An Open Conversation About the Halifax Housing Crisis

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Күн бұрын

In this video, local Halifax REALTOR®, Andrew from Team Stephens/EXIT Realty Metro and Eric from The Bridge Hotel Shelter Program have an open conversation about the Halifax housing crisis. This video is designed to create awareness surrounding the current housing issues that we're dealing with across not only HRM, but all of Nova Scotia.
#halifaxhousingcrisis #novascotiahousingcrisis #canadianhousingcrisis
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I help people buy and sell real estate in the Halifax / Dartmouth area in Nova Scotia, Canada. I specialize in listing homes, working with investors and helping first time home buyers.
If you’re looking for an open and transparent experience with regards to buying and selling real estate, then I am the perfect fit for you.
🗓 Book a call/meeting with Andrew - calendly.com/teamstephens
SOURCE OF INTRO STATISTICS:
1, 2 & 3 - NS 5 year housing plan
4 - Statistics Canada
5 & 6 - Fraser Institute
Opening Drone Shot - Jakes Escapes Media - www.jakesescapesmedia.com/hal...
**The opinions expressed herein are solely that of Andrew Stephens, not EXIT Realty or the NSAR and should not be misconstrued as advice or the basis of an agency relationship whatsoever. Please consult your professional advisor prior to taking action on any decisions relating to the matters discussed in these videos. This communication is not intended to solicit buyers and sellers currently under an agency agreement. This is not financial advice.
0:00 Intro
1:18 The Bridge Shelter
5:40 The Forum Shelter
8:44 Evolution of the Housing Crisis
14:03 Lack of Affordable Housing
19:45 The Rent Cap & Private vs Public Sectors
27:08 Government Involvement in Housing
33:10 The Path of No Return?
40:15 New Construction Apartments
41:53 Bridge Shelter Success Stories

Пікірлер: 29

@jennifermarlow. 3 ай бұрын

How many acres of car lots do we have on the peninsula? RIGHT And bouquets to YOU, Andrew Stephens, for having this discussion. As a person in real estate, you are the first I've seen that cares about our poor, our disabled, our addicted, and the situation they are facing. WELL DONE!

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to watch!

@adamfraser2260 3 ай бұрын

I used to work for Eric about 6-7 years ago. He was so committed to helping people and was truly great at his job. I'm very happy to see he is still at it and doing great things. Thanks for your work Eric!

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Great guy doing great work for the community. Really enjoyed chatting with him!

@connorclark4525 3 ай бұрын

Great discussion. Tackling some of the harder conversations

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Thanks Connor!

@tanyaldutton 3 ай бұрын

As a landlord of a few flats, and someone who kept rents low, I think those landlords that screwed over their renters ruined it for good landlords! So rent cap comes in and we can’t raise rents based on rate of inflation. We are excellent, responsible, and responsive landlords but the rent cap is making it more difficult to run income properties with the increased costs. I have seen many developers in my neighbour hood take small unit rental properties down, remove them from the rental pool, and let the property sit vacant for years. How is that helping the homelessness issue in Halifax?

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Agreed. I also am a landlord and do not get the full market value for my units. However, I have great tenants and I'm getting what I would consider to be a fair price. ie: slightly over 2k but could probably get 2.5k or 2.6k. Doesn't sound like a lot necessarily per month but when you multiply it by a few units and take all 12 months of the year into account, it adds up quickly. But I'm happy in my situation based on the tenants and other factors. There are a lot of people in those situations who were good landlords and kept their rents low. Now they're up against it so to speak with the cap and rising rates, costs, etc. I believe there's a happy medium to be had somewhere but unfortunately now the issue is so far down the path that it's hard to rebound.

@tanyaldutton 3 ай бұрын

I feel that all of the new construction needs to have a % of affordable units (30% of wages). If City Council would get some balls and push back and set expectations for developers to be a part of the solution, we could have a faster solution to affordable housing. These developers are insanely wealthy and need to give back as much as they are taking. PS great interview.

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I really enjoyed this conversation and it's interesting to hear it from the perspective of someone in his position. Regarding new developments, this is something a lot of people think. In theory it's ideal to have x number of units or floors in a new building as affordable units. Issue is they offer developers money and they don't need it so they almost always just opt to not have the affordable units at the end of the day. I'm with you on that one though.. "We'll give you the extra few stories you want instead of fighting over it for 5 years, if you provide xyz..."

@jmacfadyen9392 Ай бұрын

Not all developers are insainly welthy. An idea to help with affordable house would be to lower taxes and development fees for everyone. Property taxes are going up over 6% this year. I dont think commercial properties have a property tax cap.

@AndrewStephens Ай бұрын

@@jmacfadyen9392 you are correct. No cap on those. The disconnect is ridiculous. Ie: to help get more builds off the ground, the feds remove GST, Province removes HST, then a week later the municipality increases property taxes…

@tanyaldutton Ай бұрын

@@jmacfadyen9392 name one ;)

@stefanmuller9653 3 ай бұрын

It is criminal for the government to actively promote immigration to the province and actively bringing in 25,000 people in when there is a housing crisis. Then they go and brag about a 220 unit affordable housing project its laughable and again, shockingly irresponsible. What they should be doing and should have done 5 years ago is announce and start building projects totalling 10,000 units. Give developers major incentives and subsidies for new projects, remove red tape and approval times.

@tedebayer1 3 ай бұрын

Yet I've been watching the listings and many homes are not selling, as few qualify for mortgages, and those that do are waiting for rate changes. Many coworkers are so fed up with health care they're actively "hoping" for a two tier system, something unheard of a decade a go. Akin to that, I suspect housing will worsen to the point many will actually hope for that "reset" we hear so much about.

@jennifermarlow. 3 ай бұрын

This *is* the reset.

@CA06917 3 ай бұрын

Realistically the government has to build some kind affordable housing for people that can't afford the high cost of living in Canada. They have had them in the U.K. for years. Subsidized units and lots of them. There needs to be a balance between homes for people to live in and investment homes for profit. I love Real estate but the playing field needs to be a bit more even.

@YourDesignerGuy 3 ай бұрын

As a homeowner with a 2 bedroom suite in our house, we are terrified of renting our suite on a standard lease. There are so many scary tenant stories out there (everything from non-payment of rent for months on end, to the new 'cash for keys' fad). Based on the media coverage, it's just not worth the risk. We strictly stick to mid-term fixed leases to placement agencies for medical travel staff. If that ever dries up, we will convert our home back into a single family residence. We would honestly like to be part of the solution, but there are just no protections left for landlords.

@jonathanhardy8683 3 ай бұрын

There were far fewer "scary tenant stories" back in the day when rentals (and home ownership, for that matter) weren't so insanely unaffordable. People are having to choose between paying rent or feeding their children. What do you expect?

@YourDesignerGuy 3 ай бұрын

@@jonathanhardy8683 I totally agree. It’s creating an unfortunate feedback loop, however. One less unit for rent just squeezes prices higher in a tighter market.

@jonathanhardy8683 3 ай бұрын

@@YourDesignerGuySo a landlord would rather take $0 instead of offering a place for a reasonable rent that the tenant could actually afford?

@YourDesignerGuy 3 ай бұрын

@@jonathanhardy8683 In 5 or 6 years when I want to sell my house, I don't want to be held hostage by a tenant. I feel my only option is to not become a landlord.

@jonathanhardy8683 3 ай бұрын

@@YourDesignerGuy Even at $1000 / mo (very low rent these days) that would be $60,000 over 5 years. That's a lot of money to give up. The only reason tenants are going to "hold you hostage" is that eviction is essentially a sentence to homelessness these days, and being homeless means vulnerability to drug addiction (they have to do meth to stay awake and not get robbed, for example, and fentanyl to kill the pain of exposure to the elements). Eviction is basically a sentence to a long and painful death. The fact that the powers that be know this is a problem and continue to not only ignore it, but exacerbate is infuriating.

@JimCCorn 3 ай бұрын

Not everyone can live in mansions. Some people need to live in slums. That what slums are for. Gives you a reason to work hard and get ahead.

@AndrewStephens 3 ай бұрын

Don't think the point is to have everyone in a mansion. But everyone deserves a roof over their head

@JimCCorn 3 ай бұрын

Slums have roofs. You get 5 or 6 roommates, save your money, work hard get ahead. Or sit on your fat ass and bitch and moan about how bad you have it.