Halifax: canada's new hotspot?

Halifax could be Canada's new property hotspot, according to TheMoveChannel.com's new research. The portal's latest At a Glance infographic, which compares the country's housing market in the 12 months to September 2015 to the same period two years ago, highlights a surge in searches and enquiries for the area.

Toronto remains the most sought-after destination in Canada, accounting for over one in five (22.72 per cent) searches by location. Indeed, the city is leading the country's property market growth, with strong demand from both domestic and international buyers driving up prices far quicker than in other cities.

Toronto's share of searches, though, has declined from 36.2 per cent in the year to September 2013, as buyers begin to look elsewhere. Indeed, interest has risen in both Ottawa and Calgary, with 8.57 per cent (up from 3.5) and 6.34 per cent (up from 4.9) of searches for Canadian property on TheMoveChannel.com respectively.

Halifax, though, enjoyed one of the biggest surges in popularity, attracting 4.95 per cent of searches, up from just 0.7 per cent two years ago.

The city in Nova Scotia appears to be attracting serious buyers as well as casual browsers: Nova Scotia, home to Halifax, now accounts for three quarters of enquiries for Canadian property on TheMoveChannel.com, up from 62.49 per cent in 2013.

Toronto, though, remains a key driver of activity. Together with Ottawa, the city helped Ontario overtake Quebec to become the second most popular region in the country: Ontario now accounts for 15.98 per cent of enquiries, up from 9.48 per cent, while Quebec's share of activity fell from 9.48 per cent to 1.87 per cent.

The At a Glance infographic also charts buyer behaviour on Google, with "houses for sale in Canada" remaining the most commonly used keyword by house-hunters. Searches, though, were down overall for Canadian property, with interest only notably rising in "apartments for sale in Canada".

TheMoveChannel.com Director Dan Johnson comments: "Canada, once a hub for high-end investors from China, closed its investor immigration scheme last year, following extremely high demand. But the country has seen interest from other nationalities climb in the past year, frequently appearing in TheMoveChannel.com's top 10 most popular destinations.

"A large portion of those rising interest appears to be targeted at Halifax, fuelled by its potential for both price growth and demand. Indeed, more than $36 billion dollars worth of development is currently underway in the province, according to development specialists Landcorp, with major projects expected to create thousands of new jobs in the coming years. As a result of this population growth, demand and, therefore, house prices are likely to increase, making the area extremely attractive to investors, particularly when compared to the expensive nature of Toronto."