Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.
Sales: According to the Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service, the Birmingham metro area residential sales totaled 1,307 units during April, 85 units or 7 percent above the same time last year. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.
For all of the Birmingham area’s housing data, click here.
Forecast: April sales were 124 units or 10.4 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast projected 4.026 closed transactions while the actual sales were 4,227 units, a favorable difference of 5 percent.
Supply: The Birmingham-area housing inventory in April was 7,319 units, an increase of 6 percent from April 2015 but down 43.2 percent from the April peak in 2007 (12,895 units). April inventory in the Birmingham metro area also increased 5.4 percent from March. This direction is consistent with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating that April inventory on average (2011-15) increases from March by 2.7 percent.
According to the Greater Alabama MLS, in the Birmingham metro-area market, there were 5.6 months of housing supply during April, unchanged from April 2015. The supply decreased favorably from March (5.7 months of supply). The “months of housing supply” is a simple calculation – homes listed (supply) divided by homes sold (demand). In general, about 6 months is considered the point of equilibrium during April.
Demand: April residential sales increased by 6.7 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that April sales, on average (2011-15), increase from March by 7.3 percent.
Existing single-family home sales accounted for 87 percent of total sales, up from 79 percent during April 2015, while 9 percent (up from 7 percent in April 2015) were new home sales and 3 percent (unchanged from April 2015) were condo buyers.
Pricing: The median sales price in April was $190,000, an increase of 4.4 percent from last April ($182,000). The April median sales price also increased 6.7 percent from March. This direction is consistent with historical data (2011-15) indicating that the April median sales price on average increases from March by 1.2 percent. Pricing can fluctuate from month to month as the sample size of data is subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends consulting with a local real estate professional who has access to pricing data at the neighborhood level.
Industry perspective: “We can partially attribute the sizable gain in April in home-selling optimism both to a correction for last month’s unexpected dip and to typical seasonal strength in housing activity in the spring and summer,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Even after accounting for these factors, continued tight housing supply has led to renewed strength in home price appreciation, making selling a home a more attractive prospect this year in particular. This improved sentiment could provide an extra boost of much-needed supply for the spring selling season.” For the entire report, click here.
The Birmingham Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Greater Alabama MLS and the Birmingham Association of REALTORS to better serve Birmingham metro-area consumers.