The Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS (NSAR) covers the entire province with one MLS® System, so its release gives a single provincial benchmark and then breaks sales and average prices out by region, from Yarmouth and the South Shore to Cape Breton. Halifax-Dartmouth has its own page, the Halifax housing market report. How the province compares with the rest of the country is on the Canadian housing market overview.
Nova Scotia home prices, August 2026
NSAR’s composite MLS® HPI benchmark stood at $435,000 (1.6% over twelve months), while the average sale came to $467,585 (0.0%).
| Home type | Benchmark | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family | $433,200 | 2.7% |
| Townhouse/row | $512,900 | -5.9% |
| Apartment | $422,100 | -8.8% |
NSAR, August 2026.
Sales, listings and inventory
| Measure | Value | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 997 | -7.1% |
| New listings | 1,571 | 3.0% |
| Active listings | 5,643 | 13.6% |
| Months of inventory | 5.7 | was 4.6 |
Inventory ran above CREA’s seller’s-market line of 3.6 months and below its buyer’s-market line of 6.4 (about these thresholds).
Average prices by region
| Area | Avg. Home Price | Y/Y Change |
|---|---|---|
| Annapolis Valley | $394,019 | +1.7% |
| Cape Breton | $289,859 | +15.3% |
| Halifax-Dartmouth | $592,675 | -1.9% |
| Highland Region | $367,859 | +14.1% |
| Northern Nova Scotia | $332,251 | -1.3% |
| South Shore | $455,127 | +0.9% |
| Yarmouth | $313,944 | -4.4% |
Average sale price of residential homes by NSAR region, August 2026; change from a year earlier.
Buying in Nova Scotia
Deed transfer tax rates run from 1.0% to 1.5% depending on the municipality (Nova Scotia calculator; land transfer tax guide).
Provincial help for new buyers is on the Nova Scotia first-time home buyer page. Borrowing power is worked out by the Nova Scotia mortgage affordability calculator and the income to afford a home tool.
Other Atlantic markets
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and October 6, 2026. How we check facts.
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
- CREA: CREA Stats (local board market statistics)
- GlobeNewswire: Canadian Home Sales Slide Down Slightly in August
- Government of Nova Scotia: Municipal Deed Transfer Tax Rates
- Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS®: Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® | NSAR
- WOWA.ca: Canadian Housing Market Report Sep. 15th, 2026 | Interactive Map - WOWA.ca