughout 2019, third among benchmark cities and just shy of the 2.8% national growth rate.

The price of consumer goods in Halifax grew at an average pace compared to the benchmark cities, rising by 1.7% in 2019. Purchasing power (the difference between per capita income growth and inflation) grew by 0.9%, meaning that the average Halifax household effectively had more money in its pocket. Of the benchmark cities, only Victoria experienced a decrease in purchasing power.

Consumer spending will be limited throughout 2020 due to pandemic shutdowns and the large-scale loss of employment for many individuals. Inflation will be unstable and income growth is expected to be low, if not negative, as a result of COVID-19.

New home construction was in full swing throughout 2019, especially in rural Halifax. Construction began on 872 single-unit houses, exceeding 2018’s figure by 143 units (20% growth) and outpacing the 10-year average by 126 units. Most of these starts were in rural Halifax, where the construction of single-unit housing has nearly doubled over the last 5 years. Construction on single-unit housing slowed in both urban and suburban regions in 2019.

Construction on multi-unit housing reached a new record in 2019 with work beginning on 2,271 new units. Of these, 91% were apartment-style housing, 7% were row-housing, and the remaining 3% were semi-detached. Multi-unit starts grew by 25% in rural regions and 16% in the suburbs, while falling by 26% on the peninsula. The 957 multi-units started in rural Halifax through 2019 set a new annual record for multi-units in rural regions.

Increasing the pace of housing construction helps to keep prices low and is especially important given the increase in demand resulting from our rapid population growth over the last 5 years.

Rental supply has not kept up with demand despite more apartment buildings being under construction than ever before. As a result, apartment vacancy rates declined sharply over the last 5 years, reaching a record low of 0.9% vacancy for 2-bedroom apartments in 2019. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), apartment vacancy rates are lowest in the Peninsula South, Bedford, and Rural regions of Halifax. Monthly rent also rose by 4.0% in 2019, bringing the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment up to $1,202 per month (+$46 over 2018).

Home ownership has not experienced the same demand pressures as rental properties in recent years. The average price of a new single-detached house in Halifax was $463,843 in 2019 – half the national average. Among the 6 benchmark cities, Halifax remains the third most affordable place to purchase a new single-detached home and the fourth most affordable to purchase a resale home.

A measure often used to assess housing affordability is the shelter-cost-to-income ratio. Using data from the 2016 census, we can look at various regions in Halifax to understand where affordability pressures are the highest. Overall, one-quarter of all households spend more than 30% of their income on shelter. Housing affordability pressures are most acute in and around the downtown and less acute in rural regions.

The quality and affordability of life for Halifax residents is affected by the levels of debt they carry. Consumers can take on debt to spread out the cost of a large purchase over time. This lets them buy important things earlier in life, such as a car or a home, and expand their economic opportunities. However, too much debt can be a sign of vulnerability in the economy as consumers struggle to pay back money they borrowed.

The average Halifax consumer had $23,564 in non-mortgage debt at the end of 2019, just below the Canada-wide average of $23,760. From 2017 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2019, the average debt level in Halifax dropped by 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.

The debt delinquency rate in Halifax at the end of 2019 was 1.52%, down slightly from the 2018 figure of 1.54%, but up from 1.43% in 2017. In all 3 years, Halifax’s delinquency rate was 1.3 times greater than the figure for Canada overall.

The number of consumer insolvencies²in Halifax rose in 2019 to its highest level from 2011 to 2019. However, the number of bankruptcies³fell for the third straight year and was the lowest over the 2011 to 2019 period. Halifax’s rate of consumer insolvencies per capita in 2019 was the second highest among the 6 benchmark cities.

Consumer debt levels, the debt delinquency rate, and insolvency numbers all may jump sharply in 2020 as a result of the current economic crisis. Job and income losses may compel people to take on debt and impair their ability to make loan payments.

Our annual City Matters Survey, conducted by MQO Research, asks 500 Halifax residents to rate their city on several indicators, based on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). The 2019 results were more positive than ever, with all but one of the key indicators improving and several setting new records.

This year we asked respondents to identify Halifax’s greatest advantage; the most common answer (26%) was size. Respondents described Halifax as a small city with a big city feel. When asked their favourite aspect of living in Halifax, the most common response involved the ocean or waterfront (19%). Other common responses included scenery and beaches, and the friendliness of the people.

We also asked residents what they believed was the most important issue facing Halifax. One quarter of respondents selected affordable housing followed by transit and parking (12%), and infrastructure and roads (10%).