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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 28 units during November, down 13 percent from the same period in 2015. Home sales are more than double what they were in the sales trough of 12 during 2010. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

For all of Lake Martin’s area housing data, click here.

Home sales in the Lake Martin area during November slipped by four units compared to November 2015.

Forecast: November sales were nine units or 24 percent below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through November projected 522 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 461 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in November was 400 units, a decrease of 3 percent from a year earlier and 39 percent below the November peak in 2008 of 655 units (this is good news). November inventory decreased by 6 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that November inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from October by 0.5 percent. There were 14.3 months of housing supply in November (6 months is considered equilibrium in November), an increase of 11 percent from last November’s 12.8 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales decreased 41 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating November sales on average (2011-15) decrease 22.7 percent from October.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in November was $135,000, a decrease of 51 percent from November 2015. 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: “The HPSI (home purchase sentiment index) fell in October for the third straight month from its record high in July, reaching the lowest level since March. Recent erosion in sentiment likely reflects, in part, enhanced uncertainty facing consumers today,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Since July, more consumers, on net, have steadily expected mortgage rates to rise and home price appreciation to moderate. Furthermore, consumers’ perception of their income over the past year deteriorated sharply in October to the worst showing since early 2013, weighing on the index. However, this component of the HPSI is volatile from month to month, and the firming trend in wage gains from the October jobs report, if sustained, may foreshadow an improving view in the near future.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Lake Martin area November 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.