Nova Scotia MLS® home sales down marginally year over year in August
The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® totaled 1,078 units in August 2025. This was a modest decline of 2.1% from August 2024.
Home sales were 7.3% below the five-year average and 9.2% below the 10-year average for the month of August.
On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 7,653 units over the first eight months of the year. This was up modestly by 1.6% from the same period in 2024.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $428,800 in August 2025, a small gain of 3.5% compared to August 2024.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $422,300, increasing by 4% on a year-over-year basis in August. By comparison, the benchmark price for townhouse/row units was $544,200, up only 0.1% compared to a year earlier, while the benchmark apartment price was $473,500, down modestly by 1% from year-ago levels.
The average price of homes sold in August 2025 was $467,148, an increase of 7.1% from August 2024.
The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $473,769, a moderate gain of 5.2% from the first eight months of 2024.
The dollar value of all home sales in August 2025 was $503.6 million, increasing by 4.9% from the same month in 2024. This was also a new record for the month of August.
The number of new listings saw a gain of 4.4% from August 2024. There were 1,554 new residential listings in August 2025.
New listings were 2.1% above the five-year average and 4% below the 10-year average for the month of August.
Active residential listings numbered 4,980 units on the market at the end of August, up by 10.8% from the end of August 2024. Active listings haven’t been this high in the month of August in more than five years.
Active listings were 27.6% above the five-year average and 13.5% below the 10-year average for the month of August.
Months of inventory numbered 4.6 at the end of August 2025, up from the 4.1 months recorded at the end of August 2024 and below the long-run average of 5 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
| Nova Scotia Monthly Summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | Residential Sales | Year-over-year % change | Residential Average Price | Year-over-year % change |
| Annapolis Valley | 151 | -7.4 | $387,394 | 9.3 |
| Cape Breton | 88 | 1.1 | $249,142 | -12.0 |
| Halifax-Dartmouth | 477 | -2.7 | $603,650 | 5.8 |
| Highland Region | 48 | 0.0 | $322,517 | 7.3 |
| Northern Nova Scotia | 164 | -1.8 | $335,593 | 15.5 |
| South Shore | 125 | 6.8 | $451,783 | 13.0 |
| Yarmouth | 25 | -13.8 | $329,308 | 12.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 1,078 | -2.1 | $467,148 | 7.1 |
| Nova Scotia Year-To-Date Summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YTD 2025 | Residential Sales | Year-over-year % change | Residential Average Price | Year-over-year % change |
| Annapolis Valley | 1,113 | 0.8 | $389,035 | 4.3 |
| Cape Breton | 561 | 1.8 | $266,759 | -0.2 |
| Halifax-Dartmouth | 3,702 | 0.8 | $605,596 | 4.2 |
| Highland Region | 299 | 5.3 | $307,024 | 9.8 |
| Northern Nova Scotia | 1,081 | 1.5 | $317,804 | 10.4 |
| South Shore | 744 | 8.1 | $428,828 | 9.7 |
| Yarmouth | 153 | -11.6 | $305,843 | 10.7 |
| Nova Scotia | 7,653 | 1.6 | $473,769 | 5.2 |
BOARD & ASSOCIATION INFORMATION
Trademarks are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®).
NSAR represents more than 2000 brokers, salespeople and affiliate (e.g. solicitors, appraisers, banks) members throughout the province. The Association serves its members through a wide variety of educational programs, publications and special services with the vision that learning and sharing real estate knowledge will help the profession advance. Through an agreement with the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission, NSAR provides all real estate licensing courses in the province. REALTOR® is a trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who are members of The Canadian Real Estate Association and, as such, subscribe to a high standard of professional service and a strict Code of Ethics.
For more information,
please contact:
Tanya White
(902) 468-5874 or 1 (800) 344-2001
twhite@nsar.ns.ca
Suzanne Gravel
