Near-Record Number Of Home Sales In March

The COVID-19 pandemic did not put a damper on March home sales in the Saint John region, but the picture could be much different in April.

Figures released by the Saint John Real Esatate Board show 179 homes were sold last month, an increase of 14 per cent from the year before and the second-best March sales figure on record.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales have jumped by more than 25 per cent compared to the same time period in 2019.

“Home sales managed a strong pace right through the end of March, although that looks to be slowing now amid already low supply and new listings which are dropping sharply as sellers shelve plans to try and sell during the coronavirus crisis,” said Sherry Sheldrick, president of the Saint John Real Estate Board, in a news release.

There were 227 new residential listings in March, a drop of 21.5 cent on a year-over-year basis.

Sheldrick said preliminary results for early April are showing sales down by close to half on a year-over-year basis and new listings down by almost two-thirds.

“The market is likely to be pretty quiet over the next number of weeks at least until social distance guidelines start to be relaxed,” she said.

Active residential listings numbered 922 units at the end of March, marking the lowest level for the month in more than 15 years.

Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered at 5.2 at the end of March, well below the 10-year average of 12 months for this time of year.