May 2021: Saint John MLS® home sales continue to post record numbers in May

May 5, 2021

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 319 units in May 2021. This was an advance of 67% from May 2020. This was a new sales record for the month of May and was only 3 sales short of surpassing the all-time single month record set just last month.

Home sales were 37.3% above the five-year average and 60.7% above the 10-year average for the month of May.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled a record 1,259 units over the first five months of the year. This was up sharply by 59.2% from the same period in 2020.

“We continue to see very strong market activity in the Saint John region.” said Corey Breau, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “MLS® home sales set a new record for the month of May, and the number of newly listed properties was above 375 for only the second time since the pandemic started. Although still only slightly above the lowest levels in history, active listings seem to have formed a bottom and are now at the highest level we have seen in 6 months. With demand still very strong and supply still relatively thin, it should be no surprise that the HPI composite benchmark price extended its streak of consecutive month over month increases to 8 months in May.”


The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) tracks price trends far more accurately than is possible using average or median price measures. The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $224,600 in May 2021, up by 26.3% compared to May 2020.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $225,500, an increase of 26% on a year-over-year basis in May. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $149,300, a significant gain of 45.2% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in May 2021 was $258,008, climbing 37.7% from May 2020.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $247,571, a jump of 34.5% from the first five months of 2020.

The dollar value of all home sales in May 2021 was $82.3 million, more than double the levels from a year earlier, rocketing up 130.1% from the same month in 2020. This was also a new record for the month of May.

The number of new listings saw an advance of 44.6% from May 2020. There were 392 new residential listings in May 2021.

New listings were 2.1% below the five-year average and 17% below the 10-year average for the month of May. Active residential listings numbered 677 units on the market at the end of May, down sharply by 32.7% from the end of May 2020. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of May in more than two decades.

Active listings were 49.9% below the five-year average and 61.4% below the 10-year average for the month of May.

Months of inventory numbered 2.1 at the end of May 2021, down from the 5.3 months recorded at the end of May 2020 and below the long-run average of 9.7 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

The Saint John Real Estate Board is an association of approximately 240 REALTORS® that provides services to and sets standards for members. The Saint John Real Estate Board covers the southern part of New Brunswick to the U.S. border in St. Stephen, and includes the counties of St. John, Kings, Charlotte and portions of Queens County.

SJNB Unit Records

Saint John NB MLS® Residential Data File (May 2021)

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