January MLS® listed properties sold in Sant John post lowest single month total since 2018

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 94 units in January 2023. This was a substantial decline of 36.5% from January 2022.

Home sales were 27.8% below the five-year average and 13.8% below the 10-year average for the month of January.

“Compared to the past few years 2023 is off to a slow start. The number of MLS® listed properties changing hands in January was the lowest single month total since the beginning of 2018,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “For those keeping track, January’s sales total is the seventh consecutive month-over-month decline. New listings are also tracking far below average to start the new year, driving overall inventory down to only slightly above the all-time low. Consequently, there was a significant shift in market balance in January. Although it is not yet definitive, it is reasonable to expect that this is an anomaly and new supply will return to the market as the year progresses, loosening conditions from their current state.”

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 $268,400 in January 2023, a gain of 5.4% compared to January 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $268,800, up by 5.4% on a year-over-year basis in January. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $245,300, a moderate gain of 5.6% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in January 2023 was $245,536, decreasing by 6.6% from January 2022.

The dollar value of all home sales in January 2023 was $23.1 million, down sharply by 40.7% from the same month in 2022.

The number of new listings fell by 20% from January 2022. There were 116 new residential listings in January 2023. This was the lowest number of new listings added in the month of January in more than 35 years.

New listings were 36.2% below the five-year average and 58.8% below the 10-year average for the month of January.

Active residential listings numbered 369 units on the market at the end of January, a small gain of 3.4% (12 listings) from the end of January 2022.

Active listings were 48.1% below the five-year average and 67% below the 10-year average for the month of January.

Months of inventory numbered 3.9 at the end of January 2023, up from the 2.4 months recorded at the end of January 2022 and below the long-run average of 12 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 300 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.