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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 52 units during July, a decrease of 28 percent from the same period last year. While home sales did slip for the month, compared to the past five years home sales during July have remained steady (46 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.

Lake Martin residential sales through July slipped 27 percent from the same period last year.

Forecast: July sales were 3.7 percent or two units below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through July projected 326 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 268 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in July was 475 units, a decrease of 7 percent from a year ago and 41 percent below the July peak in 2008 of 811 units (this is good news). July inventory increased by 40 percent from the prior month. This direction contrasts with historical data indicating that July inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from June by 0.3 percent. There were 9.1 months of housing supply in July (6 months is considered equilibrium in July), an increase of 29 percent from last July’s 7.1 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales increased 13 percent from the prior month. This direction contrasts with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating July sales on average (2011-15) decrease by 8.5 percent from June.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in July was $285,000, an increase of 14 percent from July 2015 and a 16.7 percent decrease compared to the prior month. Historical data indicate that the July median sales price (2011-15) typically increases 2.4 percent from June. Pricing can and will fluctuate from month to month because of 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: “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 Lake Martin area July Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

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