The year 2019 was a very busy year in the Fredericton area real estate market. The past year had the second highest sales on record.

Home sales totalled 2,461 units in 2019. This was an increase of 12.7 per cent from 2018 and was the second highest annual level on record after 2007. Fredericton home sales missed the 2007 record by just 16 sales.

The annual average price for 2019 was $187,808, up 2.7 per cent from 2018.

There is a low supply of houses for sale, causing delay in the purchasing plans of buyers.

There were 100 new residential listings in December 2019, a decrease of 18 per cent on a year-over-year basis and the lowest level for this month in more than 15 years.

Overall supply of houses has generally trended lower since mid-2015 and now stands at the lowest level since 2002. Active residential listings numbered 656 units at the end of December, down 23.2 per cent from the end of December in 2018.

Generally, houses have been selling faster. Months of inventory numbered 6.8 at the end of December 2019, down from the 10.3 months recorded at the end of December 2018 and below the 10-year average of 11.5 months for the end of the year. 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.