Priced out: Dramatic increase in house prices puts goal of ownership on pause for some New Brunswickers

Erin Hickey has just about given up on her quest to owna home in New Brunswick.In August 2021, she moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Fredericton with her two sonsafter she and her husband separated.She expected the stint in her below ground-level apartment to last just a few months, with plans to purchase a house of her own somewhere outside city limits in 2022.But two-and-a-half years later, Hickey said she's been outbid and feels out of luckfinding a home she can afford that can accommodate her familyand her work-from-home needs.WATCH | Why rent feels like 'ticking time bomb' for Fredericton woman:She's now wondering whether her goal of buying a home will ever materialize, especially with her rent taking a bigger portion of her income every year."I can't think of any better way to describe my rent going up than a ticking time bomb, becauseit's going to keep increasing," Hickey said."It compounds yearly around fiveper centso far ... andat some stage, if I stay in this apartment,...