In March 2024, lowered sales, increased prices, and other shifting trends, characterized the New Brunswick market.
Sales
In March 2024, 656 homes were sold, according to the MLS® System of the New Brunswick Real Estate Board, for a 13.2% decline from March 2023. Sales remained 23.9% below the five-year average and 10.4% below the ten-year average for March. Year-to-date sales reached 1,706 units, down 0.9% from 2023 for the same period.
Across the province, home sales decreased in all regions compared to March 2023:
- Saint John – 3.9%
- Greater Moncton -14.9%
- Fredericton -15.2%
- Northern and Valley Regions -17.8%
Price
Both the MLS® HPI Benchmark Price, which provides a more precise gauge of price trends compared to average or median price measures, plus the average price, of New Brunswick homes have consecutively increased over the past three months. In March 2024, the overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price reached $295,900, rising 9.5% from March 2023.
For single-family homes, the benchmark price reached $296,700, reflecting a 9.6% rise year-over-year. In comparison, townhouse/row units saw a benchmark price of $269,600, up by 8.5% from the previous year, while apartments experienced a moderate gain with a benchmark price of $269,800, marking a 6.2% increase over the previous year.
Listings
New listings dropped slightly by 1.9% compared to March 2023, with 1,051 new residential listings entering the market. This is the first time in several months for new listings to be higher than 1,000. New listings were 12.1% lower than the five-year average and 18.8% below the ten-year average for March. There were 2,388 active residential listings at the end of March, showing a 1.8% drop from March 2023, and staying 10.5% under the five-year average and 46.1% under the ten-year average for March.
Inventory
Inventory rose to 3.6 months at the end of March 2024, up from 3.2 at the end of March 2023, but stayed below the long-run average of 6.9 months for March.
New Brunswick Employment Trends
As of March 2024, New Brunswick’s seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rate rose to 7.1%, up by 0.5% from February. Despite this increase, it remains 5.8% below the peak in June 2020 and is below the long-term average. A loss of 1,000 fewer full-time jobs was counteracted by an increase of 1,100 part-time positions for a net gain of 100 total jobs in March. Full-time employment remained 1,800 jobs below its peak in December 2023, however.
Rental Market
In March 2024, the Moncton median rent was $1,452, up 16% over 2023. In St John, the median rent was $1,249, a drop of 7% from the previous year.
