Price plummet in Moncton? Realtors react to national real estate report

A new report by one of Canada's largest banks suggests the price of a home in Canada could drop drastically next year.

According to Monday's report by TD Bank, the national average price of a Canadian home could fall by as much as 25 per cent in 2023.

Could the average price of a home in Moncton, N.B., plummet by that much?

Probably not, according to two local realtors.

Martin Gallant, of Creativ Realty, said the market has already calmed down somewhat in the city, with the rise of interest rates and inflation.

"Of course, when you see a report like that, it's for Canada-wide. Some markets will be affected more than others,” said Gallant.

“Fundamentally, Moncton is still in a good position. So I don't think we'll see it quite as drastically as bigger centres like Toronto or Vancouver, where they had hyperinflation prices. So it's naturally going to come back down."

TD’s report stated the average price of a home in Canada dropped five per cent since last July and many financial experts believe the drop will continue into fall and winter.

However, Gallant said the market has stayed hot in the hub city.

"We're still seeing bidding wars, we're still seeing multiple offers. The segments that are a little harder to sell are older homes, one's that need attention," he said.

The report doesn't surprise Natalie Davison of Re/Max Avante, who's also still seeing a strong market that has been less impacted by large price drops elsewhere in the country.

"As interest rates go up, your buying power is still stronger here than in other parts of Canada. We are still seeing people coming this way," said Davison.

"Just this morning, I did a closing with a family that moved here from Ontario. They sold their home there — want their kids to have that slowed down lifestyle. They bought a big property in the country and that's what they're looking for."

Mike Power, the president of the Greater Moncton Realtors, didn't want to comment on the report, saying it dealt mostly with larger markets.

He did say prices are still low here compared to the rest of the country, even with the big spike that took place during the pandemic when the Moncton market was as hot as it’s ever been.

"It was a long time coming,” said Power. “Prices were traditionally a lot lower here than in other geographies in Canada. Once people figured that out and they started working in home offices and stuff like that, all of a sudden they realized what a great value this marketplace is.”

The Canadian Real Estate Association believes the national average price of a home will actually rise by almost 11 per cent to $762,386 by the end of 2022 and $786,252 next year.

The average price of a home in Moncton in July was $318,410.

With files from the Canadian Press.