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 1,365 units during July, 30 units or 2.2 percent below the same time last year. Year-to-date home sales through July rose 7 percent over the same period during 2015. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

For all of the Birmingham area’s housing data, click here. 

Forecast: July sales were 63 units or 4.8 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast projected 8,022 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 8,630 units, a favorable difference of 7.5 percent.

Year-to-date home sales in Birmingham through July rose 7 percent over the same period during 2015.

Supply: The Birmingham-area housing inventory in July was 7,374 units, a decrease of 6.2 percent from July 2015 and down 45 percent from the July peak in 2007 (13,477 units). July inventory in the Birmingham metro area also decreased 0.1 percent from June. This direction contrasts with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating that July inventory on average (2011-15) increases from June by 10 percent.

According to the Greater Alabama MLS, in the Birmingham metro-area market, there were 5.4 months of housing supply during July, down 4.1 percent from 5.6 months of supply during July 2015. The supply increased from June (5 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 July.

Demand: July residential sales decreased by 7.4 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that July sales, on average (2011-15), decrease from June by 14.2 percent.

Existing single-family home sales accounted for 84 percent of total sales, down from 86 percent in July 2015, while 11 percent were new home sales (up from 10 percent in July 2015) and 4 percent were condo buyers (unchanged).

Pricing: The median sales price in July was $187,000, an increase of 2.6 percent from last July ($182,250). The July median sales price decreased 5.6 percent from June. This direction is consistent with historical data (2011-15) indicating that the July median sales price on average decreases from June by 10.2 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: “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 Birmingham July Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

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.