Nova Scotia’s provincial prices sit beside a Halifax estimate here, with the income each needs.
Income needed for a typical home
| Area | Price measure | Price | Income needed, minimum down | Income needed, 20% down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | MLS HPI benchmark | $435,000 | $100,500 | $86,500 |
| Nova Scotia | Average sale price | $467,585 | $107,600 | $92,700 |
| Halifax Regional Municipality | MLS HPI benchmark (aggregator estimate) | $563,800 | $128,200 | $110,800 |
Prices: provincial REALTOR association figures on CREA Stats (August 2026); Halifax Regional Municipality: WOWA estimate from Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS data (August 2026). Incomes: this site's calculation, with the assumptions on the calculator page.
Halifax Regional Municipality
For Halifax, a WOWA estimate puts the benchmark at $563,800 (August 2026). That needs about $128,200 of income with the minimum down payment, or $110,800 with 20% down. The Halifax Regional Municipality housing market page tracks prices.
Closing costs
Closing costs are on top of the down payment: see closing costs in Nova Scotia.
Related pages
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- Bank of Canada: Data table
- CMHC: Calculating GDS / TDS
- CMHC: CMHC Purchase
- CMHC: Home Start
- CMHC: CMHC Improvement
- CREA: Nsar
- CREA: creastats.crea.ca
- Department of Finance Canada: Technical backgrounder mortgage insurance rules income proposals revised october 14 2016
- Department of Finance Canada: Government announces boldest mortgage reforms in decades to unlock homeownership for more canadians
- Department of Finance Canada: Straight switches and portfolio insurance
- Department of Finance Canada: Boldest mortgage reforms in decades come into force today
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Down payment
10 more sources
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: Buying home
- nsrealtors.ca: Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® | NSAR
- OSFI: Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages
- OSFI: Final Revised Guideline B-20: Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures
- OSFI: Amendments to the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages
- OSFI: OSFI exempts uninsured mortgage straight switches from the prescribed MQR and…
- OSFI: Loan-to-income limits for uninsured mortgage portfolios
- roblough.c21.ca: Halifax-Dartmouth Real Estate Market Stats August 2026
- wowa.ca: Halifax Housing Market Report: Sep. 10th, 2026 Update | Interactive Map WOWA.ca
- wowa.ca: Canadian Housing Market Report Sep. 15th, 2026 | Interactive Map - WOWA.ca