What kind of house does $394,200 get you in Moncton?

While provinces like Ontario and British Columbia have seen the median price for detached homes fall $200,000 or $300,000 from COVID-19-era peaks, New Brunswick and it’s top-value Moncton market have continued to grow.

According to the Greater Moncton Residential Real Estate Board, the median price for detached homes sold in June was $394,200, down 4.8 per cent from the previous month, but up 6.5 per cent year over year and a tremendous 139-per-cent rise from June, 2019, before the pandemic-era price surge reshaped the region’s market.

Even with the hefty gain in prices, it’s still one of the more affordable regions in Canada, with detached homes costing 48 per cent less that the national median ($744,110 in May) as recorded by the Canadian Real Estate Association. But what does the local median price point actually buy you?

Moncton

73 Burlington Ave.

Asking price: $389,900

In Moncton, the average house is selling for just under $400,000, but according to Mike Doiron, realtor with Exit Realty Associates, buyers will pay a small premium to be in the neighbourhood just west of Central Moncton just north of Jones Lake. He listed this modest family home on Burlington Avenue – just under 1,400 square feet with an unfinished basement, four bedrooms and one bathroom – and said it’s a typical box-style home from the 1950s. He has had offers to buy the house, but the type of buyer who can afford it has changed a great deal in his 17 years as a realtor.

“Moncton people are starting to be house-poor,” said Mr. Doiron. “The average family income is around $82,000 a year,” he noted, and that hasn’t gone up nearly as fast as the cost of housing in the last six years.

Back when homes in Moncton cost half as much as they do today a family that was approved for a $340,000 mortgage could buy a home, still afford to have more than one car and go on vacation twice a year, he said. Now, many of his clients are parents buying a home for their adult children to share with them, or they are doing what he used to advise them not to do: spending to the limit of their borrowing ability. “The bank’s comfortable with you being house poor,” he said.

One advantage of this property is its corner lot, which is about one and a half times the average size for the area. That could come in handy if the new owners want to take advantage of zoning changes being pushed in the region that allow for the creation of two additional dwelling units on residential properties. In-law suites for sharing costs or ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) that add some extra rental revenue and increase the housing supply are becoming the way local buyers make the numbers work.

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Salisbury, N.B.

8 Gordon St.

Asking price: $439,900

About 25 kilometres west of Moncton, you can get a little more house for your dollar in communities such as Salisbury, according to Dennis Wilson, realtor with Keller Williams Capital Realty. He has a listing in the small town for a detached 2,200-square-foot home on about a quarter-acre of land.

“You would say this has almost become entry-level, especially if they want a garage,” said Mr. Wilson, who noted the house recently had a $10,000 price reduction. It’s been updated inside and has a finished basement that could allow for multi-generational living.

Mr. Wilson believes Moncton’s status as an economic hub in the Maritimes played a big role in the price surges of the early 2020s: new jobs and affordable property drew a mix of newcomers from other provinces and other countries. That has slowed down, but he still gets inquiries from people looking at those top-line numbers and wanting a change from where they are. Sometimes though, he ends up helping those newcomers sell a few years later.

“Our property taxes are some of the highest in the country. Between that and a pretty high cost of utilities [such as gas and electricity], a lot of people don’t fully look into that,” he said.

For instance, the annual property tax bill for the house on Gordon Street is $4,246.66, which is little more than half the typical tax bill for a similar size house in a Toronto-area suburb (which would also cost close to triple what the Salisbury house does).

The price of homes might be cheap compared to parts of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, but the carrying costs can still be elevated comparatively. “A lot of [out-of-province buyers] come down and love it, but I don’t think some people think things through fully,” Mr. Wilson said.