Moncton’s Pricey Housing Is Here To Stay, Says Realtor Association
MONCTON–October was another historic month for residential property sales in Greater Moncton.
The 419 units sold and the $119.8 million value of all home sales were new records for October, according to statistics from Greater Moncton Realtors.
“The total sales volume year-to-date for the market broke $1.2 billion, which is quite a jump as far as I’m concerned,” says Ryan Davison, President of the Greater Moncton Realtors.
The state of residential real estate in Moncton has garnered national attention, says Davison, with a substantial rise in prices that is unprecedented for the region.
An overheated real estate market, which usually refers to a high volume of sales relative to the number of new listings, is a term often thrown out too quickly says, Davison.
“Although we’ve seen double-digit appreciation, this market has been undervalued for many, many years–and probably decades–and what is really going on is the rest of the country, and arguably some of the globe, has seen our market and what it has to offer and the fact that it is a discount compared to other markets that are out there,” he says.
Greater Moncton continues to face “inventory challenges” as the number of active listings hit a three-decade low in October.
By the end of October, months of inventory dropped to 1.6, meaning it would take less than two months to sell the current inventory at the current rate of sales.
Davison says he often hears concerns over the higher prices and he believes they are likely here to stay.
“When you look at the metrics, short of some massive spikes in rates, we’re still affordable to a lot of people and a lot of people are trying to take advantage of that.”
As the temperature continues to drop and the snow starts to cover Greater Moncton, the strength of the market will be tested.
Davison says Winter has historically cooled the interest for residential properties, but that may not be the case this year.
“Pre-Covid, you would expect it to slow down heading into winter months, but this particular situation with people buying virtually without even getting out to see properties, sometimes I think as long as inventory is available, it’s going to continue to snap up.”
Robert Lothian is a reporter with 91.9 The Bend in Moncton, a Huddle content partner.