Average price sets new record in 2009

SAINT JOHN -- January 25, 2010 -- The average price of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Saint John Real Estate Board rose to the highest annual level on record in 2009. Sales activity also posted a second consecutive year-over-year gain in December.
According to statistics provided by the Board, the average price for homes sold in December 2009 rose 14 per cent from year-ago levels to $178,037. This is the fourth consecutive double-digit price gain. By comparison, the average price for home sales in New Brunswick was up five per cent year-over-year to $148,559.
On an annual basis, the average price of all homes sold in Saint John was $171,027 in 2009. This is a new annual record, up eight per cent from 2008.
Residential sales numbered 97 units in December 2009, rising 20 per cent from year-ago levels. Provincial sales activity, by comparison, was up 15 per cent from a year earlier.
Home sales were up in the fourth quarter of 2009, but transactions in the first three quarters of the year were down from their respective periods in 2008. As a result, annual sales activity in Saint John declined eight per cent to 1,986 units in 2009. It was the third best year on record for home sales in Saint John, standing 12 per cent below the peak in 2007.
The total value of all home sales was $17.3 million in December 2009, rising 36 per cent from one year earlier. This is the highest dollar volume on record for the month of December. The dollar volume for all homes sold in 2009 was $339.7 million, down one per cent from 2008. The monthly dollar volume of residential sales in New Brunswick increased 21 per cent from the previous December.
Total sales in Saint John numbered 112 units in December, up six per cent year-over-year. The total value of these property sales was $19.5 million, an increase of 33 per cent from December 2008.
New listings on the Board’s MLS® System were up 14 per cent from one year earlier to 157 units in December. This is a record for the month. There were 1,030 active residential listings on the Board’s MLS® System at the end of December 2009. Although this is an increase of 16 per cent from one year ago, the pace of supply gains continues to slow as demand improves.
There were 10.6 months of inventory at the end of December, down slightly from December 2008 (11 months). The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
“Strong price gains continue to draw more sellers to the market,” said Peter Pappas, President of the Saint John Real Estate Board. “Activity improved steadily throughout 2009, and that momentum is likely to carry forward into the new year.”
The Saint John Real Estate Board is an association of about 340 REALTORS® that provides services to and sets standards for members. 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 St. John, Kings, Charlotte and portions of Queens County.