Homes sales continue to decline across southern New Brunswick, according to new figures.

The Saint John Real Estate Board says 152 homes were sold in the month of November.

A drop of nearly 39 per cent compared to the record numbers reported in the same month of 2021.

Sales were also 21 per cent below the five-year average and six per cent below the 10-year average for the month.

“Sales activity remained subdued in November, with year-over-year declines appearing even more outsized due to last November posting the highest level for this month in history,” Kevin Donovan, president of the Saint John Real Estate Board, said in a news release.

While home sales continued to decline, the number of new listings coming to market remained steady, said Donovan.

There were 195 new listings during the month of November, an increase of two compared to a year earlier.

That figure is about four per cent above the five-year average and nearly 10 per cent below the 10-year average.

“New listings have been fairly stable this year, although even with demand at subdued levels there hasn’t been much liftoff in overall inventories, which are still sitting around record lows,” said Donovan.

Active residential listings numbered 486 units at the end of November, down eight per cent from a year ago.

According to the board, active listings have not been this low in the month of November 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 3.2 at the end of November, up from 2.1 a year ago but below the long-run average of 9.5 months for this time of year.

Meanwhile, the average price of homes sold in November inched up 10 per cent year-over-year to $267,511.

Donovan believes the lack of supply may help to explain why prices have been declining at a softer pace than many other markets across the country.

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.