Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.
Sales: According to the Gulf Coast Multiple Listing Service, Mobile-area residential sales totaled 365 units during May, a decrease of 15.5 percent from the same month last year. Total 2016 home sales in May were 432. Year-to-date sales in the area through May are down 4 percent from 2016. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.
For all of Mobile’s area housing data, click here.
Forecast: May sales were 57 units, or 13 percent, below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s 2017 sales forecast through May projected 1,783 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 1,744 units.
Supply: The Mobile-area housing inventory in May was 1,891 units, a decrease of 13 percent from May 2016. Inventory has declined 47 percent from the May peak (3,594 units) reached in 2010. There were 5.2 months of housing supply last month (6 months represents a balanced market for this time of year), up from 4.6 in May 2016.
Demand: May sales decreased by 67 units from April. This direction contrasts with historical data, which indicate May sales, on average (2012-16), increase from April by 9.6 percent.
Pricing: The Mobile-area median sales price in May was $132,500, up 0.2 percent from last May. The May median sales price was unchanged when compared to April. Historical data indicate the May median sales prices increased 1.7 percent from the month of April from 2012 through 2016. Pricing can fluctuate from month to month as the sample size of data is subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE highly recommends consulting with a local real estate professional to discuss prices, which can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Industry perspective: “Once again, our full-year growth forecast remains intact as the economy grinds along, with the prospect of material policy changes appearing to be delayed,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “We expect consumer spending to resume its role as the biggest driver of growth in the second quarter amid improvements in the labor market. Positive demographic factors should continue to reshape the housing market, as rising employment and incomes appear to be positively influencing millennial homeownership rates. However, the tight supply of homes for sale continues to act as both a boon to home prices and an impediment to affordability.”
Click here to generate more graphs from the Mobile May Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply.
The Mobile Area Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Mobile Area Association of Realtors to better serve Gulf Coast consumers.