The Alarming Numbers No One’s Talking About

Let’s get real for a second: deals in Halifax are crumbling at a rate that should make every REALTOR® sit up a little straighter.

Between June and August, 1,327 homes sold. That sounds great… until you see the fine print: 339 deals also terminated. That means 26% of deals never made it to closing.

And September is shaping up to be no better. In just the first 15 days of the month, 426 deals were written. Out of those, 199 closed — and 65 already terminated. That’s a staggering fallout rate this early in the month.

So what’s happening here? Why are so many deals falling and how can we stop this hemorrhage of failed sales?

1. Buyer’s Remorse: The Silent Deal Killer

If you’ve ever worked with first-time buyers, you know the drill: one minute they’re popping champagne over an accepted offer, the next they’re wide-eyed, panicked, and Googling “how to back out of a house deal.”

Buying a home is emotional, overwhelming, and downright terrifying if your agent hasn’t walked you through the stress storm that’s coming.

Too many new buyers are being left to flounder on their own. They don’t understand what “conditional” actually means, or that it’s normal to feel like you’ve made a terrible mistake while you wait for financing or inspections to clear.

Without a calm, steady hand guiding them through the process, they spiral. They get cold feet. They walk.

Lesson: If you’re an agent, normalize the stress. Walk your buyers through the ugly side of the process, not just the pretty MLS photos. It’s better to lose a little enthusiasm upfront than lose the deal at the finish line.

2. Financing Fumbles: When Budget Meets Reality

The next big landmine is financing — or rather, the lack of proper prep work around it.

Some buyers jump into the market armed with nothing but an online mortgage calculator and wishful thinking. They eyeball their income, click a few boxes, and boom: “We can afford $700K.”

Except… maybe they can’t.

If their buyer agent hasn’t insisted on a pre-approval from a real lender before house-hunting, they’re walking on thin ice. And when that financing clause doesn’t firm up? Crash. Deal dead.

Lesson: Agents must be gatekeepers here. If your buyer isn’t pre-approved, they’re not ready. Full stop. This one simple step can save weeks of heartbreak (and paperwork).

3. The Home Inspection Freak-Out

Here’s another repeat offender: the dreaded home inspection.

To a seasoned buyer, an inspection report is a list of chores. To a nervous first-timer, it looks like a catalogue of nightmares.

Peeling paint? “The house is falling apart.”
Old electrical panel? “We’ll all die.”
Sloping floor in a 100-year-old house? “It’s sinking into the ocean.”

If sellers aren’t prepared for this panic, and if the agents on both sides aren’t communicating like grownups, the deal will implode.

Lesson: Knowledge calms panic. This is why I pre-inspect every single listing I take on. My sellers go to market knowing what will be flagged, and buyers see the full picture before they write an offer. It removes fear — and fear is the #1 enemy of a firm deal.

4. The Communication Breakdown

Honestly? This might be the biggest culprit of all.

There’s a communication crisis simmering in our industry. Since the COVID era, I’ve noticed fewer agents are picking up the phone. Fewer are collaborating. Some have never owned a home, never been in sales, and it shows.

When inspection issues pop up, or financing hiccups arise, they don’t hash it out. They send curt texts, avoid confrontation, and let the deal rot quietly instead of problem-solving it.

Lesson: We can’t save deals if we won’t talk to each other. Real estate isn’t just contracts and lockboxes — it’s human. The job is literally to shepherd a deal home, not just write it.

How We Keep Our Deals Together

At The Pike Group, we’ve had to adapt to this new normal. My approach is simple:

• Pre-inspect every home so buyers know what they’re getting into

• Coach sellers on likely inspection concerns ahead of time

• Communicate constantly with the other side (yes, actual phone calls still exist!)

• Calm the chaos for buyers who are riding the emotional roller coaster

It’s not magic — it’s just old-school professionalism with a little modern reality check.

The Bottom Line

Halifax deals are falling apart at alarming rates — but they don’t have to.
Buyer remorse, shaky financing, scary inspections, and silent agents are all preventable problems.

If we want fewer terminated deals and more happy closings, we need to go back to the basics: prep, communicate, and actually lead our clients through this.

📞 Call to Action

Thinking of buying or selling in Halifax and want your deal to actually make it to closing?
Reach out to Sandra Pike and The Pike Group at Royal LePage Atlantic.

Let’s make sure your deal is one of the success stories — not part of the 26% statistic.