Canadian Housing Statistics Program, 2019

Released: 2020-05-22

For the first time, today the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) is publishing data on residential properties in New Brunswick and their characteristics.

This overview of residential properties in New Brunswick for reference year 2019 expands on the previously released data for British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. This publication also marks the introduction of a new level of geographical detail, the census agglomeration (CA) level.

The Fundy Isles have the highest non-resident ownership rate in New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, 2.9% of the province's 374,995 residential properties were owned by non-residents of Canada. Vacant land (44.9%) and single-detached houses (43.1%) were the most common types of residential properties owned by non-residents. In comparison, 64.4% of resident-owned properties were single-detached houses, and 20.0% were vacant land.

The highest rates of non-resident ownership were found in areas bordering the United States, such as the Fundy Isles. This is similar to previous findings that showed that non-resident ownership in other provinces was highest in areas bordering the United States and in recreational destinations outside metropolitan areas.

In Campobello Island, where the non-resident ownership rate in 2019 was the highest across all census subdivisions in New Brunswick, two out of five properties were owned by non-residents. This island is accessible year-round from the state of Maine.

Map 1 
Non-resident ownership rates by census subdivision in New Brunswick, 2019

Semi-detached houses and row houses in New Brunswick have higher values than single-detached houses

In New Brunswick, the median assessment values of semi-detached houses ($148,000) and row houses ($146,000) were higher than those of single-detached houses ($128,000). Almost all semi-detached and row houses (93.0%) were within census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and CAs, compared with just over half of the single-detached houses.

The CA of Fredericton reported the highest median assessment values for single-detached houses, semi-detached houses and row houses in the province. As the capital of New Brunswick, Fredericton has two universities and a growing tech sector and is close to a military training facility.

In New Brunswick fewer properties outside population centres are occupied by owners

In New Brunswick, properties that are not occupied by the owner are taxed by both the municipality and province. The share of owner-occupied properties (78.5%) was comparable to that in Ontario (77.5%), but higher than that in British Columbia (71.1%) and Nova Scotia (64.9%).

Fewer properties (72.3%) outside CMAs and CAs were occupied by owners since these properties were more likely to be secondary properties, such as cottages or other seasonal dwellings. Owner-occupied properties outside CMAs and CAs were valued 1.6 times higher than properties not occupied by the owner.

The majority of residential properties in New Brunswick are over 20 years old

In New Brunswick, nearly two-thirds (63.8%) of residential properties were single-detached houses, and one in five (20.7%) residential properties was vacant land. These proportions are similar to those previously observed in Nova Scotia.

Chart 1 
Distribution of residential properties by property type in New Brunswick, 2019 

The majority of single-detached houses (83.5%), mobile homes (75.9%) and row houses (52.7%) in New Brunswick were built before 2001. In contrast, three-quarters (75.8%) of semi-detached houses in New Brunswick were built after 2000.

Chart 2 
Distribution of selected residential property types by period of construction in New Brunswick, 2019

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Jean-Philippe Deschamps-Laporte (343-998-7200; jean-philippe.deschamps-laporte@canada.ca) or Ellen Bekkering (613-878-7146; ellen.bekkering@canada.ca).