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 152 units during August, an increase of 8.6 percent or 12 units above the same period last year. Year to date, home sales through August increased 3.8 percent from the same period of 2015. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

Click here for all Morgan County residential data.

Forecast: August sales were 30 units or 24 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through August projected 858 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 1,004 units, a 17 percent positive difference.

Year-to-date home sales through August in Morgan County rose 3.8 percent over the same period last year.

Supply: Morgan County area housing inventory totaled 775 units, a decrease of 10 percent from August 2015. Inventory was 0.6 percent below the prior month. Historical data indicate August inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from July by 2.2 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio during August was 5.1 months of housing supply. Restated, at the August sales pace, it would take 5.1 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be approximately 6 months during August. Last August, the months of supply stood at 6.2 months. The months of supply has declined 52 percent from the August peak reached in 2010 (10.7 months), which is encouraging news.

Demand: August residential sales rose 7 percent from the prior month. Historical data indicate August sales on average (2011-15) increase from July by 6.6 percent. The average days on market until a listing sold was 107 days, up 4.9 percent from last August.

Pricing: The Morgan County median sales price during August was $128,250, which is 6 percent above August 2015’s $121,379 and 11.5 percent below the July median sales price ($144,850). 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: “Consumers have a fairly optimistic 12-month outlook on housing at the end of the summer home-buying season, supported by increased job confidence and more favorable expectations regarding their personal financial situations compared with this time last year,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The return to a slight upward trend in the HPSI (Home Purchase Sentiment Index) during the spring and summer is, thus far, in line with our forecast, which calls for 4 percent growth in home sales in 2016 to the best level since 2006 and continued improvement for 2017.” For the full report, click here.

Click here to generate more graphs from the Morgan County August 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.