Residential activity in Saint John was down on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2011. Home sales numbered 327 units in the fourth quarter, a decline of three per cent from year-ago levels.

On an annual basis, residential activity totaled 1,572 units in 2011, 10 per cent below levels from 2010.

Sales of single detached homes declined eight per cent from a year earlier. The number of months of inventory was up from year-ago levels at the end of the fourth quarter. As a result, homebuyers spent more time shopping in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in the previous fourth quarter.

The median sale price for single detached homes was down three per cent on a year-over-year basis to $153,500 in the fourth quarter of 2011.