Saint John MLS® home sales rebound in August

The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board totaled 226 units in August 2023. This was a modest gain of 1.8% (four sales) from August 2022.

Home sales were 10.5% below the five-year average and 2.6% below the 10-year average for the month of August.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,332 units over the first eight months of the year. This was down sharply by 24.7% from the same period in 2022.

“In a notable shift, sales rebounded from last month’s decline, marking the first year-over-year monthly gain since March 2022. Nevertheless, sales remain below their long-term averages. Conversely, new listings saw a significant year-over-year decrease, resulting in a contraction of overall inventory, which remains well below the historical norm for August,” said Kevin Donovan, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “On the positive side, benchmark prices showed strength, recording year-over-year increases in all housing types, with the apartment category leading the gains. This marks the first time all housing types have simultaneously experienced a year-over-year gain in the same month since December 2022.”

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 $298,300 in August 2023, a moderate gain of 6.3% compared to August 2022.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $299,500, increasing by 6.4% on a year-over-year basis in August. By comparison, the benchmark apartment price was $230,600, up by 7.6% from year-ago levels.

The average price of homes sold in August 2023 was $326,173, an increase of 15.4% from August 2022.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $306,929, a small gain of 3.9% from the first eight months of 2022.

The dollar value of all home sales in August 2023 was $73.7 million, increasing by 17.5% from the same month in 2022. This was also a new record for the month of August.

The number of new listings fell by 25.2% from August 2022. There were 237 new residential listings in August 2023. This was the lowest number of new listings added in the month of August in more than two decades.

New listings were 24.9% below the five-year average and 28.8% below the 10-year average for the month of August.

Active residential listings numbered 545 units on the market at the end of August, down notably by 22.7% from the end of August 2022. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of August in more than two decades.

Active listings were 40.4% below the five-year average and 63.3% below the 10-year average for the month of August.

Months of inventory numbered 2.4 at the end of August 2023, down from the 3.2 months recorded at the end of August 2022 and below the long-run average of 6.9 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.