The Most Expensive Homes On The Market In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

Reading Time: 6 minutes

HALIFAX—If you have even a passing interest in the housing market you know Maritimes home prices have shot up over the past two years.

At Huddle, we’ve written often about the wild changes in the housing market and what they might mean for the average home buyers. So, in the spirit of fun summer reading, we’re (mostly) taking a break from more serious real estate news and exploring another side of the market: the very expensive side.

There’s something very tantalizing (or, alternatively, infuriating) about gawking at the most expensive homes in your neighbourhood. We’ll admit it now, it’s more than a little part of why we put this list together.

However, examining what’s happening at the tippy top of the real estate market can also provide insight into what average homeowners and buyers face.

As you browse this list, pay particular attention to what the owners of these flashy homes are selling them for, compared to the actual assessed value of the property. Some of the disparities are shocking.

With that in mind, enjoy this list of the most expensive homes on the market right now in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We created this list in part based on data from Point2Homes.com.

Nova Scotia

1160 Rockcliff Street, Halifax– $7,450,000

This is far and away the most expensive home on the market in the Maritimes right now. In fact, according to Point2Homes, it’s one of the most expensive in the entire country.

The property itself is less than half an acre but sits in a prestigious South End Halifax neighbourhood just a stone’s throw from Dalhousie University. It has about 100 feet of water frontage overlooking the Northwest Arm, and a boathouse.

The house was newly built in 2020. It’s a 5,500-square-foot, two-storey home with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and massive windows overlooking the ocean.

The property was last sold in March of 2018 for $1,850,000.

When the new house was built, the assessed value of the property shot up by almost 80 percent, from $1,584,300 in 2019 to $2,834,400, in 2020. Now, its assessed value is $3,630,400, less than half of the list price.

995 Winwick Road, Halifax – $5,500,000

One kilometre away from the Rockcliff Street property is another multi-million-dollar, waterfront abode. The house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with 3,129 square feet of space. Built in 1984, it’s much older than its nearby neighbour.

The house sits on a half-acre lot, with 180 feet of water frontage overlooking the Northwest Arm, and a wharf and floating dock for mooring a boat.

You’re probably also paying extra for privacy at this property, which is sheltered at the end of a cul-de-sac.

There’s no publicly listed sale history for the property, but in 2022 it was assessed at $2,161,900. That means the property is listed for more than two-and-a-half times its assessed value.

3746 Highway 1, Annapolis Royal –$4,995,000

At the far end of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley is an 87-year-old home, rich in history, that’s on the market for about $5 million.

The stone structure sits in the middle of a massive, 380-acre lot (including a meadow, woodland, and orchard) that borders the Fort View Golf Course.

According to its Point2Homes listing, the house was commissioned by an American industrialist in 1929. Over the past 15 years it’s been renovated at restored but still retains some of its original slate and oak floors. It has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and 6,721 square feet of living area.

Continuing the trend of ultra-expensive homes hitting the market far above their assessed value, the entire property was assessed at $944,900 in 2022. That means it’s listed at well over 5 times its assessed value.

Interestingly, except for a brief couple of weeks, this property has been on the market for quite a while, at the same price, despite Nova Scotia’s constantly increasing real estate prices.

115 Gill Cove Road, Ketch Harbour – $4,950,000

Another oceanfront property rounds out the list of expensive residential homes in Nova Scotia. This one sits just outside of Halifax, at the end of a rural road in Ketch Harbour.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom home is two storeys high and built in 2015. It has 8,000 square feet of living space and sits on a 42-acre lot with 1,600 feet of water frontage.

Privacy also appears to be a selling feature here as well. The lot sits next to a massive tract of Crown land that will never be developed, insulating the home from future nosy neighbours.

However, the property has had a tumultuous time on the market. It’s been put on and taken off the market several times over the past couple of years. More recently, the owners put it through a series of significant price cuts.

On June 17, they slashed their asking price from $6,750,000 to $5,450,000. A month later, they dropped it to $4,950,000. The last time someone paid for the house was in 2016, when the new owners shelled out $3,600,000. The property was most recently assessed at $3,080,600, in 2022.

New Brunswick

25 G. E. Klomfass, Bouctouche – $2,750,000

The most expensive home in New Brunswick sits on the shores of the Bouctouche River, a short jaunt outside the city of Moncton.

The 3,340-square-foot home was built in 2012 and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The interior is stuffed with the type of features you’d expect from a multi-million dollar home: vaulted ceilings, decorative columns, fireplaces, and massive windows facing the river.

The property itself, meanwhile, is a flat, two-acre square at the head of a ritzy neighbourhood.

In 2022, the property was assessed at $674,300. That means it’s listed at more than four times its assessed value.

114 Riverside Drive, Shediac – $2,750,000

This property is one of the more unique offerings at the top of New Brunswick’s most expensive residential homes list.

It’s called the “Webster House” and was designed by renowned architect Ernest Walker of Chicago and built in 1911. The Dutch Colonial home sits on eight acres of property overlooking Shediac Bay.

It’s listed as a single-family home but was once operated as a bed and breakfast. Which makes sense, considering it’s 10,000 square feet and has 14 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. The home also comes with a wine cellar, in-ground pool, pool house, and even a tennis court.

So yes, calling it a “residential home” might be a bit of a stretch, but who’s to say an extra-large, extremely wealthy family won’t move in? Perhaps the market: the home has been listed for sale for close to two years.

This property was most recently assessed at $846,400.

95 Gillespie, Dieppe – $2,380,000

Rounding out the list of priciest New Brunswick homes is this extra-large, 9,944-square-foot home in Dieppe.

The seven-bedroom, six-bathroom home was built in 2008 and sits on a 2.4-acre lot overlooking the Petitcodiac River.

It features several balconies overlooking the river, a gym, an extensive wine cellar, as well as an outdoor pool.

The are no public sales records for the property but in 2022 it was assessed at $1,293,600.

This makes it one of the few homes on the list priced even somewhat close to its assessed value.

The Most Expensive Home In Canada

Before you marvel too much at the luxury hitting the Maritime housing market these days, consider the most expensive home currently for sale in Canada.

According to Point2Homes, that title goes to the massive mansion at 2275 Doulton Drive, in Mississauga Ontario. The home has 26,000 square feet of living space and sits on a two-acre, tree-lined piece of property.

The Saint George mansion has 7 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, heated Italian marble flooring, a “great hall,” indoor “swimming pavilion,” a full nightclub and bar, a golf course, and a 15-car garage.

It was built in 2013 and has been on the market for close to two years. It’s currently listed for $37,500,000.

Trevor Nichols is the associate editor of Huddle, based in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].