A New Year is the time for all kinds of predictions for the year. So here are links to real estate blogger predictions for the local real estate markets in the Fredericton area and the Moncton area.
(I'm unable to find a blogger with predictions for the Saint John area or Northern New Brunswick.)
" (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays " is the title of a song published in 1954.
The phrase tugs at my heartstrings, as I'm sure it does to those of us attracted to the concept of "hearth and home".
I sincerly hope that everyone who so desires finds themselves "home for the holidays", wherever home may be.
Licensed Independent Real Estate Agent
"Anything less is second best"
I see this phrase being used in real estate advertising.
But really, how would one apply this claim to the provision of real estate services in New Brunswick?
Well in a real estate transaction anything less than full agency representation must surely be considered second best.
And what about the class of real estate licence?
Dealing with a person with a real Agent's license must be better than dealing with a person with a Salesman's license.
Of all real estate licenses issued in New Brunswick, only about 12 % are Agent licenses.
Do consumers fully understand the concept of agency as it applies to real estate in New Brunswick? Are they fully informed? Do they have enough information to protect themselves.
And if they engage the services of a licensed real estate agent, are they better protected? Will they trust in the undivided loyalty of their own agent or will they be persuaded to agree to dual agency and diminished representation?
The number of MLS® sales reported in New Brunswick declined 24% last month compared to November of 2007.
The hardest hit area was Moncton (-35%), followed by Saint John (-24%) and Fredericton (-18%).
The number of residential MLS® sales in the metropolitan Moncton area took a big hit in November, dropping by one third from last November to the lowest level since 2004.
Unit sales in the city of Moncton fared the worst in November, slumping by more than 40% compared to last year.
In the metro Moncton area year-to-date unit sales are off 5.8% compared to 2007.
Today I did some research on homes currently for sale that are priced below their January 1, 2008 New Brunswick assessment.
I'm speculating that the current real estate market is presenting some challenges to New Brunswick's assessors as they conduct their annual exercise of determining property assessments for 2009. Cities, towns and villages across the province need an estimate of their 2009 assessment base so they can strike a tax rate to match whatever budgets they are currently adopting for next year.
Upon reviewing the MLS® report for October published by the Canadian Real Estate Association it seems the New Brunswick residential real estate market may be moving towards a buyer's market.
Residential MLS® unit sales in New Brunswick were down 19.7% from October 2007. This is a significant difference compared to the the year-to-date figure for New Brunswick of 5.8% fewer residential sales.
On the bright side New Brunswick fared better than British Columbia ( -50.8%), Ontario (-27.9%) and the Canadian average of -27.1% for October and -14.2% year-to-date.
The average MLS® sale price for New Brunswick in October was up 3.2% from October 2007.
Here are links to market reports for these areas:
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently released a comprehensive report covering 2008 to the end of September for the Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton areas. You may view the 27 page report in pdf format by clicking here.
Overall the report is positive although it notes negative trends in some types of housing in certain areas. These are somewhat offset by postive trends in other types of housing.
It will be very interesting to see the numbers for the final quarter of 2008.
