First, don't expect that it will apply to any type of commercial or industrial property.

And it surely wouldn't apply to non residents of New Brunswick.

Next, don't expect that it would apply to recreational, seasonal, and secondary properties like camps or cottages.

Of course the assessment for a newly constructed home could not be frozen until after it is assessed for the first time. An unwanted side effect of this could place new houses at an assessment / property tax disadvantage compared to existing houses.

Then don't expect that it will apply to any type of residential rental property. This leaves out landlords (both for profit and not for profit) and by extension their tenants. Approximately one third of New Brunswick households rent.

The remaining 66% of New Brunswick households might benefit from a freeze or cap. However who benefits most from an assessment freeze or cap? The New Brunswick household living in a modest bungalow assessed at $125,000 or the one living in executive two story assessed at $250,000? The real beneficiaries of an assessment freeze or cap will be the 33% of New Brunswick households that own their principal residence which is assessed above the median assessment value.

And what about renovations? Will the real property assessment still be frozen or capped if a major home renovation is carried out? Or will renovations trigger a re-assessment? Will this encourage the underground economy in home renovations?

And what about if the current owner sells? Will the "frozen" assessment be transferred to the new owner? Not likely. The real property assessment would then be brought up to date. Will the "frozen" assessment be transferred with the current household? What if the household is dissolved? Who would benefit from transferable frozen assessment?

Picture this. For whatever reason a homeowner wished to downsize. They want to sell the big home and get into a smaller, less expensive one. But guess what. Doing this may negate the "freeze" the homeowner has enjoyed. The property taxes on the smaller home could be more than the current taxes on the larger home.

First time homeowners and new house buyer would pay more property taxes than long time homeowners. Anyone who relocates, either within New Brunswick or into New Brunswick or would be subject to higher real property assessments and property taxes.

And what about the day when the freeze ends? Will real property assessments be returned to "real and true value"? Will everybody be happy with a sudden dose of reality?

And speaking of reality. Even if assessments are frozen, what if municipal spending still goes up? Let's say because of higher energy costs like fuel and electricity. The real property tax rate will have to go up to compensate. So what's the point of an assessment freeze if property taxes may have to go up anyway?

Does a real property assessment cap or freeze really make sense?

If a municipality in New Brunswick wishes to freeze, limit or reduce the property taxes it collects then it merely has to freeze, limit or reduce its spending! It's that simple.

A municipal council estimates spending for the coming year and also decides how much of that spending will come from property tax revenues, both residential and commercial. The amount thus decided is divided by an amount representing the "real and true" value of all real property in the municipality (municipal assessment base). This calculation results in a municipal tax rate which when applied to a specific property's assessment results in the amount of municipal property taxes for that particular property.

If there is no growth in amount of spending from property tax revenues and the municipal assessment base grows, the mil rate would be less and an individual property tax bill might not grow even though the assessed value of the property may grow. If a property undergoes major renovations or substantial additions, one would expect its "real and true value" (and its property taxes) to increase.

In a prosperous and growing municipality the assessment base grows with new construction and development. In a prosperous and growing municipality the assessment base also grows with the effect of supply and demand on the sale of real property on the open market. In a stagnant or declining municipality, the opposite occurs.

Municipalities are compared and measured by the growth or decline of their municipal assessment base.
Property assessments should not be unfairly manipulated.

In my next blog post I'll point out the inequities that can result from "freezing" property assessments.

But nothing that comes up on the search matches.

You need help, and I can search the database and get the results that match your specific criteria.

Here are just some of the reasons why I say this:

• At this time of year builders want to move what's left of their inventory and get to work on this year's crop of new homes.
• In the construction industry price increases in materials and labour usually occur at the beginning of the building season. New homes built and listed last year are often based on last year's pricing. Prices could be up this year making new homes built last year a better buy. Unless of course the builder has raised his pricing. If you have your own Buyer's agent (as opposed to the Agent for the builder), your agent should be able to research the pricing history to see if in fact the builder has raised the price to cover the builder's carrying costs.
• New homes that were not complete on January first are only partially assessed, meaning the buyer will  have lower property taxes for the rest of the year.
• The earth around foundations built and backfilled last year will have had an opportunity to settle. You will have all summer and fall to put your personal touch on the landscaping of you new home

As of this writing there are approximately 55 detached and 89 semi-detached new homes for sale in Moncton Riverview and Dieppe.

However before you call that builder's agent you should learn about the advantages of having your own agent.
Find out at MonctonGuide.com

The simple answer is just before your home is ready to be placed on the market!

Historically the answer depends on where your house is located!

• In metro June was clearly the highest sales month and with the "days on market"
   at 75 makes  March or April the best months to list.

• In areas outside metro the least "days on market" indicates
  April, May or August the best months to list.

However strategic marketing can shorten your home's "days on market".

Please contact me to learn more - Larry Estabrooks - Your Local Expert

(note: new construction is not included)  Moncton, Dieppe & Riverview
Month	Average Days on Market	# of Sales
DEC-2007	104 days	57
NOV-2007	71 days	94
OCT-2007	65 days	100
SEP-2007	67 days	94
AUG-2007	67 days	125
JUL-2007	63 days	138
JUN-2007	74 days	168
MAY-2007	65 days	148
APR-2007	68 days	125
MAR-2007	66 days	108
FEB-2007	75 days	99
JAN-2007	84 days	78
Averages:	71 days	1334

Other areas outside Moncton, Dieppe & Riverview
Month	Average Days on Market	# of Sales
DEC-2007	174 days	27
NOV-2007	92 days	61
OCT-2007	123 days	62
SEP-2007	104 days	65
AUG-2007	92 days	71
JUL-2007	91 days	70
JUN-2007	128 days	64
MAY-2007	132 days	77
APR-2007	105 days	56
MAR-2007	142 days	57
FEB-2007	103 days	47
JAN-2007	146 days	29
Averages:	115 days	686

Metro residential sales retreat in the first quarter of 2008, except in the city of Moncton.

Although home sales in Moncton are indeed up, it was not enough to prevent a slide in the total number of residential unit sales in the metro area.
The average sale price increased in Moncton and Riverview but declined in Dieppe.
Larry Estabrooks
"Your Local Expert"

Moncton
Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2008	159883	154920	97%	89 days	100
FEB-2008	164353	158513	96%	107 days	90
JAN-2008	163545	157890	97%	85 days	55
Averages:	162347	156906	97 %	95 days	245

Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2007	157529	152087	97%	91 days	90
FEB-2007	144120	139379	97%	86 days	84
JAN-2007	149969	144674	96%	87 days	62
Averages:	150770	145616	97 %	88 days	236

Dieppe
Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2008	152094	150816	99%	109 days	16
FEB-2008	179875	173742	97%	91 days	24
JAN-2008	187281	184211	98%	127 days	26
Averages:	176058	172308	98 %	110 days	66

Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2007	167919	163963	98%	86 days	26
FEB-2007	185887	184267	99%	80 days	40
JAN-2007	218963	210994	96%	97 days	24
Averages:	189516	185529	98 %	87 days	90

Riverview
Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2008	159032	155726	98%	63 days	19
FEB-2008	167750	163693	98%	79 days	28
JAN-2008	161625	158583	98%	69 days	12
Averages:	163697	160088	98 %	72 days	59

Month	Average List Price	Average Sale Price	Sale to List Price	Average List Duration	Number Of Sales
MAR-2007	145417	140736	97%	94 days	36
FEB-2007	138310	132838	96%	82 days	21
JAN-2007	177566	172776	97%	125 days	17
Averages:	150785	145855	97 %	98 days	74

(I caution that average price information can be useful in establishing trends, but does not indicate home prices in municipalities comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods.)

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Larry Estabrooks is a licensed independent real estate agent in Moncton, New Brunswick

www.LarryEstabrooks.com

www.MonctonGuide.com

email - larry@larryestabrooks.com 
for more contact information: www.LarryEstabrooks.com/contact/