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 65 units during January, down 4 percent from January 2016. Home sales in Gadsden totaled 68 units during January 2016. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Click here to view all of the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Gadsden residential data.

Gadsden January home sales dipped slightly to 65 units compared to last January.

Forecast: January sales were nine units or 16 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’S sales forecast for January projected 56 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 65 units.

Supply: Gadsden-area housing inventory totaled 574 units. The January supply dipped 9 percent from December. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate January inventory on average (2012-16) decreases from December by 19 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in January was 8.8 months of housing supply. Restated, at the January sales pace, it would take 8.8 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be about 6 months during January, so continued improvement in this area would be welcome. The encouraging news is that the months-of-supply figure has dropped 68 percent from the January peak of 27.6 months of supply, reached in 2009.

Demand: January residential sales were up 10.2 percent from December. Historical data indicate that January sales on average (2012-16) decrease from December by 11 percent.  

Pricing: The Gadsden-area median sales price in January was $109,000, an 18.6 percent increase from January 2016 ($91,875). The median sales price increased 29 percent compared to the prior month. This direction contrasts with historical data (2012-16) indicating that the January median sales price typically decreases from December by 38 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: “We expect housing to remain resilient and continue its recovery in 2017, with affordability standing out as the industry’s greatest obstacle, particularly for first-time homeowners,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Demographic factors, however, are positive. Our research shows that older millennials have begun to buy homes and close the homeownership attainment gap with their predecessors.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Gadsden January 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.