Supreme Court justice from Newfoundland finally poised to sell St. John’s home

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Almost seven months after he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Malcolm Rowe appears poised to finally sell his home in St. John’s, N.L., where a moribund economy continues to take its toll on the housing market.

Last month, the federal cabinet recognized the judge was having trouble selling his three-bedroom home when it issued an order in council extending his eligibility for relocation allowances by an additional six months to Oct. 29, 2017.

Under the Judges Act, Rowe was allowed to claim for six months reimbursement for travel and living expenses incurred while moving to Ottawa, which included visits with “members of his household” still living in the old residence.

The May 5 cabinet order recognized Rowe was facing “unfavourable conditions in the real estate market.”

Unfavourable is a bit of an understatement. Amid slumping world oil prices, the economy in Newfoundland and Labrador has stalled, making it difficult for those selling higher-end homes.

According to a Remax listing, the 3,600-square-foot house in the city’s north end was initially listed at $529,000 in December and later reduced in February and again April to $485,000.

The side-split home, built in 1968, includes two fireplaces, a sunken living room and a view of the city.

A bidder for the property locked in earlier this month, but the sale is still pending, said local real estate agent Michelle Thorne. She declined to confirm who owned the home, citing client confidentiality, but a check of the province’s registry of deeds shows a Malcolm Rowe has held a mortgage there.

Andrew Duggan, another Remax agent, said the market “adjustment” in St. John’s has dealt a blow to new home construction and more expensive properties.

“What’s dropped off has been the luxury market, the big new homes over $500,000,” he said in an interview.

As a result, average sale prices have skewed downwards.

Still, Duggan said sales volumes remain healthy because of first-time buyers seeking homes under $250,000 amid rock-bottom interest rates.

“It’s been an interesting adjustment period,” he said. “The easy math would be to say the economy is in the toilet, the Liberal government doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing and we’ve got a bad situation — but the housing market has shown a fair amount of resilience.”

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the province’s economy is expected to continue shrinking this year as the government deals with an “unprecedented” level of debt and an elevated level of unemployment.

“Lower oil prices, as well as negative or weak economic growth, will impact resale housing activity within higher price segments,” the corporation said in a market outlook for the Atlantic Region.

However, the report confirmed buyer activity under $300,000 had been very strong.

The average house price in St. John’s is expected to hover between $248,500 and $269,500 in 2017, CMHC said.

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