Average House Price In Greater Moncton Tops $300K
MONCTON–Prospective home buyers looking to break into the Greater Moncton real estate market face larger hurdles than they did one year ago.
The average home price in the region now exceeds $300,000, according to December 2021 data released by the Greater Moncton Realtors.
Rising prices—a consequence of booming interest in the area—have forced some residents to temper their expectations when browsing the market for their next or first property.
“Where they might have been looking at a two-storey detached before, maybe they’re looking at a bungalow, or maybe they were looking at a bungalow and now they’re looking at a two-storey semi-detached,” said Ryan Davison, president of the Greater Moncton Realtors.
The MLS Home Price Index used to track price trends indicated the overall MLS HPI composite benchmark price hit $302,400 in December, rising 38 percent compared to the same period last year.
Some people believe the changes in the market have crushed their dreams of one day owning a home, a claim Davison called unfortunate.
“Maybe the expectations of what they would like to buy have been doused by some of what’s gone on as far as the performance of the market,” he said.
Davison remarked on the “maturation process” some buyers have experienced, learning they may have to move quicker on a sale if they want to be successful.
A historic year
December marked an end to an unprecedented 12 months for the Greater Moncton housing market, where a record 4,551 units were sold, up 18.8 percent from 2020.
“To cap off an already extraordinary year, December was another record-setting month for MLS home sales in Greater Moncton,” Davison said.
“Once again, the number of newly listed properties last month was insufficient to keep up with the insatiable demand of buyers.”
At the end of December, months of inventory reached 1.6, meaning it would take that many months to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. The long-run average for this time of year is 11.7.
Robert Lothian is a reporter with 91.9 The Bend in Moncton, a Huddle content partner.