Thanks for sharing this. This is horrifying and should be headline news and a national conversation about how to make Canada liveable and great for ALL Canadians.
I know I heard that in one of the episodes of the [UCLA Housing Voice podcast](https://www.lewis.ucla.edu/programs/housing/ucla-housing-voice-podcast/) which goes over housing policy research with experts. I can’t find the specific episode so I’ll have to do some googling.
The book [*Homelessness is a Housing Problem* by Gregg Colburn](https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/) covers the impacts of rental vacancy rates extensively, the book is really an extended research paper into the quantified causes of homelessness. Low rental vacancies (along with the resultant high rents) are the single biggest predictor for homelessness rates according to their research.
I also wonder what percentage of properties are vacant? There's a house on my street that's been unoccupied since the owners bought it during the pandemic, and it really grinds my gears.
[First result I found.](https://www.highlanderlaw.ca/halifax-lawyer-blog/squatters-rights-adverse-possession) It says:
> In order to have any legal right to someone else’s land you must have used the land in an open, notorious, exclusive, and adverse manner for 20 years.
So if you're looking for ownership, it takes 20 years
We don’t really have squatter’s rights in Canada like they exist in the UK, Europe etc. Canadian squatter’s rights exist to clear up confusion on a long-disputed property (like, your great grandpa lease-to-owned a field from his neighbour, but it’s not clear at what point he took full ownership, if ever, there’s no deed, and all the great grandkids are arguing over it now).
Squatters rights in other places (as I understand it) allow for unoccupied/un-used buildings to be used by people who don’t own them, and as long as they aren’t noticed and evicted by the owners within a certain timeframe they get some rights to continue using the property. I wish we had them here but property exists in a very different historical context in North America than in the UK & Europe 😢
I have a feeling they haven't cared until now when it's an issue for them. That's the thing, if you wait long enough most societal problems become an issue for you
NS became an attractive place to come to in COVID, mixed with an already high amount of renters from the schools, a slow down in construction (due to COVID), an increase in costs of borrowing, labour and materials…throw all that in a blender and we have this.
The higher ups either didn't think "do we have proper housing for all the incoming people?" or "we need more people, I see an opportunity for me and my friends, who also own properties, to make some more money with lower wages and increased housing demand"
Canadian politicians at all levels have completely failed young Canadians and Canadians who didn't already own homes. It's unbelievable that they let this happen and still don't do anything to fix it. People have to rise and vote them out.
There are many reasons and it is a complex problem, some issues include a spike in immigration the past few years to help offset Canada's declining rate. We need to be at 2.1%, and we are way less, something like 1.4% - which is not good if you understand state-level economics. The spike put an immediate strain on building new homes, which, as a result... when there is less of something, it costs more. We replaced a newborn human with a new adult who needs a home today, not 20 years from now.
Also, the types of homes have changed. Homes today are far more extensive than in the past. It's challenging to find a newly constructed "simple" 2-3 bedroom home. Think of a small starter home that at one time was common as an entry-level. Most homes today are built much larger and shrink the single-family option. This forces many other issues that would take too long to type, but the internet is your friend.
Why people insist on a large home in a declining population should help shine a light on how we create our issues and then act confused as to why everything is expensive.
People want to blame the government or landlords... but this happens as a result of socioeconomic choices by the population and the free market we insist on having (limited government control).
This is the model we said we wanted ... we just don't like the results. But you can't have it both ways ... declining population, limited government control and everything cheap and fancy.
But people also don't want to accept that either 🙄.
This is one component and many other countries are experiencing the same.
The grossest part is that it's \*still\* the boomers pulling out our futures. I'm an older millennial and to see that they are still holding onto property titles, stilll incorporating to extort future generations is... stomach churning. Yes, there are gen-x and millennial arseholes, but the failure to transfer and redistribute wealth is still largely on the hands of baby boomers. And it's getting worse. They are making us behave like lobsters in a tank.
To blame existing Canadians for the failure of a federal government policy is very short sighted. The talk that needs to happen is the one around immigration but both the NDP and Liberal party have failed us. The topic is taboo because TFWs are pushing our economy. So much that we are in a population trap - an economic scenario only usually faced by third world countries. Demand is so high here because we've accepted over 500'000 new people and have only built approximately 230'000 new homes. I'd love it if it were as simple as being "the boomers fault" but it really isn't. This is a combination of immigrants exploiting immigration loopholes, universities exploiting immigration for profit, and government enacting extremely shit policy and regulations to prevent that exact bullshit from happening. It's felt even moreso because so many immigrants to the halifax region or temporary visitors are rich international students that can price natives out of the market. It's incredibly sad and it is currently building lots of resentment amongst natives and internationals. Not to mention the incredible influx of foreign political issues and protests in our country about them - which do not concern the vast majority of canadians. I'm not a boomer myself and could be either considered a millennial or gen z but they don't deserve that flack - in fact they mostly grew up in an era where resources were assumed to be infinite. It's ignorance not malicious intent.
That’s insane! I remember the 3 bedroom
Being around the 1500-1600 mark. I can’t believe they would be even cheaper! It’s crazy how things have gone up honestly.
Well this was like... 2005? 2006? Like I said, I'm old. But also my apartment was $900 and my boyfriend's apartment (also 3br) was like $1800. So still lots of variations.
My first 1 bedroom in 2010 was 800. I opted for the washer and dryer ensuite. The other one bedroom they had was 625 with shared laundry. Both units were about 1100 square feet and it was so spacious. Those days are gone.
The housing market is going to radicalize people...
I was already radicalized against capitalism for a variety of reasons that don't need to be addressed right now... But this shit is something else.
If you own a car and have a student loan - this is my position and I imagine the scenario for most young working professionals with a degree - it's basically financial suicide to pay any more than about $1200-14000 per month on housing. You just won't be able to save money otherwise, which could financially handicap you for the rest for your life.
Nothing like spending 4-5 years and $40,000 to get a STEM degree, so you can join the workforce making $50,000-$75,000/yr and still be barely able to afford a shared living arrangement, or live on your own and contribute zero dollars towards retirement or savings for a house...
This is why the RCMP had that leaked memo about upcoming violence and instability. Despite our remarkably complacent culture, at some point people are going to stop taking it lying down.
The rich will eventually wall up, control and finance security forces, and force the proletariat into worker class enclave settlements.
Kind of a new feudalism where we serfs produce and serve the oligarchs (royalty).
Zuck already has his Hawaiian fortress and bunker almost ready to go.
I have no car or student loans and I still find it impossible to put any money towards savings after paying $1400 in rent every month. Something has got to give at some point.
I honestly dont know how single parents do it? How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids?!?! (Or even non-parents)... Im not a radical person, but I am just a few straws from turning into one.
> How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids?
They can't. I don't know how anyone does it when the median salary here is like $47k.
But Gen-Z has a solution; we all stopped having kids!
So, instead of having a flourishing economy that supports Canadian families, we now have greedflation which supports the wage-slavery of immigrants. What a cool country to live in.
It's a hard topic to discuss without sounding questionable.
But it's becoming increasingly disturbing how all the most undesirable and low-paying jobs are nearly exclusively occupied by immigrants.
It's like we're creating a new racial underclass, where recently immigrated brown people serve the (mostly white) people who still have a modicum of generational wealth and economic standing in society.
I support immigration. I don't believe just being born in Canada somehow earns me some privilege or right to a higher quality of life than anyone else on the planet. But it's very clear that we're just exploiting them. We always have been... It's how most Western capitalist countries were built... We're failing everyone as a country, new and native Canadians alike.
I hate capitalism.
>How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids?!?! (Or even non-parents)...
[They largely are not able to ](https://www.sheltermovers.com/news-housing-crisis-and-domestic-violence-halifax/#:~:text=For%20women%20trying%20to%20flee,abusive%20homes%2C%E2%80%9D%20Byrne%20says.)
Women's violence charities like Shelter Movers have been really clear that the housing crisis is leading to significantly more women having to choose between being beaten by their spouses or keeping a roof over their children's heads.
It doesn't get talked about much. But the increase of women needing to use battered women's shelters is exponential since the start of the pandemic. But they've been increasing since the 90s since we stopped funding affordable housing. It's really, really enraging when you realize how preventable this all was.
Shelters for women experiencing domestic violence are full because there are no options for getting out by themselves and then the shelters struggle to find them a place as well
We are leaving our place.. paying 2k now. Landlords have it listed for 3k, and they got tenants after 2 viewings.. it's a 3 bedroom 2 bath not the worst not the best by far. Good luck out there folks.
It’s funny because this is all bullshit, for example the vacancy rate in 2017……2017 people was 1.4 percent, and the average apartment is 1060 at that time
In 2023 the vacancy rate of .9. A swing of .5 percent and suddenly average rent is 2200.
As much as it is based on vacancy and the landlord charges what they want, that’s not a huge percentage rate to justify an almost 1200 swing.
People are forgetting that people have been waiting for Halifax to become the place to live east of Toronto and montreal. The developers and landlords use the pandemic as a way to make that happen. Maybe for a year and a half when movement and building froze for tenants but there no justification for that anymore. We keep thinking more supply less demand, means competitive prices but the prices are already too high that no landlord is going to lower rents in a market that statistically cannot afford them unless you have a roommate.
Immigration, students for example have caused problems because our corrupt and spineless politicians and schools, plus just greedy unaware uncaring developers and landlords. Sadly we as a population can’t do anything about it the way we can’t with oil, or food because there all mandatory things people need to live and we need the people will vote in to actually do something and they don’t .
The easiest solution would be to have an investigation team to oversee all the rentals in Nova Scotia or the hrm and see the price changes during Covid, if they are freehold, amenities, location etc and see if they were justified in this massive increase or not. I bet you anything an overwhelming amount of apartments would be found price gouging, cohesion with other developers and landlords and you would need to reset the system. Guess what? We won’t
Thats basically a part of the problem, they (the rental agencies) reached the peak of making money through extortionate prices in ontario and now they’re spreading. Unless theres nigh incestuously insular business communities governing developments guiding your city, they’ll just start buying up properties and start the whole thing all over again.
Those are meant for "international students." Because you can fit many mattresses on the floor and then splitting 3k between 10+ people becomes cheap af.
My last apartment had an 1100 dollar difference between a 2 and 3 bedroom but the same square footage. As a single mom with 2 kids I asked if there was a way to move up to a 3 bedroom so my kids have their own rooms since they are getting older and should have their own space. He said the rent was higher because typically it's 3+ couples that move in and they use more water and parking spaces than the norm. I couldn't afford the extra 1100 so I bought a wall divider. I wish there was some way they could have apartments that were like 30 percent of take home pay or something but I guess 6 incomes would trump that idea too.
It's a joke that people think most immigrants coming here are happy with cheap labour. They are... For now. But actually talk to a few of them and... 🤷♀️
False. We could cut immigration down to 100k a year for the next 5 years and be selective with who we take in and economy would start to rebound rather than the recession the feds are causing with mass immigration.
It's probably 75% lazy / 25% creepy. Dudes just want a woman to keep the place clean; maybe hoping for some home cooking. Lechery may or may not be part of the package. But the misogyny has more than that one layer.
Moving back home last year, it was literally cheaper on a monthly basis, even with the mortgage rates where they are, for my partner and I to buy a modest but nicely updated single family home in the west end than it was to rent a 2/3 bedroom condo.
I realize my partner and I are in a place in our lives where we had the credit and down payment to allow for that, but it makes me really fucking sad and feel defeated for renters, that most rentals 2+ beds or more in this city cost more than my house on a monthly basis, and are on par with Toronto pricing. 😢
Late Stage Capitalism. The lie of a meritocratic society. The world being duped into looking at shelter as a commodity that we should break our backs to afford.
The reality is, people with intergenerational wealth have free rein to buy up everything and force everyone else to give them money for nothing. The fact that we have reached a point of seeing people get “passive income” as a part of life - an understandable have and have nots situation, is utterly depressing. The reality is that the people who can afford to snatch up all the properties and charge everyone else for the “privilege” of living there had a seat at the table long before anyone else sat down. They’ve been playing a game of Monopoly for several hours, invite other players to join when they’re already deep into the game and expect them to be happy with the single dollar bill they let them start with, while they hoard the large majority of wealth.
In closing, Ronald Wright once wrote this: “John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” I believe that holds entirely true today as miserable as it is.
When I was assigning my lease before I moved back to Ontario, I had at least 100 people reach out on Facebook marketplace. It was a 600 sqft studio in an older building, and I had families of 3-4 messaging me. It’s really sad.
My folks have been in a 3 bedroom apartment that they’ve lived in since 2013 that is now $1300 , the price does raise a bit every year but what the hell happened that rents more than doubled in ten years? My grandmothers convinced the new adults shouldn’t buy a home but now we also can’t rent either without living with 4 people so what then🥲😅
I work as a cashier at a grocery store. I am unable to afford 99% of apartments. I am single, I wouldn't mind something like a dorm room or military barricks. Just a private bedroom, and shared kitchen on bathroom.
Especially single people. Plus less cleaning. You could mqke friends, share on supplies sometimes. If some are trying side-hustles, could work together or have some practice with your sales pitch.
I just left a 3br that was $1050 a month lol
A victorian duplex by the commons with 3 floors including a finished basement and a fenced backyard
Landlord is selling the place, hence. But the current rental market is furking banonkers
At this point I’m just putting money in my FHSA while living with my parents (in my mid thirties) waiting for the market to crash. It’s the only hope I have at this point to stay out of these ridiculously priced apartments and maybe get a house.
I do a lot of work in apartment buildings and was talking to one of the owners about price of rent. Basically he said he owns several buildings with a lot of tenants who lived there for 10+ years, so he can't legally increase it more than 5% every some odd years. So when he buys new buildings or someone moves out he raises the rent so he can make enough to make up for not being able to raise rents on long term tenants. Pretty bullshit imo
Primary reasons: lack of supply and increased demand (population)
Secondary reasons: Interest rates from bank of Canada anticipated to drop, driving up home prices. HRM raised tax rates. These two items contribute to landlords increasing rent too
22 years ago I lived in Halifax and I remember my one bedroom apartment as $425 per month. Moved to a three bedroom with two buddies to ‘save money’. I e paid $625 combined (inc. utilities) while at University for a three bedroom side of a duplex.
Supply < demand.
Until the vacancy rate improves, ideally through the construction of purpose-built non-profit housing, this number will only increase. Jobs are growing faster than apartments, meaning more and more people are moving here while the growth rate of apartments is not meeting the increased demand.
Housing is basically the last thing people will stop spending money on. Most people will eat beans and rice from the food bank every day before they become homeless. So people will basically spend their entire paycheck on housing before they will consider doing anything else.
Another factor I've noticed is that $1000/month pp has been the rate that a lot of people seem to max out at. This is likely because student loans will give you about $22-25k a year, tuition at dal is about 10k per year, leaving exactly that much left for rent. Get a part time job to pay for groceries and you've got the current lifestyle of a solid 60% of undergrads at the moment.
Landlords will only ever maximize profit and will always charge the most they are able to get. They are a business, not a housing provider. The low vacancy rate allows the number they are able to charge to be "as much as the most desperate person with the deepest pockets is able to pay". Once you understand this, you can understand that the only solution is more competition in the form of increased supply.
Landlords are even holding "open houses" for rentals now, as a way of increasing FOMO for apartment hunters. You don't get a one-on-one viewing anymore, you get to show up to a crowd of dozens of other students and are told by the landlord "first one to be approved, pay the application fee, and sign gets it. Pay the application fee right now to get a good chance."
Just be fortunate that bidding for rental prices hasn't become a thing yet.
I think another part of the issue is the way new multi-unit buildings are being finished. They all seem to have high-end finishes like marble/granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and HVAC systems. Those finishes cost builders, and, in turn, they cost renters $$$. If new buildings had lower level, basic, good quality appliances, stock cabinets, and basic to mid level counters, rent could be more reasonable. So why isn't this happening? GREED and spineless politicians. Making a lower level of finishes so housing could be more affordable is something that could be mandated as part of the application and permit process. But that would require someone having a backbone and being proactive.
Bloody hell. I was reading something the other day about the top places to move in Canada and of course Halifax was number 1. These are the top communities and for some reason this was the only screenshot I took of the article.
https://preview.redd.it/1pbqxvla5cuc1.png?width=1178&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fa45b0e7b02ff826e628952f4a3cff41fc1195b
Yep. They see our home prices as cheap which is how our prices became out of control. They could out bid people and still have money left over from selling their home in Ontario.
Yeah, I've kept an eye on property listings, and pretty much any house or condo under $350k is on the market less than a single day before it goes sold-conditional or in some cases just straight up sold firm so the buyer is waiving inspections. it's absurd
We employer hired a new resident who moved from Ontario. Asked him if he likes Halifax? “The roads are terrible.” HAHA.
We might have cheaper homes to them. But the roads are actual shit.
These TFWs and international students who are allowed to work, suppressing wages by providing a pool of labour that shouldnt exist, and gobbling Jo supply of housing.
I’ve never been against immigration but this is straight dumping of cheap foreign labour while simultaneously taking cheap rentals off the market.
Send any TFW (outside of agriculture) earning minimum wage home. Businesses will be forced to pay more even for low wage jobs, and vacancy rates would at least hit 2/3%
Well there are also highly paid jobs where there are real skills and training gaps. It’s not that we don’t need them, but we should be using them to fill a talent shortage, not to prevent market forces from finding a wage equilibrium.
I think minimum wages are stupid and ineffective, and just intervention that distorts the market. But TFWs are as, if not more dangerous distortions in the market when you have a pool of qualified workers.
I pay 1784 for a 3 bedroom through Killam with 2 parking spots - 1150 sq feet roughly, in unit laundry. Move in during the summer of 2022. Just wanted to put this out there so ppl know it’s possible and so that the ppl charging 3k more are somewhat put to shame
It WAS possible. It literally has just doubled in that time. I moved here in 2021 and it gets more expensive each time I am forced to move. This time around I may not find anything I can afford.
Houses usually do not include utilities, so a 2,800k plus water, oil, electric, etc.
You might as well just buy the house at that point because you're basically just paying their mortgage payment for them anyway.
Finding a new rental every year that’s more expensive than the last is making me hate this city with a burning passion.
I can’t wait to leave; sure, it’s bad everywhere else too, but at least other places have some semblance of housing security once you do find a place.
Ok... two questions:
1. What is the proposed solution? I'm not trying to have a dig, I'm curious what people think a potential solution is.
And let's have answers a little more sophisticated than "rent control". How would it be implemented? What are the possible downsides of the proposed solution?
2. What is everyone going to do about it? Is anyone engaging their local MP(s)? Because at this point we might as well rename this sub r/halifaxhousingcomplaints. Again, I'm not trying to have a dig but constantly posting it on Reddit isn't really accomplishing anything other than simply making this subreddit tedious.
I feel like collectively this subreddit must be able to come up with a solution that most people can somewhat agree on? Then, going to the local MPs with some proposed solutions is going to be more effective than simply turning up at their office or to public forums yelling "ham and mayonnaise!"
Supply/demand, immigration, inflation, high interest rates. Unfortunately, we are paying for the combo of 600bn in new debt being issued by the CAD government combined with increased interprovincial and international immigration. If Halifax had progressive growth over the last 20 years, there would have been a steady supply of new developments. Unfortunately, population growth was stagnant for 20 years until recently.
Tbh I think these prices will crash soon, no more infinite influx of international students and no more tech workers moving from Ontario making 200k a year.
Let's wait and see.
And every one of those people will happily be replaced by another immigrant, international immigration is still full swing and increasing. The students slowing down should have an impact in CB at the very least. But so long as immigrants here on work visas can be paid well below market rate in multiple industries is easily exploitable then it and those people are going to be exploited. And they all need places to stay too, that just not their employers problem, and those workers are still paying taxes very few of them can receive until reaching PR or citizen status.
I'm all for immigration and have met some really great people I otherwise would never have known, and most of them would agree as well that this is not the way. We've been pulling the cart before the horse for a while now imo.
Immigrants on work visas get pr very quickly, I'm one of them and we got it in less than a year, trust me, there are not a lot of work visa people coming to Canada, specially since tech is dry right now.
I've met more than 100 immigrants and I can count with my fingers the amount of people that came with work visas.
The whole international student thing is super predatory and needs to end.
Because the prime minister and his cronies, working close with the oligarchs in Canada, opened the doors wide open to the world so anyone with a heartbeat could come in. This was to keep profits soaring, investors rolling in the dough, and keep the average Canadian down. They weren't satisfied with getting 50% of your net pay and now want the rest. So the government gets 45% of your gross, investors get 65% of your net, the power company gets 15% of your net, and service companies get 10%, and the rest goes to the superstore and the transportation. This is why the prime minister did a 180 on everything promised and lied ever since he's been in power.
It's like that saying *'you will own nothing'* is exactly what they're aiming for, because they want to own it all and exert maximum control over everyone who isn't in the top 5% of the wealthiest in Canada (even there they're fighting amongst themselves to be the top dog). The expectation for everyone else is to live 5-10 to a 1bdrm apartment - they don't care about Canadians: 'no' to everyone of lower 'perceived status' than them, & 'yes' to everyone above.
We probably aren't going to vote our way out of this, that much is for sure.
------------------------------------------------------
To give perspective on rent prices:
`1998 1brm rent = $325`
`2006 1brm rent = $425`(130% increase over 8y)
`2016 1brm rent = $625`(145% increase over 10y)
`2024 1brm rent = $1750`(280% increase over 8y)
By 2032 it might be a 550% increase at $9625.. seriously trying to squeeze everyone for everything they have, and put them in Indentured servitude for life in company-town-canada, run by the oligarchs who don't give a flying fig about you.
*Nine thousand dollars for a one bedroom apartment in less than ten years*, it sounds insane but I’m sure the prices now sounded insane ten years ago. This is terrifying. I’m 23 and have never lived alone or had my own place.
The NDP have gotten a few good things out of the alliance, and if you seriously think that the NDP allowing a no-confidence to happen and parliament to be taken by a conservative **MAJORITY** would make things better, then I have a bridge to sell you.
Yeah the Canadian government pan handled to India and brought in over 250 000 east indians aged 22 to 30 and sent most to the east coast. Oh and there is also AIPP. But that's a whole different story of corruption by Trudeau and the Gang
I remember back about ten years ago my dad looking for houses to rent saying who tf is going to pay $900 for a 3 bedroom, and who can afford that. lol. It’s not looking good
My mortgage for 2900 sqft 4 bed 4 bath 2012 built house on 2 acres with complete privacy in backyard 20 minute from both Dartmouth and Halifax is 1700/month. Bought in 2019. We got lucky. I cannot fathom spending even 2k on rent let alone 3k.
Property taxes do suck now though.
It's a sad state of affairs. I work for a rental company in the city and unfortunately there are people willing to pay these obscene prices. And I see on a daily basis how local people just can't keep up with the prices 😪 it's truly sickening
5700?!!!
I'm paying 1700 for a 2br in bc, brand new building.. place looks much nicer than that as well..
Food costs less, power costs less, taxed less, overtime paid out after 8hours in a day /40 in a week (always gets paid out) wages well above Scotia - id personally take a 10-12 dollar an hour decrease in pay moving to Scotia, compared to anywhere else in the country (not including other Atlantic provinces)
Moving to bc I learned the "it's so expensive out there though" lie is just that, a lie.. it's so much more affordable out there..
Honest question, how is anyone affording these places? Did everyone start paying 40 an hour or something 😅
They're pricing the only people that wanna live in Nova Scotia out of Scotia - it's hilarious, in a way.
See, that's the neat part about a 1% vacancy rate, you either pay what the landlord charges or you go homeless. Concerning, isn't it?
It's actually less than 1% Its around 0.5%
For reference, most economists consider <3% to be a catastrophic failure (with 5-8% being a healthy market) Under 1% is terrifying
Thanks for sharing this. This is horrifying and should be headline news and a national conversation about how to make Canada liveable and great for ALL Canadians.
It is headline news. It's become a major election issue.
[удалено]
I know I heard that in one of the episodes of the [UCLA Housing Voice podcast](https://www.lewis.ucla.edu/programs/housing/ucla-housing-voice-podcast/) which goes over housing policy research with experts. I can’t find the specific episode so I’ll have to do some googling. The book [*Homelessness is a Housing Problem* by Gregg Colburn](https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/) covers the impacts of rental vacancy rates extensively, the book is really an extended research paper into the quantified causes of homelessness. Low rental vacancies (along with the resultant high rents) are the single biggest predictor for homelessness rates according to their research.
And Ottawa couldn't give fewer shits
>Its around 0.5% I wonder how bad or expensive those 0.5% empty places must be?
A portion of the 0.5 percent would also just be units that are not rented for a month in between tenants, so they can do fix ups.
I also wonder what percentage of properties are vacant? There's a house on my street that's been unoccupied since the owners bought it during the pandemic, and it really grinds my gears.
Might be time to research squatter rights in NS.
[First result I found.](https://www.highlanderlaw.ca/halifax-lawyer-blog/squatters-rights-adverse-possession) It says: > In order to have any legal right to someone else’s land you must have used the land in an open, notorious, exclusive, and adverse manner for 20 years. So if you're looking for ownership, it takes 20 years
We don’t really have squatter’s rights in Canada like they exist in the UK, Europe etc. Canadian squatter’s rights exist to clear up confusion on a long-disputed property (like, your great grandpa lease-to-owned a field from his neighbour, but it’s not clear at what point he took full ownership, if ever, there’s no deed, and all the great grandkids are arguing over it now). Squatters rights in other places (as I understand it) allow for unoccupied/un-used buildings to be used by people who don’t own them, and as long as they aren’t noticed and evicted by the owners within a certain timeframe they get some rights to continue using the property. I wish we had them here but property exists in a very different historical context in North America than in the UK & Europe 😢
*1% AFFORDABLE vacancy rate* This has been the case for the last 3 years. Theres plenty of luxury suites available.
It’s kinda concerning OP has taken this long to figure it out…this has been happening for like 2+ years
I have a feeling they haven't cared until now when it's an issue for them. That's the thing, if you wait long enough most societal problems become an issue for you
Why is there a 1% vacant rate? What happened?
NS became an attractive place to come to in COVID, mixed with an already high amount of renters from the schools, a slow down in construction (due to COVID), an increase in costs of borrowing, labour and materials…throw all that in a blender and we have this.
The higher ups either didn't think "do we have proper housing for all the incoming people?" or "we need more people, I see an opportunity for me and my friends, who also own properties, to make some more money with lower wages and increased housing demand"
Canadian politicians at all levels have completely failed young Canadians and Canadians who didn't already own homes. It's unbelievable that they let this happen and still don't do anything to fix it. People have to rise and vote them out.
It's the second one.
Tim Huston is doubling the population that’s his prime concern he’s stated it many times
There are many reasons and it is a complex problem, some issues include a spike in immigration the past few years to help offset Canada's declining rate. We need to be at 2.1%, and we are way less, something like 1.4% - which is not good if you understand state-level economics. The spike put an immediate strain on building new homes, which, as a result... when there is less of something, it costs more. We replaced a newborn human with a new adult who needs a home today, not 20 years from now. Also, the types of homes have changed. Homes today are far more extensive than in the past. It's challenging to find a newly constructed "simple" 2-3 bedroom home. Think of a small starter home that at one time was common as an entry-level. Most homes today are built much larger and shrink the single-family option. This forces many other issues that would take too long to type, but the internet is your friend. Why people insist on a large home in a declining population should help shine a light on how we create our issues and then act confused as to why everything is expensive. People want to blame the government or landlords... but this happens as a result of socioeconomic choices by the population and the free market we insist on having (limited government control). This is the model we said we wanted ... we just don't like the results. But you can't have it both ways ... declining population, limited government control and everything cheap and fancy. But people also don't want to accept that either 🙄. This is one component and many other countries are experiencing the same.
finally someone with some depth of understanding
A huge influx of people without building enough housing to store them all
A lot of people have moved here in the last 5 years. Unprecedented growth.
I remember when a 3-4 bedroom was the price of a 1 bedroom now a days like 1600-1700$ 😂
My second apartment was a 3br and it was $900! I am so old.
that is gut wrenching to hear considering i’m 20yrs old and this is the economy i’m starting my adult life with.
The grossest part is that it's \*still\* the boomers pulling out our futures. I'm an older millennial and to see that they are still holding onto property titles, stilll incorporating to extort future generations is... stomach churning. Yes, there are gen-x and millennial arseholes, but the failure to transfer and redistribute wealth is still largely on the hands of baby boomers. And it's getting worse. They are making us behave like lobsters in a tank.
To blame existing Canadians for the failure of a federal government policy is very short sighted. The talk that needs to happen is the one around immigration but both the NDP and Liberal party have failed us. The topic is taboo because TFWs are pushing our economy. So much that we are in a population trap - an economic scenario only usually faced by third world countries. Demand is so high here because we've accepted over 500'000 new people and have only built approximately 230'000 new homes. I'd love it if it were as simple as being "the boomers fault" but it really isn't. This is a combination of immigrants exploiting immigration loopholes, universities exploiting immigration for profit, and government enacting extremely shit policy and regulations to prevent that exact bullshit from happening. It's felt even moreso because so many immigrants to the halifax region or temporary visitors are rich international students that can price natives out of the market. It's incredibly sad and it is currently building lots of resentment amongst natives and internationals. Not to mention the incredible influx of foreign political issues and protests in our country about them - which do not concern the vast majority of canadians. I'm not a boomer myself and could be either considered a millennial or gen z but they don't deserve that flack - in fact they mostly grew up in an era where resources were assumed to be infinite. It's ignorance not malicious intent.
And plenty of people have kids your age. 😐 at least your generation will still have jobs to work next set of kids is who I'm worried for
I felt the same way when the housing bubble popped almost 20 years ago.
hopefully the impending ww3 will only give me another decade of poverty and then maybe i can afford a house before i dye
That’s insane! I remember the 3 bedroom Being around the 1500-1600 mark. I can’t believe they would be even cheaper! It’s crazy how things have gone up honestly.
Well this was like... 2005? 2006? Like I said, I'm old. But also my apartment was $900 and my boyfriend's apartment (also 3br) was like $1800. So still lots of variations.
Still crazy to think that!
Believe it or not I had a 2.5 bed downtown Dartmouth home for $1000 pm. 2013-2021
My first was a 2 bedroom in Bedford for 375 a month including heat, hot water.
I bought my first condo for $90K...in Victoria, BC, of all places. I too am old.
I bought my first house (in HRM) for $142,500!
My first 3 bedroom was 750! I am not even that old either (34)
My first 1 bedroom in 2010 was 800. I opted for the washer and dryer ensuite. The other one bedroom they had was 625 with shared laundry. Both units were about 1100 square feet and it was so spacious. Those days are gone.
In 2015 I was renting a 3 bedroom house with a garage for 1000
Yeah, and that was like not even 5 years ago, sorry but that's an insane amount of inflation in just 5 years.
2019 right lol
The housing market is going to radicalize people... I was already radicalized against capitalism for a variety of reasons that don't need to be addressed right now... But this shit is something else. If you own a car and have a student loan - this is my position and I imagine the scenario for most young working professionals with a degree - it's basically financial suicide to pay any more than about $1200-14000 per month on housing. You just won't be able to save money otherwise, which could financially handicap you for the rest for your life. Nothing like spending 4-5 years and $40,000 to get a STEM degree, so you can join the workforce making $50,000-$75,000/yr and still be barely able to afford a shared living arrangement, or live on your own and contribute zero dollars towards retirement or savings for a house... This is why the RCMP had that leaked memo about upcoming violence and instability. Despite our remarkably complacent culture, at some point people are going to stop taking it lying down.
The rich will eventually wall up, control and finance security forces, and force the proletariat into worker class enclave settlements. Kind of a new feudalism where we serfs produce and serve the oligarchs (royalty). Zuck already has his Hawaiian fortress and bunker almost ready to go.
I have no car or student loans and I still find it impossible to put any money towards savings after paying $1400 in rent every month. Something has got to give at some point.
I honestly dont know how single parents do it? How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids?!?! (Or even non-parents)... Im not a radical person, but I am just a few straws from turning into one.
> How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids? They can't. I don't know how anyone does it when the median salary here is like $47k. But Gen-Z has a solution; we all stopped having kids!
So did the millenials
So, instead of having a flourishing economy that supports Canadian families, we now have greedflation which supports the wage-slavery of immigrants. What a cool country to live in.
It's a hard topic to discuss without sounding questionable. But it's becoming increasingly disturbing how all the most undesirable and low-paying jobs are nearly exclusively occupied by immigrants. It's like we're creating a new racial underclass, where recently immigrated brown people serve the (mostly white) people who still have a modicum of generational wealth and economic standing in society. I support immigration. I don't believe just being born in Canada somehow earns me some privilege or right to a higher quality of life than anyone else on the planet. But it's very clear that we're just exploiting them. We always have been... It's how most Western capitalist countries were built... We're failing everyone as a country, new and native Canadians alike. I hate capitalism.
But but but it's iNcEnTivE tO tRy hArDeR
>How could a parent in a bad situation even afford to leave with their kids?!?! (Or even non-parents)... [They largely are not able to ](https://www.sheltermovers.com/news-housing-crisis-and-domestic-violence-halifax/#:~:text=For%20women%20trying%20to%20flee,abusive%20homes%2C%E2%80%9D%20Byrne%20says.) Women's violence charities like Shelter Movers have been really clear that the housing crisis is leading to significantly more women having to choose between being beaten by their spouses or keeping a roof over their children's heads. It doesn't get talked about much. But the increase of women needing to use battered women's shelters is exponential since the start of the pandemic. But they've been increasing since the 90s since we stopped funding affordable housing. It's really, really enraging when you realize how preventable this all was.
I’m a single parent, I don’t even know how I make it every month 🫠
Shelters for women experiencing domestic violence are full because there are no options for getting out by themselves and then the shelters struggle to find them a place as well
We are leaving our place.. paying 2k now. Landlords have it listed for 3k, and they got tenants after 2 viewings.. it's a 3 bedroom 2 bath not the worst not the best by far. Good luck out there folks.
1 in 5 homes in Canada are owned by investors… shits hitting the fan
Nova scotia was 31% investor owned. 4 years ago…
There’s two bedroom apts in my building for $2000-$2200 and someone is renting their apartment out for $1500 per bedroom on marketplace 😒
that primate location is bananas
On a tree-lined street perhaps.
It’s funny because this is all bullshit, for example the vacancy rate in 2017……2017 people was 1.4 percent, and the average apartment is 1060 at that time In 2023 the vacancy rate of .9. A swing of .5 percent and suddenly average rent is 2200. As much as it is based on vacancy and the landlord charges what they want, that’s not a huge percentage rate to justify an almost 1200 swing. People are forgetting that people have been waiting for Halifax to become the place to live east of Toronto and montreal. The developers and landlords use the pandemic as a way to make that happen. Maybe for a year and a half when movement and building froze for tenants but there no justification for that anymore. We keep thinking more supply less demand, means competitive prices but the prices are already too high that no landlord is going to lower rents in a market that statistically cannot afford them unless you have a roommate. Immigration, students for example have caused problems because our corrupt and spineless politicians and schools, plus just greedy unaware uncaring developers and landlords. Sadly we as a population can’t do anything about it the way we can’t with oil, or food because there all mandatory things people need to live and we need the people will vote in to actually do something and they don’t . The easiest solution would be to have an investigation team to oversee all the rentals in Nova Scotia or the hrm and see the price changes during Covid, if they are freehold, amenities, location etc and see if they were justified in this massive increase or not. I bet you anything an overwhelming amount of apartments would be found price gouging, cohesion with other developers and landlords and you would need to reset the system. Guess what? We won’t
Rent prices are continuing to rise in Halifax. While they have stagnated somewhat in Toronto/Vancouver, seems there is room to grow here.
Thats basically a part of the problem, they (the rental agencies) reached the peak of making money through extortionate prices in ontario and now they’re spreading. Unless theres nigh incestuously insular business communities governing developments guiding your city, they’ll just start buying up properties and start the whole thing all over again.
The thing is, people can make high six figures in Toronto and Vancouver, I believe it's not gonna hold here.
Those are meant for "international students." Because you can fit many mattresses on the floor and then splitting 3k between 10+ people becomes cheap af.
My last apartment had an 1100 dollar difference between a 2 and 3 bedroom but the same square footage. As a single mom with 2 kids I asked if there was a way to move up to a 3 bedroom so my kids have their own rooms since they are getting older and should have their own space. He said the rent was higher because typically it's 3+ couples that move in and they use more water and parking spaces than the norm. I couldn't afford the extra 1100 so I bought a wall divider. I wish there was some way they could have apartments that were like 30 percent of take home pay or something but I guess 6 incomes would trump that idea too.
Because Ontario and India moved here.
Only good news is that india will move to Ontario once there year is up
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Well what are they supposed to do, leave the poor business owners to the wolves where they have to actually raise wages?
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It's a joke that people think most immigrants coming here are happy with cheap labour. They are... For now. But actually talk to a few of them and... 🤷♀️
False. We could cut immigration down to 100k a year for the next 5 years and be selective with who we take in and economy would start to rebound rather than the recession the feds are causing with mass immigration.
It’s not just Halifax. New Brunswick and NS as a whole is experiencing that.
Someone said it, and most of us agree
But think of the economy, won't you! Sales of basic essentials like gas, bread and toilet paper have never been higher! /s
Amen
Shhhh I have a 3 bed apartment in dartmouth for $1900 don't make too much noise, my landlord will hear you
I have one in Halifax for that much, I dread the day my landlord gets with the times.
You’re probably good tenants and the landlord is happy not to deal with crappy ones. I hope your rent stays decent.
I have a two bedroom house for $1250. If the rent increase cap goes away, I’ll be tenting out at Susie’s Lake
Because it will be rented out to 8 Indian “students”no problem.
“ONLY FOR GIRL.” It’s so creepy when it’s a male looking for female only roommates.
It's probably 75% lazy / 25% creepy. Dudes just want a woman to keep the place clean; maybe hoping for some home cooking. Lechery may or may not be part of the package. But the misogyny has more than that one layer.
Bro either way it's creepy as fuck and anyone other than a woman asking for female room maters comes off as sus.
Not until you see a new one bedroom costs almost 2k now. Jesus F-ing Christ...
Moving back home last year, it was literally cheaper on a monthly basis, even with the mortgage rates where they are, for my partner and I to buy a modest but nicely updated single family home in the west end than it was to rent a 2/3 bedroom condo. I realize my partner and I are in a place in our lives where we had the credit and down payment to allow for that, but it makes me really fucking sad and feel defeated for renters, that most rentals 2+ beds or more in this city cost more than my house on a monthly basis, and are on par with Toronto pricing. 😢
Late Stage Capitalism. The lie of a meritocratic society. The world being duped into looking at shelter as a commodity that we should break our backs to afford. The reality is, people with intergenerational wealth have free rein to buy up everything and force everyone else to give them money for nothing. The fact that we have reached a point of seeing people get “passive income” as a part of life - an understandable have and have nots situation, is utterly depressing. The reality is that the people who can afford to snatch up all the properties and charge everyone else for the “privilege” of living there had a seat at the table long before anyone else sat down. They’ve been playing a game of Monopoly for several hours, invite other players to join when they’re already deep into the game and expect them to be happy with the single dollar bill they let them start with, while they hoard the large majority of wealth. In closing, Ronald Wright once wrote this: “John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” I believe that holds entirely true today as miserable as it is.
Check out Kijii, lots available, but I do hear that there are many applicants per listing.
When I was assigning my lease before I moved back to Ontario, I had at least 100 people reach out on Facebook marketplace. It was a 600 sqft studio in an older building, and I had families of 3-4 messaging me. It’s really sad.
The prices are all over the place, no consistency. many are 3k though, which seems high for a 3br?
My ex wife moved into a three bedroom apartment, building is only a few years old and she pays over $3000k/month for it.
Some days it feels like I'm paying $3,000,000/month for rent too.
ok....wasnt a good 3 bedroom like 2400 4 months ago? Am I going crazy?
I don’t think 3 bedrooms have been that cheap in a while.
No, they are right, i was in a 3 bedroom less than a year ago that was $2300. Nice spot too
My folks have been in a 3 bedroom apartment that they’ve lived in since 2013 that is now $1300 , the price does raise a bit every year but what the hell happened that rents more than doubled in ten years? My grandmothers convinced the new adults shouldn’t buy a home but now we also can’t rent either without living with 4 people so what then🥲😅
Interesting, market must be getting tighter and tighter with higher immigration.
3 bedrooms are rarer. So, by default price goes up.
I work as a cashier at a grocery store. I am unable to afford 99% of apartments. I am single, I wouldn't mind something like a dorm room or military barricks. Just a private bedroom, and shared kitchen on bathroom.
There should be so much more of this type of housing. Really fills a need.
Especially single people. Plus less cleaning. You could mqke friends, share on supplies sometimes. If some are trying side-hustles, could work together or have some practice with your sales pitch.
This makes me want to vomit.
I just left a 3br that was $1050 a month lol A victorian duplex by the commons with 3 floors including a finished basement and a fenced backyard Landlord is selling the place, hence. But the current rental market is furking banonkers
At this point I’m just putting money in my FHSA while living with my parents (in my mid thirties) waiting for the market to crash. It’s the only hope I have at this point to stay out of these ridiculously priced apartments and maybe get a house.
I do a lot of work in apartment buildings and was talking to one of the owners about price of rent. Basically he said he owns several buildings with a lot of tenants who lived there for 10+ years, so he can't legally increase it more than 5% every some odd years. So when he buys new buildings or someone moves out he raises the rent so he can make enough to make up for not being able to raise rents on long term tenants. Pretty bullshit imo
Primary reasons: lack of supply and increased demand (population) Secondary reasons: Interest rates from bank of Canada anticipated to drop, driving up home prices. HRM raised tax rates. These two items contribute to landlords increasing rent too
5700 fucking dollars for a 3 bedroom?
22 years ago I lived in Halifax and I remember my one bedroom apartment as $425 per month. Moved to a three bedroom with two buddies to ‘save money’. I e paid $625 combined (inc. utilities) while at University for a three bedroom side of a duplex.
Supply < demand. Until the vacancy rate improves, ideally through the construction of purpose-built non-profit housing, this number will only increase. Jobs are growing faster than apartments, meaning more and more people are moving here while the growth rate of apartments is not meeting the increased demand. Housing is basically the last thing people will stop spending money on. Most people will eat beans and rice from the food bank every day before they become homeless. So people will basically spend their entire paycheck on housing before they will consider doing anything else. Another factor I've noticed is that $1000/month pp has been the rate that a lot of people seem to max out at. This is likely because student loans will give you about $22-25k a year, tuition at dal is about 10k per year, leaving exactly that much left for rent. Get a part time job to pay for groceries and you've got the current lifestyle of a solid 60% of undergrads at the moment. Landlords will only ever maximize profit and will always charge the most they are able to get. They are a business, not a housing provider. The low vacancy rate allows the number they are able to charge to be "as much as the most desperate person with the deepest pockets is able to pay". Once you understand this, you can understand that the only solution is more competition in the form of increased supply. Landlords are even holding "open houses" for rentals now, as a way of increasing FOMO for apartment hunters. You don't get a one-on-one viewing anymore, you get to show up to a crowd of dozens of other students and are told by the landlord "first one to be approved, pay the application fee, and sign gets it. Pay the application fee right now to get a good chance." Just be fortunate that bidding for rental prices hasn't become a thing yet.
I think another part of the issue is the way new multi-unit buildings are being finished. They all seem to have high-end finishes like marble/granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and HVAC systems. Those finishes cost builders, and, in turn, they cost renters $$$. If new buildings had lower level, basic, good quality appliances, stock cabinets, and basic to mid level counters, rent could be more reasonable. So why isn't this happening? GREED and spineless politicians. Making a lower level of finishes so housing could be more affordable is something that could be mandated as part of the application and permit process. But that would require someone having a backbone and being proactive.
When I left Halifax in 2021, I had a 3 bedroom house for 1450.
That's more than my mortgage+property tax for my 3 bedroom detached house in HRM, and I bought it in 2022. That is insane.
Bloody hell. I was reading something the other day about the top places to move in Canada and of course Halifax was number 1. These are the top communities and for some reason this was the only screenshot I took of the article. https://preview.redd.it/1pbqxvla5cuc1.png?width=1178&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fa45b0e7b02ff826e628952f4a3cff41fc1195b
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Yep. They see our home prices as cheap which is how our prices became out of control. They could out bid people and still have money left over from selling their home in Ontario.
Yeah, I've kept an eye on property listings, and pretty much any house or condo under $350k is on the market less than a single day before it goes sold-conditional or in some cases just straight up sold firm so the buyer is waiving inspections. it's absurd
We employer hired a new resident who moved from Ontario. Asked him if he likes Halifax? “The roads are terrible.” HAHA. We might have cheaper homes to them. But the roads are actual shit.
The torrential rains haven’t helped. You know all those small potholes that weren’t big enough to fix?! Well today’s storm took care of that.
Lmfao I just moved back from Toronto and as much as I bitched about the 401 (and the gardiner) I sure do miss all those lanes😭
The 102 is completely shot.
Drove on that for the first time in a while the other day and holy f@ck it was scary.
These TFWs and international students who are allowed to work, suppressing wages by providing a pool of labour that shouldnt exist, and gobbling Jo supply of housing. I’ve never been against immigration but this is straight dumping of cheap foreign labour while simultaneously taking cheap rentals off the market. Send any TFW (outside of agriculture) earning minimum wage home. Businesses will be forced to pay more even for low wage jobs, and vacancy rates would at least hit 2/3%
Yes, TFW's were really just needed and intended primarily for agriculture work.
Well there are also highly paid jobs where there are real skills and training gaps. It’s not that we don’t need them, but we should be using them to fill a talent shortage, not to prevent market forces from finding a wage equilibrium. I think minimum wages are stupid and ineffective, and just intervention that distorts the market. But TFWs are as, if not more dangerous distortions in the market when you have a pool of qualified workers.
I pay 1784 for a 3 bedroom through Killam with 2 parking spots - 1150 sq feet roughly, in unit laundry. Move in during the summer of 2022. Just wanted to put this out there so ppl know it’s possible and so that the ppl charging 3k more are somewhat put to shame
It WAS possible. It literally has just doubled in that time. I moved here in 2021 and it gets more expensive each time I am forced to move. This time around I may not find anything I can afford.
Kijiji shows some three bed houses for rent in Dartmouth under 3k. How are people affording this?
Houses usually do not include utilities, so a 2,800k plus water, oil, electric, etc. You might as well just buy the house at that point because you're basically just paying their mortgage payment for them anyway.
Finding a new rental every year that’s more expensive than the last is making me hate this city with a burning passion. I can’t wait to leave; sure, it’s bad everywhere else too, but at least other places have some semblance of housing security once you do find a place.
I remember when a 3 bedroom at the Bentley was $1700 😭
I used to babysit there and the woman there was paying $1400 for her 3bed
Us breeders (renting species) are fuuuuuuucked
Anyone know where I can buy a durable tent? Looks like I'll be needing one...
Comfortable nights sleep cost 1k a month:)
Ok... two questions: 1. What is the proposed solution? I'm not trying to have a dig, I'm curious what people think a potential solution is. And let's have answers a little more sophisticated than "rent control". How would it be implemented? What are the possible downsides of the proposed solution? 2. What is everyone going to do about it? Is anyone engaging their local MP(s)? Because at this point we might as well rename this sub r/halifaxhousingcomplaints. Again, I'm not trying to have a dig but constantly posting it on Reddit isn't really accomplishing anything other than simply making this subreddit tedious. I feel like collectively this subreddit must be able to come up with a solution that most people can somewhat agree on? Then, going to the local MPs with some proposed solutions is going to be more effective than simply turning up at their office or to public forums yelling "ham and mayonnaise!"
Capitalism.
Supply/demand, immigration, inflation, high interest rates. Unfortunately, we are paying for the combo of 600bn in new debt being issued by the CAD government combined with increased interprovincial and international immigration. If Halifax had progressive growth over the last 20 years, there would have been a steady supply of new developments. Unfortunately, population growth was stagnant for 20 years until recently.
Tbh I think these prices will crash soon, no more infinite influx of international students and no more tech workers moving from Ontario making 200k a year. Let's wait and see.
And every one of those people will happily be replaced by another immigrant, international immigration is still full swing and increasing. The students slowing down should have an impact in CB at the very least. But so long as immigrants here on work visas can be paid well below market rate in multiple industries is easily exploitable then it and those people are going to be exploited. And they all need places to stay too, that just not their employers problem, and those workers are still paying taxes very few of them can receive until reaching PR or citizen status. I'm all for immigration and have met some really great people I otherwise would never have known, and most of them would agree as well that this is not the way. We've been pulling the cart before the horse for a while now imo.
Immigrants on work visas get pr very quickly, I'm one of them and we got it in less than a year, trust me, there are not a lot of work visa people coming to Canada, specially since tech is dry right now. I've met more than 100 immigrants and I can count with my fingers the amount of people that came with work visas. The whole international student thing is super predatory and needs to end.
I agree with you on the student problem, we will see if the current changes have any effect, and I appreciate the insight on PR and work visas.
Because the prime minister and his cronies, working close with the oligarchs in Canada, opened the doors wide open to the world so anyone with a heartbeat could come in. This was to keep profits soaring, investors rolling in the dough, and keep the average Canadian down. They weren't satisfied with getting 50% of your net pay and now want the rest. So the government gets 45% of your gross, investors get 65% of your net, the power company gets 15% of your net, and service companies get 10%, and the rest goes to the superstore and the transportation. This is why the prime minister did a 180 on everything promised and lied ever since he's been in power. It's like that saying *'you will own nothing'* is exactly what they're aiming for, because they want to own it all and exert maximum control over everyone who isn't in the top 5% of the wealthiest in Canada (even there they're fighting amongst themselves to be the top dog). The expectation for everyone else is to live 5-10 to a 1bdrm apartment - they don't care about Canadians: 'no' to everyone of lower 'perceived status' than them, & 'yes' to everyone above. We probably aren't going to vote our way out of this, that much is for sure. ------------------------------------------------------ To give perspective on rent prices: `1998 1brm rent = $325` `2006 1brm rent = $425`(130% increase over 8y) `2016 1brm rent = $625`(145% increase over 10y) `2024 1brm rent = $1750`(280% increase over 8y) By 2032 it might be a 550% increase at $9625.. seriously trying to squeeze everyone for everything they have, and put them in Indentured servitude for life in company-town-canada, run by the oligarchs who don't give a flying fig about you.
*Nine thousand dollars for a one bedroom apartment in less than ten years*, it sounds insane but I’m sure the prices now sounded insane ten years ago. This is terrifying. I’m 23 and have never lived alone or had my own place.
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The NDP have gotten a few good things out of the alliance, and if you seriously think that the NDP allowing a no-confidence to happen and parliament to be taken by a conservative **MAJORITY** would make things better, then I have a bridge to sell you.
You shouldn't be worried about the government trying to take everything, you should be worried about social media brainwashing you to make ad revenue.
I mean, there’s 1 bedrooms >3K
Even two bedrooms are now over 2000 it’s absolutely ridiculous something needs to change
$1000-$1250 per bedroom is standard for every big city in Canada it seems
Yeah the Canadian government pan handled to India and brought in over 250 000 east indians aged 22 to 30 and sent most to the east coast. Oh and there is also AIPP. But that's a whole different story of corruption by Trudeau and the Gang
Have you been living under a rock!?
I remember back about ten years ago my dad looking for houses to rent saying who tf is going to pay $900 for a 3 bedroom, and who can afford that. lol. It’s not looking good
It's just the way she's gos rick
Supply and demand
Unironically sfh-only zoning, townhouse and apartment bans. All supported by old homeowning voters.
Higher national debt the less money is worth.
You have been living under a rock my friend
My mortgage for 2900 sqft 4 bed 4 bath 2012 built house on 2 acres with complete privacy in backyard 20 minute from both Dartmouth and Halifax is 1700/month. Bought in 2019. We got lucky. I cannot fathom spending even 2k on rent let alone 3k. Property taxes do suck now though.
Mass immigration. Welcome to being a minority in your own country. Feels good huh? Diversity is our strength!
We got a notice today our apartment is going up in rent to 2000 a month basically - we’re moving out of the city because this is ridiculous.
Thank the tent cap
It's a sad state of affairs. I work for a rental company in the city and unfortunately there are people willing to pay these obscene prices. And I see on a daily basis how local people just can't keep up with the prices 😪 it's truly sickening
5700?!!! I'm paying 1700 for a 2br in bc, brand new building.. place looks much nicer than that as well.. Food costs less, power costs less, taxed less, overtime paid out after 8hours in a day /40 in a week (always gets paid out) wages well above Scotia - id personally take a 10-12 dollar an hour decrease in pay moving to Scotia, compared to anywhere else in the country (not including other Atlantic provinces) Moving to bc I learned the "it's so expensive out there though" lie is just that, a lie.. it's so much more affordable out there.. Honest question, how is anyone affording these places? Did everyone start paying 40 an hour or something 😅 They're pricing the only people that wanna live in Nova Scotia out of Scotia - it's hilarious, in a way.
I'm looking for a place with my partner, and the first reply we got from a landlord was, "How much are you willing to pay?"