MLS® home sales in Saint John up from May totals

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 221 units in June 2023. This was a large decline of 30.9% from June 2022.

Home sales were 20.7% below the five-year average and 6.9% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 922 units over the first six months of the year, declining by 30.3% from the same period in 2022.

“Although down from last year and still below the long run average, MLS® home sales in June were higher than in May. However, the number of newly listed properties declined 18 percent month over month, falling well below the historical norm for this time of year,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “As sales trailed behind the pace of new listings, there was an uptick in overall inventory. This marks the fifth consecutive month of active listings growth, pushing the total number of available homes above 500 for the first time since autumn 2022. However, it’s important to note that the overall inventory remains considerably lower than what is typically expected in the month of June. The MLS® HPI Benchmark Price rose from the May reading, with the apartment category leading the way with a significant six percent increase.”

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 $291,400 in June 2023, a small reduction of 3% compared to June 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $292,800, falling by 3% on a year-over-year basis in June. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $209,400, down by 5.4% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in June 2023 was $315,500, increasing by 7.2% from June 2022.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $297,275, a modest decline of 1.1% from the first six months of 2022.

The dollar value of all home sales in June 2023 was $69.7 million, down 26% from the same month in 2022.

The number of new listings fell 11.9% from June 2022. There were 340 new residential listings in June 2023. This was the lowest number of new listings added in the month of June in more than 15 years.

New listings were 10.1% below the five-year average and 21.5% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

Active residential listings numbered 553 units on the market at the end of June, a large decline of 13.2% from the end of June 2022. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of June in more than two decades.

Active listings were 38.3% below the five-year average and 62.7% below the 10-year average for the month of June.

Months of inventory numbered 2.5 at the end of June 2023, up from the 2 months recorded at the end of June 2022 and below the long-run average of 7.1 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.