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

Sales: According to the Valley Multiple Listing Service, Gadsden-area residential sales totaled 63 units during July, down 18 percent from July 2015. Year-to-date sales are 16.3 percent or 80 units higher than the same period in 2015. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Click here to view all of ACRE’s Gadsden residential data.

Gadsden year-to-date home sales through July rose 16 percent over the same period during 2015.

Forecast: July sales were five units or 7 percent below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’S year-to-date sales forecast through July projected 473 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 570 units, a favorable difference of 20 percent.

Supply: Gadsden-area housing inventory totaled 674 units. The July supply dipped 2.5 percent from June. This direction contrasts with historical data that indicate July inventory on average (2011-15) increases from June by 0.6 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in July remains higher than desired at 10.7 months of housing supply. Restated, at the July sales pace, it would take 10.7 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be about 6 months during July, so continued improvement in this area would be welcome. The encouraging news is that the months of supply have dropped 36 percent from the July peak of 16.9 months of supply reached in 2010.

Demand: July residential sales were down 35 percent from June. Historical data indicate that July sales on average (2011-15) decrease from June by 16.8 percent.  

Pricing: The Gadsden-area median sales price in July was $110,000, a 17 percent increase over July 2015 ($94,000). The median sales price decreased 5.9 percent compared to the prior month. This direction contrasts with historical data (2011-15) indicating that the July median sales price typically increases from June by 8.6 percent. Pricing can fluctuate from month to month as the sample size of data (closed transactions) is subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

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

The Gadsden Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Etowah-Cherokee County Association of Realtors to better serve its area consumers.