Another Month Of Home Sales Records In Saint John Region

Home sales in the Saint John region continued to set records in the month of October, according to the local real estate board.

The Saint John Real Estate Board says 283 homes were sold during the month, up 25 per cent year-over-year.

While home sales dipped slightly from September, they did set a monthly record for October.

“Not only did home sales break through the 250-mark for the first time in October, they also posted the second-highest level of any month in history behind the record set just two months prior in August,” said Corey Breau, president of the real estate board.

It has set the stage for what will likely be a record year for home sales in the Saint John region.

But Breau said the main story continues to be the unexpected strength of demand combined with low inventory numbers.

“New listings have been increasing, however, sales are outpacing them,” he said.

There were 293 new residential listings in October, down from the 320 new residential listings recorded in September.

The number of active residential listings stood at 830 at the end of October, a drop of nearly 100 listings from the previous month.

Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 2.9 at the end of October, well below the long-run average of 10.8 months for this time of year.

As demand continues to grow, so does the average price of home sales, which hit a record $212,578 in October. That is a year-over-year increase of more than 12 per cent.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $196,781, up nearly eight per cent compared to the first 10 months of 2019.

Overall, home sales totalled $60.2 million last month — a new record for the month of October.

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 Saint John, Kings, Charlotte and portions of Queens.