Market figures in this article are from the August 2026 Greater Moncton market report.
For most Greater Moncton move-up buyers, plan on usable equity equal to about 20 percent of the next home's price, plus roughly $7,000 in buying costs, after your selling costs come off the top. On a $520,000 home that is about $111,000. Less can work with mortgage insurance, but it costs you more every month.
That number surprises people, and the surprise usually comes from one word: usable. The equity you see on paper and the equity you can actually put toward the next home are two different amounts, and the gap between them is where trade-up plans go wrong.
The number that matters is not your home's value
Say your home is worth $357,000, which was the median sale price in Greater Moncton in August 2026. If you owe $210,000, it feels like you are sitting on $147,000 of equity.
You are not, at least not in cash. Selling costs come off first. Real estate commission at about 5 percent is $17,850(+hst). Legal fees are around $1,200(get a quote). After those and your mortgage payout(ask about penalty), you walk away with $127,650. That is your usable equity, and it is $19,350 less than the paper number.
Then the purchase takes its own cut. On a $520,000 home in New Brunswick, land transfer tax at 1 percent is $5,200, legal fees are another $800-$1,200, and property tax adjustments add roughly $500(depending on time of year). Those come out of your equity before it becomes a down payment.
So the $147,000 on paper becomes $120,450 in the deal. That still works. It is 23.2 percent of the $520,000 price, which clears the 20 percent line and keeps you out of mortgage insurance. Your new mortgage would be $399,550.
Why 20 percent is the line worth planning around
You can move up with less. Canadian lenders allow down payments from 5 percent, and plenty of trade-up buyers do it. The cost is mortgage default insurance, a premium of 2.8 to 4 percent of the loan depending on how far under 20 percent you land, added to your mortgage and paid with interest for the life of the loan. On a $400,000 mortgage that is $11,200 to $16,000 you did not need to spend.
There is a second reason 20 percent matters. Qualifying is one question. Whether the new payment fits your life is the other. In the example above, a $399,550 mortgage at an assumed 4.79 percent over 25 years runs about $2,287 a month before property tax and heat. Lenders test you at a higher rate, currently the greater of your rate plus 2 percent or 5.25 percent, so they would qualify that mortgage as if the payment were $2,771. To carry it within the standard 39 percent housing ratio, with tax and heat included, a household needs roughly $104,500 a year in gross income. Your equity gets you in the door. Your income decides how big the door is.
What I see with move-up buyers
The pattern I see most often is that the search starts before the math does. Someone falls for a house, then works backwards to make the equity fit, and that is where the two sets of closing costs and the mortgage penalty show up as surprises at the lawyer's office. Nobody warned them, so they feel it as bad luck. Luck has nothing to do with it. It is order of operations.
The clients who come out ahead do it the other way round. They know their usable number first, they know what the new payment does to their month, and then they shop with a ceiling instead of a wish. I am an investor as well as a REALTOR, so I look at every move through two lenses: what works for your life, and what makes financial sense. A bigger home only counts as a win if your equity survives the trip.
What the Greater Moncton market is doing to that math right now
This is the part most people miss, and in the current market it works in the move-up buyer's favour.
As of August 2026, the Greater Moncton benchmark price sits at $378,700. That is up 4.4 percent over twelve months but down 6.3 percent over the past three, as the spring premium came off. Inventory is at 6.2 months, the highest August level since 2019. Homes are taking a median of 47 days to sell and going for 96.6 percent of their list price, which works out to roughly $12,750 off a $375,000 listing. 255 homes sold in August, down 15 percent from a year earlier.
Those are soft numbers for a seller. For a trade-up buyer they cut both ways, and the net effect is positive. A 6.3 percent pullback takes about $32,800 off a $520,000 home and about $22,500 off a $357,000 home. The dollar gap between the home you are leaving and the home you are buying just shrank by around $10,000. In a rising market that gap widens against you. In a softening one it closes.
The catch is timing. That same 47 days and 96.6 percent apply to your own sale. This is why selling first is the safer path for most move-up buyers in Greater Moncton right now: you know your exact equity before you commit, and you are not carrying two mortgages while your listing sits. The exception is when the home you want is in a tight pocket. Moncton North was at 3.4 months of inventory in August while Moncton Centre sat at 11.4, so the right order depends on where you are buying as much as where you are selling. The Move-Up Buyers page walks through that decision step by step.
Your next step
Run your own numbers before you fall for a listing. The Trade-Up Calculator takes your expected net proceeds, any extra savings, your household income, your debts, and a rate, and turns them into an approximate next-home price and monthly payment, with the stress test already built in. It takes two minutes and it will tell you whether $520,000 is your ceiling or your starting point.
If you want the bigger picture on how this move fits with everything else you will do with your equity over time, the Equity Staircase lays it out.
Frequently asked questions
Can I trade up with less than 20 percent equity?
Yes. Lenders accept down payments from 5 percent on the first $500,000 of price and 10 percent on the portion above, up to the insured price cap. Under 20 percent, mortgage default insurance is required, and the premium of 2.8 to 4 percent of the loan is added to your mortgage. It gets more people into a bigger home sooner. It also costs more every month and for the full term, so run both versions before you decide. Talk to your finance professional.
Should I sell first or buy first in Moncton right now?
For most move-up buyers, sell first. In August 2026 homes took a median of 47 days to sell at 96.6 percent of list, so guessing your equity is riskier than it was two years ago. Buying first makes sense only when your target area is genuinely tight, like Moncton North at 3.4 months of inventory, and you can carry two mortgages if your sale runs long.
Does porting my mortgage change how much equity I need?
No, it changes what the move costs. Porting carries your current rate and terms to the new home and blends in any new money at today's rate, which avoids a prepayment penalty and can preserve a lower rate. Your equity requirement is the same either way. The savings show up in the penalty you do not pay and the payment you keep.
What if my home sells for less than I expected?
Build the buffer in before you list. August sales closed at 96.6 percent of list on average, so price your equity estimate on a realistic sale price rather than the asking number. If the gap between your expected and actual net is more than a few thousand dollars, it can push a 20 percent down payment under the line and trigger insurance. Knowing that ahead of time is the whole point of running the numbers first.
