Home sales rebounded across southern New Brunswick during the month of August.

Figures from the Saint John Real Estate Board show a total of 226 units were sold.

President Kevin Donovan said that marked the first year-over-year monthly gain since March 2022.

But Donovan said sales remained as much as 10 per cent below their long-term averages.

“Conversely, new listings saw a significant year-over-year decrease, resulting in a contraction of overall inventory, which remains well below the historical norm for August,” said Donovan.

There were just 237 new listings in August, down 25 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier.

Active residential listings numbered 545 units at the end of the month, a year-over-year drop of nearly 23 per cent.

“Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of August in more than two decades,” said the board.

Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 2.4, down from the long-run average of 6.9 months for this time of year.

Donovan said benchmark prices showed strength in August, with the benchmark price for a single-family home climbing to $299,500, a year-over-year increase of 6.4 per cent.

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.