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, Morgan County (Decatur) residential sales totaled 141 units during July, a decrease of 3 percent or four units below the same period last year. Year to date, home sales through July increased 3 percent from the same period of 2015. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

Click here for all Morgan County residential data.

Residential home sales through July in Morgan County rose 3 percent over last year.

Forecast: July sales were 22 units or 18 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through July projected 736 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 852 units, a 15 percent positive difference.

Supply: Morgan County area housing inventory totaled 780 units, a decrease of 12 percent from July 2015. Inventory was 1.3 percent above the prior month. Historical data indicate July inventory on average (2011-15) increases from June by 1.4 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio during July was 5.5 months of housing supply. Restated, at the July sales pace, it would take 5.5 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be approximately 6 months during July. Last July, the months of supply stood at 6.1 months. The months of supply has now declined 56.7 percent from the July peak reached in 2010 (12.7 months), which is encouraging news.

Demand: July residential sales rose 5.2 percent from the prior month. Historical data indicate July sales on average (2011-15) decrease from June by 6.3 percent. The average days on market until a listing sold was 100 days, down 12.3 percent from last July.

Pricing: The Morgan County median sales price during July was $144,850, which is 20.5 percent above July 2015’s $120,250 and 6.6 percent above the June median sales price ($135,900). Differing sample size from month to month can contribute to statistical volatility, including pricing. ACRE recommends consulting with a local real estate professional to discuss pricing, as it will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Industry perspective: “Financial volatility resulting from Brexit has created some uncertainty among investors as yields on government bonds have dropped sharply, Treasury yield curves have flattened over the past month, and the Chinese Yuan has depreciated to a six-year low against the dollar,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “In addition, our view on interest rates continues to be ‘low for long’ as we believe a Fed decision to raise interest rates will likely be on hold until June of 2017. Brexit’s economic impact on the U.S. will likely be limited, especially from a trade perspective, and should be a near-term positive for the housing and mortgage market as falling mortgage rates have prompted new refinance demand.” For the full report, click here.

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

The Morgan County Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Morgan County Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.