Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the Alabama Center for Real Estate Corporate Cabinet. Join the Center mailing list here.

Sales: Alabama home sales totaling 4,993 units during July were a decrease of 5.5 percent from the same month a year ago. Year-to-date home sales for the state through July were up 5.8 percent compared to the same period last year. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Forecast: July sales were 4 percent or 183 units above the Alabama Center for Real Estate‘s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through July projected 29,236 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 31,604 units, a favorable difference of 8 percent.

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Supply: The statewide housing inventory during July was 30,481 units, a decrease of 10 percent from July 2015 and 29 percent below the July peak in 2008 (43,057 units). There were 6.1 months of housing supply in July (6 months is considered equilibrium), which represents a favorable drop of 4.8 percent from July 2015 (6.4 months).

July inventory increased from June by 0.1 percent. This direction contrasts with historical data that indicate July  inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from June by 0.3 percent.

Total sales during the month of July for the state of Alabama dipped 5.5 percent from last year.

Demand: July residential sales decreased 8.7 percent from June. This direction is consistent with historical statewide data indicating that July sales on average (2011-15) decrease from June by 0.7 percent. The average days on market until a listing sold was 143 days, down 2.3 percent from last year. Nationally, July sales were 4.5 percent above the same period last year. Nationally, existing home sales were down 1.6 percent from July 2015. See how Alabama compares with the U.S. residential market by clicking here.

Pricing: The July median sales price increased 10.4 percent from the same period last year to $154,830. During July, 72 percent of local markets experienced price gains from July 2015. This indicator can fluctuate from month to month due to sampling size of data and seasonal buying patterns. The July median sales price increased 1.2 percent from June. This direction contrasts with historical data averages (2011-15) reflecting that the July median sales price decreases 1.2 percent from June.

Seeking balance: The metro markets in Alabama representing 70 percent of all sales continued to trend toward greater seller bargaining power with 5.4 months of supply. Outside the metro markets, Alabama’s midsized markets are reporting 6.6 months of supply, while rural areas are reporting 9.6 months of supply. There have been significant improvements from inventory peaks experienced during the recession. The supply of quality inventory in the past has affected sales, according to some boots-on-the-ground professionals.

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 Alabama July Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

The Alabama Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Alabama Association of Realtors and its local associations.