Demand for MLS® home sales in Saint John remains very strong in June

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 325 units in June 2022. This was a small reduction of 3% (10 sales) from June 2021.

Home sales were 18.8% above the five-year average and 38.4% above the 10-year average for the month of June.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,331 units over the first six months of the year, declining 14.8% from the same period in 2021.

“Although many other markets across the country have seen demand falter, market activity in our region continues to flourish. MLS® home sales, although down slightly from the record setting pace from June 2021, still posted the second highest June total in history,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “The number of newly listed properties last month was in line with what we would expect in a typical June, which helped to keep overall inventory stable. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price increased for the seventh month in a row, continuing to post year-over-year percentage gains in the high 20% range. Although our region is faring very well in comparison to many other regions of Canada, we are mindful of the impact rising borrowing costs are having on buyers and acknowledge that further expected interest rate increases will eventually influence demand and affordability.”

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 $298,200 in June 2022, a large gain of 30% compared to June 2021.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $299,400, an advance of 30.1% on a year-over-year basis in June. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price rose 14.4% to $221,500, when compared to year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in June 2022 was $293,755, a gain of 8.8% from June 2021.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $300,114, up by 19.8% from the first six months of 2021.

The dollar value of all home sales in June 2022 was $95.5 million, an increase of 5.5% from the same month in 2021. This was a new record for the month of June and was also the largest dollar value of homes sold for any month in history.

The number of new listings saw a small reduction of 1.3% (five listings) from June 2021. There were 386 new residential listings in June 2022.

New listings were 0.8% above the five-year average and 12.3% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

Active residential listings numbered 566 units on the market at the end of June, a substantial decline of 26.9% from the end of June 2021. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of June in more than two decades.

Active listings were 49.6% below the five-year average and 65.4% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

Months of inventory numbered 1.7 at the end of June 2022, down from the 2.3 months recorded at the end of June 2021 and below the long-run average of 8 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 330 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.