‘This is a bit crazy now’: St. John’s buyers navigating bidding wars and rising prices

Buyers are making compromises, offering tens of thousands over asking and turning to two-unit homes as competition remains fierce

When Guilherme Dias began looking for a home in St. John’s, he knew the process would not be easy. What he did not expect was just how competitive the market had become. During his search, Dias found a home in the East End, near Logy Bay Road that he liked, and put in an offer about $40,000 above the asking price, but it still wasn’t enough.

The property eventually sold for about $100,000 over asking. “That was when I realized that this is a bit crazy now,” Dias said. “I felt I probably needed to speed up my process here, because this is not getting any better.”

Finding a home meant being flexible Dias eventually found a home in Airport Heights, but said buying in the current market required flexibility. He had initially hoped to find something closer to the East End or downtown, but he was willing to consider other options. “I wasn’t looking for anything specific,” he said.

His decision to buy also came after a change in his personal circumstances. After moving out of his former home, Dias said he did not want to commit to renting if he could put his savings toward owning a property. “I didn’t really want to get into a lease agreement,” he said.

“If you do have some money to put down towards a down payment, I think it doesn’t really make sense to get into a lease agreement when you can put that money towards your own place.” The home Dias eventually purchased in Airport Heights included a basement apartment, something he said helped make the property more appealing. “It does help with the mortgage, for sure,” he said.

Dias said the property sold for about $40,000 above asking, which he considered reasonable compared to some of the other bidding wars he had seen. St. John’s housing prices continue to climb Dias’ experience comes as new figures show continued pressure in the local housing market. According to the Royal LePage Q2 2026 House Price Survey, the aggregate price of a home in St. John’s increased 4.9 per cent year over year to $390,400.

The median price of a single-family detached home increased 4.8 per cent to $402,700, while the median price of a condominium increased 5.2 per cent to $379,700. Royal LePage Property Consultants broker Len King said limited inventory is continuing to drive competition, with the lack of supply “keeping upward pressure on home prices.” King said multiple-offer situations remain common on properties priced up to $500,000, particularly two-unit homes, as buyers look for ways to offset housing costs.

Buyers are facing a supply shortage For realtor Tony Lucas, the biggest challenge facing buyers is the gap between demand and available housing. “There’s simply not enough homes and not enough inventory,” said Lucas, co-founder of LS Real Estate Group. Lucas said Newfoundland and Labrador’s housing market has been catching up after years of slower growth compared with larger Canadian markets.

“The big thing being that Newfoundland always kind of lags behind the rest of the country,” he said. “What happened in Ontario and the larger markets has finally made its way here.” He said the province is now facing increased demand while the supply of homes has not kept pace.

“We are facing a very significant supply and demand crunch,” Lucas said. Buyers are watching monthly costs While higher interest rates affected buyer confidence in previous years, Lucas said mortgage rates are no longer the main concern he hears from buyers. “When rates originally started creeping upwards in 2022-2023, there was a lot of apprehension,” he said.

“Instead of setting a budget for that house price, they set a budget for how much they would like to pay monthly.” Lucas said buyers should prepare by understanding their finances, shopping around for mortgage options and working with professionals who understand the local market. But he noted that the longer-term solution is increasing the number of homes available.

“I think development and new construction and finding a way forward needs to be discussed more openly,” Lucas said. Sign up here for our morning newsletter, our breaking news and our new Telegram This Week newsletters to get more in-depth coverage of the stories that matter most in Newfoundland and Labrador, right in your inbox.