Rising Costs Push Nova Scotia First-Time Buyers Toward Multi-Generational Living
Faced with high housing prices and climbing interest rates in Nova Scotia, first-time homebuyers like Sarah Head and Mathew Archibald are turning to multi-generational living. Polling shows nearly half of Atlantic Canadians would consider the arrangement, with many viewing it as a necessity.
Sarah Head and Mathew Archibald began house hunting roughly four years ago, but intensified their search after expecting their first child. During that process, Archibald recalls looking at a mobile home priced at nearly $400,000. Unable to find an affordable option in Halifax, where the median price of a single-family dwelling reached $598,300 according to Royal LePage Atlantic, the couple ultimately chose to live in a multi-generational home with Archibald’s parents in Beaver Bank to save costs.
To make the arrangement work, Head and Archibald took out a loan to renovate the parents' basement into an in-law suite. The two households will share bills to offset costs, a setup that also provides added benefits such as child care support.
Their experience reflects broader pressures across the local real estate market. Matt Honsberger, president of Royal LePage Atlantic, noted that five-year fixed mortgage interest rates have risen from 1.7 per cent four or five years ago to pushing up towards five per cent. Royal LePage Atlantic also reported that the median price of a single-family detached home in Halifax increased just 0.1 per cent year over year. Despite the minimal recent price growth, existing homeowners in starter or mid-sized homes are waiting to move, which blocks first-time homebuyers from accessing cheaper options.
High interest rates and housing prices are forcing buyers to adopt alternative strategies such as multi-generational living, buying with parents, or purchasing properties with tenants. Recent polling from RBC indicates that 45 per cent of Atlantic Canadians would consider living in a multi-generational home. Roughly 34 per cent of respondents in the RBC poll said multi-generational living feels like a necessity versus a choice.