The president of the Saint John Real Estate Board says activity in the region remains stable.
Kevin Donovan said both sales and new listings were down year-over-year last month.
But Donovan said they were still more or less what they would expect in a typical August.
“Our local market seems to be holding up relatively well compared to others across the country,” said Donovan.
Figures from the board show 227 homes were sold in August, down 19.5 per cent from a year earlier. That number is also 10 per cent below the five-year average but was slightly above the 10-year average.
New listings were down by three per cent to 318, which marked the lowest number of new listings added in August in more than 15 years. That figure was also 5.7 per cent below the five-year average and 7.7 per cent below the 10-year average.
The number of active listings increased slightly month over month to 607. That is well below what we would normally see at this time of year.
The months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 2.7, down from the long-run average of 8.1 months for this time of year.
Donovan said demand has softened recently, which has helped to ease upward pressure on prices, but they are still significantly elevated from this time last year.
The average home sold in August went for $280,492, according to the board. While that is nearly 16 per cent higher than this time last year, it is almost on par with the average price of $276,437 in July.
“Many would-be buyers and sellers have sidelined themselves waiting to see how the Bank of Canada’s aggressive attempt to tame inflation will impact the cost of borrowing and whether that will be partially offset by declining prices,” said Donovan.
“Only time will tell how the next several months play out, but at least for the time being, market activity in our region remains stable.”
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.
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