New Brunswick home sales remained subdued in March, according to the province’s real estate board.

A total of 641 homes were sold across the province last month, down 2.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Locally, home sales activity was up 2.5 per cent in Greater Moncton and 1.3 per cent in Fredericton, while it fell 15.6 per cent in the Saint John region.

Justin Morehouse, who chairs the New Brunswick Real Estate Board, said we are seeing similar trends play out in many other local markets across the country.

“Muted buyer activity in response to the chaotic and uncertain fallout from the trade war, coupled with increasingly motivated sellers who are repricing their properties more aggressively in order to attract the remaining buyers,” said Morehouse.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $320,200, up by more than eight per cent year over year.

The number of new listings shot up by 24 per cent in March to 1,298, according to figures from the board.

Active residential listings numbered 2,829 units at the end of March, up 10.8 per cent year over year and the highest March figure in five years.

The months of inventory — the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity — numbered 4.4 at the end of March, down from the long-run average of six months for this time of year.

Morehouse said he expects the market will likely remain uncertain over the coming months as buyers deliberate their choices.