Realtors from across the province are in Fredericton for the annual meeting of the New Brunswick Real Estate Association. The meeting comes at a time when Premier Brian Gallant’s government has been rocked by outrage over inflated property tax assessments for work never done.
Saint John realtor Dave Cochrane says he has seen this firsthand and applauds the move to have independent assessments. Cochrane says he has visited homeowners recently whose property assessments increased by 40 and 50 thousand dollars despite the fact they have touched their homes in five years.
Cochrane reports housing sales in the Saint John area so far this year are up 27 per cent and the average price exceeded $183 thousand, an increase of $20 thousand from last year at the same time.
