MLS® home sales in Saint John remain above average for the month of April

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 221 units in April 2022. This was a large decline of 29.4% from April 2021.

Home sales were 9.3% above the five-year average and 23.6% above the 10-year average for the month of April.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 752 units over the first four months of the year. This was a decline of 18.3% from the same period in 2021.

“As was the story with most of the boards and associations in New Brunswick, sales totals were the second highest for any April on record,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “For the most part, the song remains the same as previous months, with above average sales, average new listings, and very low overall inventory. Market balance has been persistently in favour of sellers for many months and as long as current conditions remain unchanged, this trend will likely carry through the remainder of the spring market. It should be no surprise at this point that MLS® HPI Benchmark Prices continue to return annual year-over-year increases in the 30% range, the exception being the apartment category that saw its lowest monthly year-over-year percentage increase since January 2021.”

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 $287,600 in April 2022, an advance of 31.1% compared to April 2021.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $289,000, up sharply by 31.4% on a year-over-year basis in April. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $181,800, a gain of 14.7% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in April 2022 was $304,159, up 14.9% from April 2021.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $295,810, rising 22.1% from the first four months of 2021.

The dollar value of all home sales in April 2022 was $67.2 million, a decrease of 18.9% from the same month in 2021.

The number of new listings fell 16.8% from April 2021. There were 341 new residential listings in April 2022.

New listings were 4.8% above the five-year average and 11.9% below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Active residential listings numbered 447 units on the market at the end of April, falling by 38.7% from the end of April 2021. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of April in more than two decades.

Active listings were 56.3% below the five-year average and 68.9% below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Months of inventory numbered 2 at the end of April 2022, down from the 2.3 months recorded at the end of April 2021 and below the long-run average of 9 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 over 320 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.