Home sales in Greater Saint John continue at a steady pace, according to the local real estate board.

Figures from the Saint John Real Estate Board show a total of 209 homes changes hands in September.

That was down more than 24 per cent from this time last year, but slightly above the 10-year average.

“MLS home sales in our local market continue to buck the national trend, with sales totals coming in right around the level we would expect for this time of year,” Kevin Donovan said in a news release.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 1,982 units over the first nine months of the year, down by 18.2 per cent from the same period last year.

There were 270 new residential listings added in September, which Donovan said was “marginally” below average for this time of year.

“Active listings have recovered somewhat from the all-time lows set earlier this year, although the number of MLS listed properties at the end of the month was still significantly below the long-term average,” he said.

There were 610 active units on the market at the end of September, according to the board. While that was up slightly from a month earlier, the numbers have not been this low in September in more than two decades.

The 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 September, down from the long-run average of 8.8 months for this time of year.

The average price of homes sold in September was $296,809, according to the board, up from $280,492 in August.

“It is still too soon to foresee how the most recent interest rate hikes will impact affordability but at least for now, prices are holding steady in our region,” said Donovan.

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.