Alabama home sales in December rose 6 percent over previous December
The metro markets in Alabama representing 70 percent of all sales continued to trend toward greater seller bargaining power in 2016. (iStock)
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Sales: Alabama home sales totaling 4,035 units during December were an increase of 6 percent from the same month a year ago. Annual home sales for the state through December were up 7.6 percent compared to 2015. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.
Total home sales in December in Alabama rose 6 percent from December 2015.
Forecast: December sales were 11 percent or 422 units above the Alabama Center for Real Estate‘s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s sales forecast for 2016 through December projected 49,032 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 53,752 units, a favorable difference of 9.6 percent.
Supply: The statewide housing inventory during December was 26,003 units, a decrease of 10 percent from December 2015 and 35 percent below the December peak in 2007 (39,706 units). There were 6.4 months of housing supply in December (6 months is considered equilibrium), which represents a favorable drop of 15 percent from December 2015 (7.6 months).
December inventory decreased from November by 13 percent. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate December inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from November by 6.1 percent.
Seeking balance: The metro markets in Alabama representing 70 percent of all sales continued to trend toward greater seller bargaining power with 5.8 months of supply. Outside the metro markets, Alabama’s midsized markets are reporting 6.8 months of supply, while rural areas are reporting 9.5 months of supply. There have been significant improvements from inventory peaks experienced during the recession. The supply of quality inventory in the past has affected sales, according to some boots-on-the-ground professionals.
Industry perspective: “The tenor of our forecast effectively remains unchanged: signs of cautious consumers this quarter, rising interest rates, the renewed increase in the U.S. dollar to a 14-year high, and heightened uncertainty in the political sphere suggest conservatism in our outlook,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “While we are encouraged that confidence is rising across investors, consumers, businesses, economists and homebuilders, much of it appears to be in anticipation that the forthcoming Administration and the new Congress will enact fiscal policies and deregulation that will help spur growth. While we believe that some pro-growth policies could be adopted next year, it would take time for them to benefit the economy, barring any offsetting initiatives such as more restrictive trade policies.”
Click here to generate more graphs from the Alabama December Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply.
The Alabama Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Alabama Association of Realtors and its local associations.
