Brunswick County’s residential real estate market in October experienced its first significant drop of the year in its monthly sales volume, according to a news release Tuesday.

The total fell 19.5%, from $261 million to about $210 million, last month compared to October 2020. The only other month with a drop in total sales volume so far this year was August, which saw a negligible 0.7% decrease, stated the Brunswick County Association of Realtors release.

The number of units sold decreased about 27%, from 670 to 487, but pending sales are up 24% over last month, according to the release. Homes are averaging 30 days on the market, 15 days or less for homes that cost under $299,000.

“While our market remains ahead of last year’s record pace, sales volume was down slightly in October compared to 2020,” said BCAR CEO Cynthia Walsh in the release. “Even though some national experts think the market may be in the early stages of a cool-down, Brunswick County’s market remains consistent. Prices are up, and homes are selling quickly. We expect our market to remain strong moving into winter.”

Last month, 23 homes priced at more than $1 million sold in Brunswick County, according to the BCAR report, which is based on the N.C. Regional Multiple Listing Service. The most expensive to sell was $2.75 million.

The average sales price jumped from $390,062 to $432,131, a 10.8% increase fueled by those strong luxury home sales, the report stated.

New listings dropped 6% compared to last October, from 662 to 622.

Meanwhile, the market’s year-to-date numbers remain ahead of last year’s pace. Total sales volume is up 29.4% compared to 2020, increasing from about $1.7 billion to more than $2.2 billion.

Average sales prices year-to-date are nearly 20% higher than in 2020, jumping from $328,943 to $393,703, the report stated.

Also compared to this time last year, the number of units sold through October is up 10.6%, from 5,175 to 5,723, and new listings increased 4%, from 6,060 to 6,316.​