Nova Scotia beckons with real estate comprising entire islands for the purchase price of a Sai Ying Pun flat in Hong Kong

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One listing with Private Islands is a 37.5-acre (15.2 hectare) island with 1,800 square foot (167 square metres) four-bedroom home for just HK$3.3 million (US$421,460)

After years of no growth, Nova Scotia’s population grew 3.8 per cent between April 2015 and July 2019, from 936,271 to 971,395

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Coddle Island, Nova Scotia, is a 192-acre island near power and water access, and currently listed with RE/MAX for HK$3.4 million. Photo: RE/MAX

Ryan Swift

Published: 7:00am, 19 Nov 2019Updated: 7:12pm, 19 Nov 2019

Tired of news about Hong Kong’s protests, Donald Trump’s presidency or persistent worries about a recession in 2020?

Consider an island property in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, where property is still cheap, foreign interest is growing and taxes on real estate are still favourable to non-residents.

While most people may think an island property is for the billionaire set only, Nova Scotia offers private islands larger than Hong Kong’s Victoria Park for less than the purchase price of a 450 square foot flat in Sai Ying Pun in the Asian city’s western district.

Nova Scotia, one of four provinces that make up Canada’s Atlantic coastline, has been an economic backwater for years, despite a long colonial history and old connections to Europe. That has changed in recently, said Matthew Honsberger, president of Royal Le Page, Atlantic Canada, as immigration has increased and jobs and industry have returned.

Nova Scotia, though still sparsely populated with just under 1 million people living in 53,000 square kilometres, has also enjoyed its highest levels of immigration since 2000. After years of no growth, Nova Scotia’s population grew 3.8 per cent between April 2015 and July 2019, from 936,271 to 971,395.

The city of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia beckons with real estate comprising entire islands for the purchase price of a Sai Ying Pun flat in Hong Kong

One listing with Private Islands is a 37.5-acre (15.2 hectare) island with 1,800 square foot (167 square metres) four-bedroom home for just HK$3.3 million (US$421,460) After years of no growth, Nova Scotia’s population grew 3.8 per cent between April 2015 and July 2019, from 936,271 to 971,395

One listing with Private Islands is a 37.5-acre (15.2 hectare) island with 1,800 square foot (167 square metres) four-bedroom home for just HK$3.3 million (US$421,460)

After years of no growth, Nova Scotia’s population grew 3.8 per cent between April 2015 and July 2019, from 936,271 to 971,395