Residential property sales recorded through the MLS® System of the Greater Moncton Real Estate Board Inc. posted the best month of December on record in 2009.

 

According to statistics provided by the Board, home sales activity numbered 146 units in December 2009, up 21 per cent from year-ago levels. Provincial sales activity, by comparison, was up 15 per cent from a year earlier.

 

The strong showing in the final two months of the year was not enough to offset a weak beginning to the year. As a result, annual sales in the Moncton area declined 10 per cent from 2008 levels to 2,386 units in 2009.

 

“Demand improved considerably in the tail end of the year,” said Paul Burns, President of the Greater Moncton Real Estate Board Inc “Sales were held down for much of the year, so 2009 did not outperform 2008. However, the recent strength of activity points to a good start for the resale market in 2010.”

 

The average price for home sales in Moncton was $152,559 in December 2009, up three per cent from the same month in 2008. Provincially, the average price for home sales in New Brunswick rose five per cent year-over-year to $148,559.

 

On an annual basis, the annual average price for all homes sold in Moncton in 2009 was $150,135. This is a new annual record, rising five per cent from levels reported in 2008.

 

The total value of home sales reported through the Board’s MLS® System was $22.3 million in December 2009, 25 per cent above the dollar volume recorded a year earlier. By comparison, the monthly dollar volume of residential sales in New Brunswick increased 21 per cent from the previous December.

 

The dollar value of all home sales in 2009 totalled $358.2 million, down six per cent from 2008.

 

Total sales activity numbered 170 units, up 28 per cent from one year earlier. The value of all property sales in December 2009 amounted to $24.6 million, rising 28 per cent year-over-year.

 

New listings on the Board’s MLS® System jumped 26 per cent from year-ago levels to 179 units in December. It was the highest number of new listings on record for the month of December, standing in sharp contrast to the recent downward trend.

 

Active listings on the Board’s MLS® System totalled 1,279 units at the end of December 2009, down 10 per cent from a year earlier. This is the sixth consecutive month in which supply has declined from year-ago levels.

 

There were 8.8 months of inventory at the end of December, down from 11.8 months a year earlier. 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.

 

The Greater Moncton Real Estate Board Inc. represents more than 317 REALTORS® from over 33 member offices in Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview as well as nearby communities in South Eastern New Brunswick. MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada's real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.