Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.

Sales: According to the North Alabama Multiple Listing Service, Marshall County sales were 18.6 percent above March 2015 at 70 sales for the month. Year-to-date sales in Marshall County are 2.6 percent below the same period last year. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

Click here to check out all of our Marshall County housing data.

Forecast: March sales were six units or 7.8 percent below Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through March projected 187 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 151 units, an unfavorable difference of 19 percent.

Residential sales were 18.6 percent above last March in Marshall County.

Supply: Marshall County housing inventory totaled 562 units, a decrease of 19 percent from March 2015. March inventory increased 0.4 percent from February. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate March inventory on average (2011-15) increases from February by 2.8 percent. Inventory levels continue to move in a downward trajectory in Marshall County during March.

The inventory-to-sales ratio during March improved to 8 months of supply during during 2016. Restated, at the March sales pace, it would take 8 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. This is 31.6 percent lower than last March’s ratio of 11.7 months of supply. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be approximately 6 months during March, so continued improvement would be welcome news for market participants.

Pricing: The Marshall County area median sales price in March was $107,500, an increase of 8.6 percent from last March ($99,000). The March median sales price was also 2.2 percent below the prior month. Historical data indicate that the March median sales price on average (2011-15) increases from February by 9.6 percent. Pricing can fluctuate from month to month as the sample size of data (closed transactions) is subject to seasonal buying patterns, so a broader lens as to pricing trends is appropriate. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information. 

Industry perspective: “Growing pessimism over the last three months about the direction of the economy seems to be spilling over into home purchase sentiment,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The gap between the share of consumers who think the economy is on the wrong track and the share who think it is on the right track has widened, nearly matching its reading last August, when concerns regarding China and oil prices led to the biggest stock market plunge in years. In turn, we saw dips this month in income growth perceptions, attitudes about the home selling climate, and job confidence, all of which contributed to the lowest Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) reading in the last year and a half. These declines seem to be at odds with recent news of solid overall job creation, but may reflect weakening economic performance in certain industries.” For the full report, click here.

There were 70 homes sold in Marshall County during March.

There were 8 months of supply on the market in Marshall County during March.

There were 562 units listed for sale in Marshall County during March.

Year-to-date sales in Marshall County through March are down 2.6 percent.

The median sales price for homes sold in Marshall County during March was $107,500.

On average, homes sold in Marshall County during March spent 137 days on the market.

The average home sold during March in Marshall County sold for $142,828.

The Marshall County Residential Monthly Report is work product developed in conjunction with the Marshall County Board of Realtors to better serve area consumers.