Many multifamily landlords in Halifax have seen a jump in their property values with Nova Scotia’s most recent reassessment based on January 2022 market values. Assessment roll analysis from Turner Drake and Partners, an Atlantic Canada based property tax and real estate advisory firm, pegs the average increase at 8.5 per cent, but assessed values rose by at least 10 per cent for 50 per cent of the properties surveyed.

Apartment buildings are taxed at the residential rate, which, for the 2023 tax year, is about 79 per cent lower than the tax rate the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) applies on other commercial properties. Even so, multifamily rental and seniors housing properties carry a larger share of the overall residential tax burden because they do not qualify for the assessment capping program HRM introduced for single-family residential properties in 2005.

Looking to other commercial sectors, the assessed value of Halifax industrial property increased by an average of 9 per cent. The year-over-year value increase for office properties averaged 5.4 per cent.

Beyond Halifax regional boundaries, multifamily property values rose an average of 3.7 per cent year-over-year with 25 per cent recording at least a 10 per cent increase in assessed value. Industrial value increases were closer to matching HRM trends, with an average jump of 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, offices in other parts of the province saw a sharper climb in assessed value, with an average increase of 7.6 per cent.