Moving Up to a Bigger Home in Greater Moncton

There is no single number, because it depends on the price gap and your income. As a rule of thumb, plan to have at least 20% of the new home's price available from your net equity plus savings to avoid mortgage insurance, plus enough to cover two sets of closing costs. On a move from a $350,000 home to a $550,000 home, that often means bringing $110,000 or more to the table. The trade-up calculator on this page shows your specific range.

Usually yes, if your lender offers porting and you qualify on the larger amount. Porting moves your existing rate and terms to the new property, and any additional money you borrow is blended in at current rates. It is most valuable when your existing rate is lower than today's rates. The catch is timing: most lenders give you a window, often 30 to 120 days, to complete the port. We coordinate with your lender early so this does not fall apart at closing.

A bridge loan covers the gap when your new home closes before your current home's sale funds. The lender advances your expected equity for a short period, usually a few days to a few weeks, and you pay interest plus a small administration fee only for that window. It lets you buy first and move once. You generally need a firm, unconditional sale on your current home for a lender to approve it. For most move-up buyers the total cost is a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars, far less than people expect.

In a balanced market like Greater Moncton right now, selling first is the lower-risk path for most trade-up buyers. You know your exact equity, you carry only one mortgage, and your offer on the bigger home is clean with no sale condition. Buying first makes sense when inventory in your target range is thin and you cannot risk missing the right home, but it exposes you to carrying two mortgages. We look at your finances and current conditions and pick the path with the least risk for you.

You pay on both ends. On the sale, budget roughly 5% commission, $1,200 to $1,800 in legal fees, and your mortgage payout. On the purchase, budget New Brunswick land transfer tax (1% of the property's assessed value or purchase price, whichever is greater), another $1,200 to $1,800 in legal fees, title insurance, and a property tax adjustment. On a typical move-up, plan for the two sets of costs to total somewhere between $30,000 and $45,000 before your mortgage payout. We build the full number with you before you list.

This is a common and manageable situation. You have options: negotiate a longer closing date on your sale to buy yourself time, rent short-term between homes, or move in with family for a few weeks. The worst move is panic-buying the wrong bigger home just because you have a closing date looming. We build your timeline backward from your sale so you are never forced into a rushed purchase.

Greater Moncton is in a balanced market, with the benchmark price up modestly year over year and around 4.8 months of inventory. For trade-up buyers, a balanced or softer market is often the better time to move up, because the dollar gap between your current home and the bigger one tends to be smaller than it is in a hot market. If the bigger home drops in price by a larger dollar amount than your current home does, you come out ahead. We run that math for your specific price bands before you decide.