Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the Alabama Center for Real Estate Corporate Cabinet. Join the Center mailing list here.

Sales: Alabama home sales totaling 5,222 units during March were an increase of 13.4 percent from the same month a year ago. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Alabama home sales were just under the 2007 peak standing at 5,222 during March.

Forecast: March sales were 13 percent or 607 units above the Alabama Center for Real Estate‘s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s 2017 sales forecast through March projected 11,403 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 12,189 units.

Supply: The statewide housing inventory during March was 28,997 units, a decrease of 3 percent from March 2016 and 30 percent below the March peak in 2008 (41,398 units). There were 5.5 months of housing supply in March (6 months is considered equilibrium), which represents a favorable drop of 14.5 percent from March 2016 (6.5 months).

March inventory increased from February by 11.4 percent. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate March inventory on average (2012-16) increases from February by 3 percent.

Seeking balance: The metro markets in Alabama representing 70 percent of all sales continued to trend toward greater seller bargaining power with 4.6 months of supply. Outside the metro markets, Alabama’s midsized markets are reporting 5.2 months of supply, while rural areas are reporting 12.7 months of supply. There have been significant improvements from inventory peaks experienced during the recession. The supply of quality inventory in the past has affected sales, according to some boots-on-the-ground professionals.

Industry perspective: “Our economic forecast remains in a conservative holding pattern as we await word on the particulars of the new Administration’s plans for fiscal stimulus,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “In the meantime, economic sentiment from most industry stakeholders continues to reach new heights: consumers, as demonstrated by our National Housing Survey, are more positive than at any time since the survey’s inception in 2010 about the direction of the economy, while homebuilders’ optimism remains near an 11-year high. Tight inventory remains a boon to home prices and Americans’ net worth, but it also continues to price out many would-be first-time homebuyers. However, our research suggests that aging millennials, now boasting higher real wages, are beginning to narrow the homeownership attainment gap.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Alabama March Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

The Alabama Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Alabama Association of Realtors and its local associations.