New Brunswick saw a slight increase in home sales during the month of October, according to new figures.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported 803 home sales, up three compared to the same period last year.
Home sales remained about 16 per cent below the five-year average and 0.2 per cent below the 10-year average for the month.
At the local level, activity increased in Greater Moncton (11.1 per cent), Northern and Valley Regions (5.3 per cent) and Fredericton (2.2 per cent), but fell in Saint John (-19.4 per cent).
New listings were up nearly nine per cent year over year, with 1,047 new residential listings in October.
But the number of active residential listings fell nearly 13 per cent to 2,735 units at the end of the month.
The benchmark price for a single-family home increased more than seven per cent to $294,000.
Greater Moncton
Greater Moncton saw a total of 300 home sales in October, which was nearly 15 below the five-year average but nearly three per cent above the 10-year average.
“Sales had a good year-over-year bump and were pretty much where we’d expect them to be at this time of year,” Devon Babineau, president of the Greater Moncton REALTORS, said in a news release.
“New listings, on the other hand, dipped just a tad from the same time last year, though they’re sitting slightly above what we typically see in October.”
There were 380 new residential listings in October, a year-over-year decrease of 1.6 per cent. Active residential listings were down 11.8 per cent to 968 at the end of October.
Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 3.2, down from 4.1 a year ago and below the long-run average of 7.5 months for this time of year.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $344,300, an increase of 10 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.
Saint John
Saint John saw a total of 162 home sales in October, which was well below the historical averages for this time of year.
“On the brighter side, new listings increased from the same period last year, although they’re still below what we usually see in October,” Kevin Donovan, president of the Saint John Real Estate Board, said in a news release.
“When it comes to our overall inventory, it shrank compared to both last month and last year, hovering well below what we’d expect based on historical averages.”
There were 219 new residential listings in October, a year-over-year increase of 10 per cent. Active residential listings were down 10.7 per cent to 219 at the end of October.
Months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 3.3, up from 3.0 a year ago but down from the long-run average of 7.5 months for this time of year.
The benchmark price for single-family homes was $302,900, an increase of 12 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.
