Home sales took a sizeable drop in our region in December according to Greater Moncton Realtors.

President Mike Power said home sales saw a 38.5 percent reduction compared to a year ago with 155 units sold.

Home sales were 23.8 percent below the five-year average and 8.8 percent below the 10-year average for December.

Over the course of 2022, home sales totaled 3,623 units which was a decrease of 23 percent from 2021.

“As expected, the seasonal holiday slowdown impacted the number of newly listed properties and the number of home sales in December. Consequently, market activity in our region continued at the below average pace we have experienced over the past few months,” said Power.

“Combined with the other common seasonal trend of sellers letting their listings expire over the holidays, the number of available homes heading into the end of the year shrunk to the lowest level since April. With another interest rate increase around the corner, it is reasonable to expect that market activity will remain subdued while buyers and sellers adjust to the current realities of our industry and the economy in general,” he added.

In December, the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark price for a home in Greater Moncton was $303,600, up by 7.5 percent over December 2021 but a 9.5 percent drop from six months ago.