PICTOU AND COLCHESTER COUNTY HOME SALES “RED HOT”
Nova Scotia has been growing at a rapid pace as we saw in last year’s stellar population growth numbers. Now, a national survey from Bloomberg Business News shows who’s been moving away from Canada’s largest cities. So far, nearly a-third of people who are choosing to live in suburbs and smaller towns across the country are under age 30 and 82 per cent are younger than 45.
And our part of Nova Scotia is reaping a lot of the benefits from that. Sherry Blinkhorn at New Glasgow-based Blinkhorn Real Estate says the median selling price for a home in Pictou County is now $149,500. And in 22 years, she’s never seen homes going through the entire sales, legal and banking process in just 44 days, but that’s where the local housing market is right now.
The latest data shows Nova Scotia and PEI real estate pricing up by 9 to 12 per cent since the pandemic began. In Colchester County, Sharon Corcoran at Remax-Fairlane says homes in her area are selling, on average, in just 31 days. And she says that time-frame includes meeting all of the selling and buying obligations, so in reality, homes are only staying on the market for a couple of weeks right now. After several decades in the business, Corcoran says she’s never seen that – and if you have a house for sale at the right price, the numbers don’t lie. Now’s the time to list it, and Blinkhorn says the same is true here in Pictou County.
Nova Scotia has 29 active cases of COVID-19 today with four new infections in the latest update.
There is one case in each zone – Western, Northern, Eastern and Central. All are related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. The case in Central Zone is a student at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax who lives off-campus. Dr. Robert Strang’s office says all 29 cases are following the rules and self-isolating. The latest list of possible exposure locations is found on this link. Potential COVID Exposures | Nova Scotia Health Authority (nshealth.ca)
Premier Stephen McNeil says “Having active cases in all zones is a reminder that the virus still wants to spread around the province.” But the Premier says we are doing a good job limiting the spread and he’s encouraging all Nova Scotians to stay vigilant by limiting social contact and following all of the other protocols.
Public Health says today and tomorrow are set aside as two more days of drop-in COVID-19 testing in Truro. The location has changed since last week. Today and tomorrow, the mobile clinic is at the Best Western Convention Centre at the corner of Willow and Arthur Streets, with clinics between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. today and tomorrow. (Monday and Tuesday)
Testing in Truro is open to everyone…and that means people who are symptom free, and not a close contact of someone with COVID-19. People looking to be tested are asked to look for the signs and register at the Mobile Health Unit vans.
Nova Scotia is now the first jurisdiction in North America to implement presumed consent around organ donation, a move health officials believe could see a significant rise in the number of donors over the next few years. Legislation passed in April 2019 finally took effect Monday following more than 18 months of work to ensure provincial systems were equipped to handle the change. Under the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act, all people in Nova Scotia will be considered potential organ donors unless they opt out. (Cdn. Press)
SOUP MAY BE SOLD AT SOME INDEPENDENT MARITIME STORES BEING RECALLED BY FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY
Amy’s Kitchen is recalling its Golden Lentil Dal Soup, saying the product might contain an undeclared allergen. A recall notice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says the soup may or may not contain egg protein which is not declared on the label. “If you have an allergy to egg, do not consume the recalled product as it may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction,” the CFIA said. According to the agency, the soup is being recalled in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, however, it could be sold by independent discount retailers anywhere across Canada.
The fishing vessel that went missing off the coast of Digby County in December has been found. Five of the six crew members who were aboard the boat are still missing. The Chief William Saulis was a scallop dragger that was based out of Yarmouth. The crew was last heard from early on the morning of Dec. 15th when they were heading toward Digby after a week-long fishing expedition. RCMP say the families of the five fishermen — Aaron Cogswell, Leonard Gabriel, Dan Forbes, Eugene Francis and the captain, Charles Roberts — have been notified that the vessel was found. (Katherine Bickford photo)
