The verified real estate expert for every city in New Brunswick

The New Brunswick real estate market

New Brunswick is one of Canada's most compelling affordability stories: still among the cheapest provinces in which to buy a home, and a steady destination for interprovincial migration. New Brunswick REALTORS® publishes a province-wide monthly figure through CREA; city figures come from each board district or, for Greater Moncton, from a quarterly release.

Province-wide, the MLS® HPI composite benchmark price stood at $342,400 in August 2026, up 5.9% year over year, with 825 sales (−8.7%) and 5 months of inventory — a balanced market by the standard board convention (CREA/NBREB). Prices published by the boards for the cities we track, each at its board's own scope: Moncton, $422,600 — median price, Greater Moncton, Q1 2026, +5.2% year over year; Saint John, $355,700 — MLS® benchmark price, board's Saint John and Area district, August 2026, +3.8% year over year; and Fredericton, $364,200 — MLS® benchmark price, board's Fredericton and Region district, August 2026, +5.8% year over year. Balance of power (board convention: under 4 months = sellers, 4 to 6 = balanced, over 6 = buyers): Moncton, 5 months of inventory — balanced market; Saint John, 3.7 months of inventory — seller's market; and Fredericton, 3.4 months of inventory — seller's market.

A word on the data matters here, because it shapes what Payotte will and will not show. Different price measures coexist across these cities and are not directly comparable: the MLS® benchmark (the price of a typical home), the median and the raw average of the month's sales. Payotte always names the measure, the scope and the date beside each figure, never presents one as equivalent to another, and leaves genuinely unavailable numbers blank rather than estimate them.

For buyers, New Brunswick still offers a real affordability advantage, which makes good local guidance and quick, financed decisions all the more valuable. For sellers, a firm market is not a free pass: homes priced beyond recent comparable sales still sit. Province-wide, one feature is constant — in New Brunswick a real estate lawyer (regulated by the Law Society of New Brunswick), not a notary, handles title, the land transfer and the mortgage at closing.

Payotte covers New Brunswick's three largest cities — Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton — with a single verified professional per profession in each: real estate broker, mortgage broker, home inspector, real estate lawyer and appraiser. Each is ranked on a transparent 100-point grid (Google reviews, experience, an active licence on the regulator's register — the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick for brokers, the Law Society of New Brunswick for lawyers, the Appraisal Institute of Canada for appraisers — local presence and a small bonus). One verified reference per city — free, ad-free and commission-free, never a paid placement.

Why a verified expert matters

On the largest transaction of your life, the right professional saves time, money and costly mistakes. Yet conventional directories list dozens of profiles with no clear hierarchy, often funded by ads or paid listings. Payotte does the opposite, on objective, verifiable criteria.

The five professions you can verify

• Real estate broker — represents the buyer or seller — prices the home, markets it and negotiates through to closing.
• Mortgage broker — compares multiple lenders to secure the best rate and terms.
• Home inspector — examines the property's true condition and documents defects before you buy.
• Real estate lawyer — secures the legal closing — title, deed, mortgage and trust funds (a notary in Quebec, a lawyer elsewhere).
• Certified appraiser — delivers an independent, documented valuation for financing or disputes.

Each protects a different stage of your transaction. On Payotte, every listed professional is tied to their regulator, and their licence can be looked up on its public register (RECO, FSRA, RECA, BCFSA, the provincial Law Society, the Appraisal Institute of Canada) — the verification status is shown on every profile.

How Payotte selects

For every sector and every profession, a single expert is published — the one with the highest score on our 100-point scale: Google reviews (35 pts), experience (30 pts), active provincial licence (15 pts), local presence (15 pts) and a bonus (5 pts). Green (70+): published normally. Yellow (50–69): published with an explanation. Below 50: no expert recommended. No placement can be bought — no ads, no referral commissions.