Home sales were down across most of New Brunswick to wrap up 2023, according to the new figures.
The New Brunswick Real Estate Association said 425 homes were sold across the province in December.
The Saint John, Fredericton and Northern regions all saw year-over-year decreases, while the Moncton area saw a slight increase.
On an annual basis, home sales were down from 2022, with a total of 9.093 homes sold throughout 2023.
New listings were also down in most areas of the province in December, though the Greater Moncton and Northern regions saw a modest uptick. Across the province, there were 397 new listings during the month.
Active residential listings dropped across the board, with 2,028 homes on the market at the end of December.
Saint John saw a total of 98 home sales last month, the first time sales were below 100 since the beginning of 2023.
“December also witnessed the lowest number of newly listed properties for any single month on record,” said Kevin Donovan, president of the Saint John Real Estate Board.
There were just 60 new residential listings, a 31 per cent drop over the same period in 2022.
New listings were 39 per cent below the five-year average and 48.7 per cent below the 10-year average.
“Overall inventory contracted, dipping below the 350 available homes mark for the first time in history,” Donovan noted.
Active residential listings were down 24 per cent to 345 units at the end of December.
Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 3.5, down from 4.2 a year ago and below the long-run average of 9.2 months for this time of year.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $286,400, an increase of more than eight per cent on a year-over-year basis.
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.
Greater Moncton saw a total of 170 home sales in December, a modest gain of three per cent over the same time in 2022.
Devon Babineau, president of the Greater Moncton REALTORS, said it was the fourth-highest total on record for the month, albeit still below the monthly average.
“New listings faced a decline for the fourth consecutive month, dropping by nearly half from November’s figures,” said Babineau.
There were 165 new residential listings in December, which was up 14.6 per cent from one year earlier.
New listings were 0.8 per cent below the five-year average and 7.1 per cent below the 10-year average.
“Notably, overall inventory also contracted, dipping below the 800 available home mark for the first time since early spring,” said Babineau.
Active residential listings were down 10.1 per cent to 727 units at the end of December.
Months of inventory numbered 4.3, down from 4.9 a year ago and below the long-run average of 9.1 months for this time of year.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $345,100, an increase of 13.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
The Greater Moncton REALTORS represents more than 550 realtors in Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview, as well as nearby communities in southeastern New Brunswick.
