Saint John Real Estate Board MLS® home sales and new listings below average in July

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 187 units in July 2023. This was down sharply by 16.9% from July 2022.

Home sales were 24.7% below the five-year average and 19.6% below the 10-year average for the month of July.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,108 units over the first seven months of the year. This was a substantial decrease of 28.4% from the same period in 2022.

“Sales declined from the same period last year and are currently trending below the historical average for this month, marking the lowest July total since 2012,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “Moreover, new listings, which had been steadily increasing each month for the past seven months, recorded the first month-over-month decline. Although active listings have shown consistent growth for the past six months, they remain lower than at the end of July 2022. The benchmark price decreased from the same period last year but has recorded a notable increase from the end of 2022 and continued its upward trajectory for the seventh consecutive month. The market balance in July remained relatively stable, continuing to favour sellers.”

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 $293,800 in July 2023, nearly unchanged, down only 0.1% compared to July 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $295,200, essentially unchanged, down just 0.1% on a year-over-year basis in July. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $212,500, increasing by 4.5% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in July 2023 was a record $330,281, a sizable gain of 18.9% from July 2022.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $302,865, increasing by 1.9% from the first seven months of 2022.

The dollar value of all home sales in July 2023 was $61.8 million, was a modest decline of 1.2% from the same month in 2022.

The number of new listings was down sharply by 10.9% from July 2022. There were 278 new residential listings in July 2023. This was the lowest number of new listings added in the month of July in more than 15 years.

New listings were 17.8% below the five-year average and 26.6% below the 10-year average for the month of July.

Active residential listings numbered 589 units on the market at the end of July, a substantial decrease of 13% from the end of July 2022. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of July in more than two decades.

Active listings were 36.2% below the five-year average and 61.2% below the 10-year average for the month of July.

Months of inventory numbered 3.1 at the end of July 2023, up from the 3 months recorded at the end of July 2022 and below the long-run average of 6.8 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.