Here's the short version: your Ontario equity goes a long way here, but not as far as it did five years ago, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
A typical single detached home in Greater Moncton sold for a median of $380,000 in June 2026, average of $407,000 if you prefer that number. Compare that to whatever you're selling in the GTA and do your own math. For a lot of families, the move means trading a mortgage for no mortgage, or a townhouse for a house with actual land. That part of the dream is real.
Now the parts nobody puts in the Instagram post:
Land transfer tax. New Brunswick charges 1% of the purchase price or the assessed value, whichever is higher. That's it. One flat rate. No tiers, no Toronto double-dip. On a $400,000 house you're paying $4,000, not the small used car Ontario would charge you.
Closing costs. Real numbers from a real NB law firm (Bourgeois Chiasson in Memramcook, and yes, Maxime knows I'm quoting him): roughly $1,800 all-in for a standard resale purchase, about $2,500 if the property needs converting to Land Titles, about $2,000 for a new build. Plus that 1% transfer tax on top. Full breakdown is on my closing costs page if you like line items.
Property taxes. Here's the one that trips people up. NB tax RATES look scary next to Ontario's. But the rate applies to an assessed value that's a fraction of what your Ontario home was worth, so the actual bill is usually lower. People fixate on the rate. Look at the bill.
HST is 15% here, not Ontario's 13%. You'll notice it on the new build, the renovation, and honestly, the restaurant tab. Small thing, but you asked for straight answers.
