Head of St Margarets Bay as seen from high up on the mountain.
I Have lived in St Margaret's Bay now for 46 years and have seen the changes over the years. Market values have
risen from $18,000 for a small house on an ocean lot + 5 acres - to $320,000 paid for a +- 1 acre lot on the ocean.
I don't know what the inflation rate would be in 45 years?
But - things always change over time. I look at Calgary - for instance. Look at Invermere. Once a spot that Calgarians flocked to. They built big summer homes on the water. Now they are worth way less. It's the same with Vancouver and Whisler. St Margaret's Bay oceanfrontage is a little less a tourism destination or cottage country, But it used to be chiefly cottages.
It's not that the homes are worth less - Its a question of who will buy them. The Americans have not recovered from the recession yet and certainly arn't spending their money like 10-15 yrs ago. The Europeans , well ... they have their hands full with the banking system on the brink and talks about countries pulling out of the European union. Greece, Italy and Spain all seem to be questionable. The Chinese are strictly a west coast phenomenon. That leaves Canadians!
Nova Scotia is prone to older people - the 55+ crowd seem to be retiring from the West coast, Calgary, Toronto - To Nova Scotia. They as a whole , just lost some 30% of their life savings in the last recession. They are not going to invest big bucks in a commodity that is at the top of the market here. Lets face it - would you ?
I am not writing this for the vendors. I am writing this for the buyers. I don't know how long it will take for a recovery to take place in the oceanfront sector. This selling season is so up in the air with 1 sale since Jan /Feb /2012 over $550,000.
You might say - what about all the hype over Halifax's booming real estate market? Doesn't it apply here? Under these market conditions I say no.
In my opinion the homes that sell over $600,000 have got to be top drawer! Of course there are some exceptions to the rule of thumb - But they are not 30-40 yr old homes with little to no upgrades. Some people will say this is a biased blog - but I am just a buyers agent looking out for the average oceanfront buyer in St Margaret's Bay.
If you are buying St Margaret's Bay oceanfrontage feel free to contact me for my opinion on any property if you are not already working with another agent.
Paul Viau can be contacted at 902-293-1113 or prviau@gmail.com
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