It is very far from the hospital in the city center where they work in domestic service. But they are priced outside the real estate market in the city. This house – on separate levels with four bedrooms – costs just under $ 330,000. They are at the wheel, financially, although the couple knows from experience that they will sell much more than that.
“I hope that’s it,” Corala said as his wife laughed. He estimates that they have inspected more than 150 homes in the last two years and have bid on more than a dozen – just to surpass each time.
“Sometimes it’s so frustrating, I think, for example, we have to wait a while before looking for homes again for prices to fall again.”
CBC News: The House 11:10 Fenced with white pickets from home ownership
In a special episode from Halifax, The House hears from homeowners and realtors about the challenge they face in navigating a tight home market and the problems with unaffordable pricing. 11:10
But waiting is not really an option for the couple, who arrived as refugees from Nepal in 2011. They now have two children aged 12 and 8.
They want a house. A yard. And they do not give up even though house prices in the Halifax area are among the fastest growing in the country.
“We did not have a house back in the country,” Koirala said. “Coming here, we want to have a home. To feel what it is like to have a home of our own. This is what makes us look for one.”
“It’s a dream,” Mainali told CBC in an interview with a special edition of The House aired this weekend on Halifax.
Canada’s largest city in the Atlantic is home to one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that the price of a typical home in the Halifax area jumped to $ 465,100 in February – up 33.5 percent from just a year earlier.
The vacancy rate for rental units is around 1 percent.
“I tell everyone this is not sustainable”: Halifax Broker
Angela Cowan is the broker who works with the couple. He said he has not seen such a purchase since he entered the business 17 years ago.
Cowan said there are more people who want to buy than there are homes for sale. Out-of-country shoppers – seeing relatively good prices in Nova Scotia as an investment opportunity – are raising prices by placing bids well above the asking price in places they have only seen online.
“I tell everyone this is not sustainable. This is the issue, it just is not sustainable,” she said in an interview with The House, which features a steady stream of incoming messages and calls on her mobile phone.
Realtor Angela Cowan meets clients to tour a home in Halifax. (Jennifer Chevalier / CBC)
“Well something has to be done. Something has to be given somewhere. Interest rates are even going up. Something has to happen.”
The situation in Halifax is far from unique. Lack of affordable housing, bidding wars leading to record sales prices, landlords evicting tenants to renovate and then increasing rents – these are things that are being felt across the country.
Suzy Hansen is the New Democrat MLA for Halifax Needham, a ride to the north end of town. It is a diverse community where aging high-rise apartments compete with modern condominiums starting at $ 400,000, he said.
We met her in a small field next to an abandoned school. From there, you can see the port, a housing association and new construction.
Suzy Hansen is the NDP MP for Halifax Needham and the housing critic of the opposition party. (Jennifer Chevalier / CBC)
Hansen, who has seven children, is still a tenant. Even with an MLA salary, he said he could not afford to buy in the part of the city where he grew up.
I mean, a house that was, let’s just say, three blocks up here on Maynard Street, sold ten years ago for $ 249,000 – which at the time (was) not possible for someone living in this community . ” he said. “It now sells for $ 549,000. Two bedrooms.
“And when we talk about gentrification, it’s nice to see new families and, you know, it enriches us. But at the same time, it takes away opportunities [for] those who live here “.
Big promises of the federal budget
These housing pressures do not go unnoticed.
Last week, the federal budget allocated $ 10 billion for various housing initiatives – including $ 4 billion to work with municipalities to build 100,000 homes over the next five years and another $ 1.5 billion to accelerate the construction of another $ 6,000.
First-time homebuyers also get a nod, with tax breaks to help them save money on a down payment.
The Nova Scotia government is also raising money for housing development, and last month’s provincial budget imposed a special tax on those buyers outside the province – especially from Ontario – who see housing in Atlantic Canada as an investment rather than a place to stay.
“It’s very important for us as a government to address this,” said John Lohr, the county’s minister of municipal affairs and housing. “We know that nothing we do is the solution. We hope that all these programs and all the things we have put together will make a difference.”
But there is no guarantee that the money raised from these contributions to buyers outside the countryside will go specifically to housing, Lohr said. The money will go to general revenue instead – although the minister said estimates put Khalifax in need of an additional 17,000 to 25,000 homes.
And that is a problem. The population of Nova Scotia has just exceeded one million and, for the first time in years, more young people have moved to the countryside than left.
CBC News: The House11: 09The ghost of “renewal”
Following the end of the “renovation” ban in Nova Scotia, some, including Adele Martell, faced the prospect of being forced to leave their rental homes. She shares her story, and the Nova Scotia NDP MLA and housing critic Susie Hansen discuss her party’s approach to the housing crisis. 11:09
Thus, the lack of affordable housing and these rapid rents are not points of sale for this or any other province.
“You know, access to safe, affordable housing is vital if we can continue to be the destination of the best and brightest in the world. And Nova Scotia is no exception,” said Federal Housing Minister Ahmed. Hussein, citing housing budget initiatives.
“There is a lot of work out there, but the work has not been done on a budget. We continue to ensure that we talk to experts, follow the facts and promote policies that address this issue as a whole, not in fragments.”
Back at Timberlea, Lachi Mainali and Lachsman Koirala are not waiting for what he can offer or future budgets. They have passed by the house and are making another offer.
“We can only offer what we can offer, right? So we follow that rule as long as we like the house we offer,” Koirala said. “If … they both like the house, then we make an offer that is the highest we can offer.”
They hope that, this time, the result will finally be a home of their own.