New Brunswick—most notably the Fredericton Capital Region—appears to be the best destination for newcomers arriving in Canada with the goal of home ownership
A recent study by Zoocasa and MoneySense.ca shows that in 2024, newcomers looking to buy a home will find the most outstanding value in Atlantic Canadian housing markets like Greater Fredericton.
The 2024 edition of Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada1 ranks real estate markets with the best prices, value, growth, and livability.
According to the Zoocasa rankings, the following Canadian cities now offer home buyers the greatest value:
- Greater Moncton, New Brunswick, with a benchmark 2023 home price of $328,383 following a 3-year price growth of 69 percent
- Saint John, New Brunswick, with a benchmark 2023 home price of $286,592 following a 3-year price growth of 48 percent
- Sault St. Marie’s benchmark 2023 home price is $283,192, following a 58 percent price growth over three years.
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Fredericton was ranked a close fourth behind Sault St. Marie with a benchmark 2023 home price of $282,192.
Three New Brunswick Cities in the Top 4
That’s three New Brunswick cities in the top four in the Zoocasa study.
Saint John is New Brunswick’s largest city (130,000 population). Fredericton is the capital, and Moncton is an important urban centre with a population of 140,000.
In the Zoocasa study, the high-priced cities of Greater Vancouver (home price $1,177,483), Mississauga ($1,088,217), and Oakville-Milton ($1,289,633) ranked the lowest in terms of value and buying conditions.
No bargains there. Definitely.
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Recently, The Globe and Mail published research2 listing the most livable cities in Canada, including the most livable cities for immigrants.
Information was gathered from 439 Canadian cities with a population greater than 10,000.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick led the list as the province with the most livable cities in that region. Nine cities from the province were among the top 10 most livable cities in Atlantic Canada. Fredericton was rated the most livable city in Atlantic Canada.
What to Know About Living in Fredericton, New Brunswick
The Top 10 Most Livable Cities in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada
The top 10 cities ranked in order include:
- Fredericton, New Brunswick
- Dieppe, New Brunswick
- Quispamsis, New Brunswick
- Edmundston, New Brunswick
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- Saint John, New Brunswick
- Rothesay, New Brunswick
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Miramichi, New Brunswick
- Riverview, New Brunswick.
Over the past few years, Fredericton, New Brunswick, has been named among Canada’s Best Top Ten Small Cities by bestcities.org and was declared Canada’s Second Best City to Live and Work In by Maclean’s magazine.
More recently, it has been named Canada’s third greenest city, with high scores for being walkable and pedestrian-friendly.
Often described as a “hidden gem,” Fredericton features well-planned urban design, colonial architecture, rich art and cultural landscape, and a lower cost of living.
Greater Fredericton is the area’s name, which includes the City of Fredericton and its surroundings. Most of Greater Fredericton is located along the Saint John River.
Fredericton Rated the Most Livable City
In a newly released survey[3] from Point2, Fredericton ranked highest regarding liveability.
According to the survey, successful work-life balance (liveability) involves low stress, an average commute time of under 15 minutes, and a low percentage of people holding multiple jobs.
Researchers for Point2, a leading real estate listings website, examined data regarding Canada’s 100 largest cities to discover where work-life fusion feels “effortless.”
They used 30 metrics that included Work Intensity, Health & Wellbeing, and Liveability, and also focused on work hours, available healthcare professionals, commuting challenges and opportunities to relax.
They also looked at after-tax income, rent, and utilities.
Fredericton came second (to St. John’s, Newfoundland) in the survey’s Best Cities for Work-Life Balance in Atlantic Canada category.
How Affordable is New Brunswick?
Current Fredericton real estate statistics show an average July house price of $345,256.
Moncton’s median list price of homes was $385,619 in July 2024.
The median list price of homes in Saint John was $365,724 in July 2024.
Compare that to the benchmark cost of a house in Toronto ($1,097,300 ) and Vancouver ($1,197,700) in July.
The difference compared to the cost in Fredericton is substantial!
Nationally, Canadian real estate prices hit their peak in March 2022.
At that time, a typical home cost $855,800, a hike of 54.8 percent since interest rate cuts started in March 2020.
Since then, home prices have fallen in most markets because of rising interest rates. The benchmark price in July 2024 was $724,800.
However, that July price is still 32.0 percent higher than where it started in 2020.
Newcomers and Home Ownership in Canada
Research by Ipsos Public Affairs[4] suggests that newcomers are more committed to the goal of home ownership than domestic Canadians.
Newcomers are also buying homes faster than ever, and the Ipsos Public Affairs study shows that many immigrants to Canada are homebuyers within the first five years of arriving.
The Ipsos study supports the 2019 Royal LePage research[5] findings, which revealed that although 75 percent of newcomers arrive in Canada with savings to buy a home, the average time immigrants wait to purchase a home is three years.
The 2019 Royal LePage study also said that a newcomer to Canada buys one in five homes sold nationally.
The Canadian government is on target to settle (and likely exceed) 485,000 newcomers in 2024 and another 500,000 in 2025.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, international immigration added 3,908 people to New Brunswick’s population in the fourth quarter of 2023. This was an increase of 32.2 percent from the same period in 2022.
Summary:
- New Brunswick’s affordable housing market attracts immigrants and promotes economic growth.
- Fredericton and many other NB cities are rated among the most livable in Canada
- New Brunswick’s population growth is driven mostly by interprovincial migration.
- New Brunswick aims to attract skilled immigrants for economic growth.
CITATIONS:
1 Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada
2 The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada
3 Point2 Work-Life Balance in Canada
SOURCES:
Globe and Mail, Zoocasa, MoneySense, Ignite, Royal LePage, Canadian Real Estate Association, Point2
Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.
© Prepare for Canada 2024
Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.
