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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 47 units during May, a decrease of 16 percent from the same period last year. While home sales did slip for the month, compared to the past five years, home sales during May have remained steady (41 is the five-year average 2011-15). Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

For all of Lake Martin’s area housing data, click here.

Year-to-date home sales at Lake Martin through May slipped 22.7 percent compared to last year’s 220 units.

Forecast: May sales were 13 percent or seven units below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through May projected 213 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 170 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in May was 505 units, a decrease of 10.5 percent from a year ago and 36 percent below the May peak in 2008 of 789 units (this is good news). In addition, May inventory decreased by 0.6 percent from the prior month. This direction contrasts with historical data indicating that May inventory on average (2011-15) increases from April by 1.1 percent. There were 10.7 months of housing supply in May (6 months is considered equilibrium in May), an increase of 6.2 percent from last May’s 10.1 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales increased 20.5 percent from the prior month. This direction is right on target with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating May sales on average (2011-15) increase by 20.5 percent from April.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in May was $289,000, an increase of 18 percent from May 2015 and a 68 percent decrease compared to the prior month. Historical data indicate that the May median sales price (2011-15) typically increases 32 percent from April. Pricing can and will fluctuate from month to month due to changing composition of actual sales (lakefront vs. non-lakefront) and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

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 at Lake Martin during May was $323,726.

On average, homes sold at Lake Martin during May spent 189 days on the market.

Home sales at Lake Martin rose by 20.5 percent from April.

There were 505 units listed on the market in Lake Martin during May.

The median sales price for homes sold at Lake Martin during May was $289,000.

There were 10.7 months of supply on the market at Lake Martin during May.

There were 47 homes sold at Lake Martin during May.

The Lake Martin Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.