North Bay ranks among the Canadian real estate markets that return the highest value according to the 2023 edition of MoneySense.ca’s Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada but the most recent data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows total sales and inventory remain low.
MoneySense.ca, in partnership with Zoocasa, finds real estate prices across the country have been, and still are, heavily impacted by higher mortgage rates and shrinking buying power. Following two years of skyrocketing price gains, the Canadian real estate market came back down to earth in 2022.
They ranked 45 neighbourhoods and municipalities from coast to coast with a proprietary methodology that takes into account average home prices, price growth over time, as well as neighbourhood characteristics and economics. The full ranking and methodology can be found here.
The following ranked among the highest in terms of value and lowest in terms of buying conditions:
- Greater Moncton: 4.8 Stars (average 2022 home price: $320,817, 3-year growth: 84 per cent)
- Sault Ste. Marie: 4.68 Stars (average 2022 home price: $292,208, 3-year growth: 75 per cent)
- North Bay: 4.23 Stars (average 2022 home price: $413,523, 3-year growth: 83 per cent)
- Fredericton: 4.04 Stars (average 2022 home price: $284,642, 3-year growth: 56 per cent)
- Saint John: 4.03 Stars (average 2022 home price: $276,450, 3-year growth: 54 per cent)
- Halifax-Dartmouth: 3.94 Stars (average 2022 home price: $506,625, 3-year growth: 71 per cent)
- Bancroft: 3.66 Stars (average 2022 home price: $506,875, 3-year growth: 88 per cent)
- Tillsonburg District: 3.61 Stars (average 2022 home price: $627,167, 3-year growth: 93 per cent)
“Though home prices fell as interest rates rose last year, affordability remains a defining issue for home buyers in 2023,” says Justin Dallaire, senior editor at MoneySense. “Buying a home remains one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or higher up on the real estate ladder, our Where to Buy Real Estate guide makes that decision easier by identifying the markets that offer the greatest value and potential for long-term price growth.”
While North Bay ranks third on the list of 45 markets, taking advantage of the value and favourable buying conditions the market offers is proving to be a challenge. According to CREA's market report, via the North Bay and Area Realtors Association website, North Bay and the area just posted its lowest March home sales totals since 1998.
The number of homes sold through the MLS System of the North Bay and Area Realtors Association totalled 77 units in March 2023, down sharply by 37.4 per cent from March 2022. Home sales were 30.5 per cent below the five-year average and 26.2 per cent below the 10-year average for the month of March. And, on a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 170 units over the first three months of the year. This was a decline of 34.6 per cent from the same period in 2022.
