Lack of MLS® listed homes in Saint John impacts sales in April

May 10, 2023

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 147 units in April 2023. This was down by 32.9% from April 2022.

Home sales were 25.4% below the five-year average and 18.3% below the 10-year average for the month of April.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 495 units over the first four months of the year. This was a decline of 33.6% from the same period in 2022.

“Homeowners may have been reluctant to put their properties on the market in recent months due the unavailability of attractive replacement options. As a result, the number of sales in April continued to feel the effect of lower supply.” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “Despite the number of properties for sale increasing to its highest level since late 2022, it is still only slightly above one-third of the 10-year average for April. Although the market continues to heavily favor sellers, there has been no significant increase in the number of newly listed properties. Consequently, both the average price and the MLS® HPI Benchmark price have been steadily rising since January. If the current conditions persist, it is likely that prices will continue to rise as buyers bid on the remaining desirable properties.”

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 $276,600 in April 2023, a minor decrease of 3.9% compared to April 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $278,000, a small reduction of 3.8% on a year-over-year basis in April. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $195,700, a decline of 7.8% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in April 2023 was $312,399, a small gain of 2.3% from April 2022.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $282,521, decreasing by 4.7% from the first four months of 2022.

The dollar value of all home sales in April 2023 was $45.9 million, falling 31.4% from the same month in 2022.

The number of new listings was down by 36.3% from April 2022. There were 216 new residential listings in April 2023.

New listings were 26.1% below the five-year average and 39.9% below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Active residential listings numbered 434 units on the market at the end of April, a decrease of 13% from the end of April 2022. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of April in more than two decades.

Active listings were 45.4% below the five-year average and 66.4% below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Months of inventory numbered 3 at the end of April 2023, up from the 2.3 months recorded at the end of April 2022 and below the long-run average of 7.8 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 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.

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