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 1,564 units during May, 269 units or 20.8 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. 

The five-year average for homes sold during May in Birmingham is 37.4 percent.

Forecast: May sales were 257 units or 19.6 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast projected 5,333 closed transactions while the actual sales were 5,791 units, a favorable difference of 8.5 percent.

Supply: The Birmingham-area housing inventory in May was 7,415 units, an increase of 3.9 percent from May 2015 but down 43.8 percent from the May peak in 2007 (13,183 units). May inventory in the Birmingham metro area also increased 1.3 percent from April. This direction is consistent with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating that May inventory on average (2011-15) increases from April by 3.1 percent.

According to the Greater Alabama MLS, in the Birmingham metro-area market, there were 4.7 months of housing supply during May, down 14.7 percent from May 2015. The supply decreased favorably from April (5.6 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 May.

Demand: May residential sales increased by 19.7 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that May sales, on average (2011-15), increase from April by 13.4 percent.

Existing single-family home sales accounted for 85 percent of total sales, unchanged from May 2015, while 6 percent (down from 10 percent in May 2015) were new home sales and 4 percent (unchanged from May 2015) were condo buyers.

Pricing: The median sales price in May was $192,000, an increase of 0.3 percent from last May ($191,500). The May median sales price also increased 1.1 percent from April. This direction is consistent with historical data (2011-15) indicating that the May median sales price on average increases from April by 8.4 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: “Continued home price appreciation has been squeezing housing affordability, driving a two-year downward trend in the share of consumers who think it’s a good time to buy a home,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The current low mortgage rate environment has helped ease this pressure, and fewer than half of consumers expect rates to go up in the next year. While the May increase in income growth perceptions could provide further support to prospective home buyers as the spring/summer home-buying season gains momentum, the effect may be muted by May’s discouraging jobs report.” For the full report on home purchase sentiment, click here.

The average sales price for homes sold in Birmingham during May was $224,772.

On average, homes sold in Birmingham during May spent 61 days on the market.

There were 4.7 months of supply on the market in Birmingham during May.

There were 7,415 homes listed for sale in Birmingham during May.

The median sales price for homes sold during May in Birmingham was $192,000.

Year-to-date home sales in Birmingham during May rose 10 percent over the same period last year.

There were 1,564 homes sold in Birmingham during May.

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.