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 83 units during March, down 1.2 percent from March 2016, when sales totaled 84 units. 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 March home sales dipped by one unit compared to the same month a year ago.

Forecast: March sales were seven units or 9 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’S 2017 sales forecast through March projected 199 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 200 units.

Supply: Gadsden-area housing inventory totaled 560 units. The March supply rose 1 percent from February. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate March inventory on average (2012-16) increases from February by 1 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in March was 6.7 months of housing supply. Restated, at the March sales pace, it would take 6.7 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be about 6 months during March. The encouraging news is that the months-of-supply figure has dropped 56 percent from the March peak of 15.2 months of supply, reached in 2014.

Demand: March residential sales were up 60 percent from February. Historical data indicate that March sales on average (2012-16) increase from February by 15 percent.  

Pricing: The Gadsden-area median sales price in March was $86,000, a 4 percent decrease from March 2016 ($89,750). The median sales price increased 18 percent compared to the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data (2012-16) indicating that the March median sales price typically increases from February by 14 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: “Our economic forecast remains in a conservative holding pattern as we await word on the particulars of the new Administration’s plans for fiscal stimulus,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “In the meantime, economic sentiment from most industry stakeholders continues to reach new heights: consumers, as demonstrated by our National Housing Survey, are more positive than at any time since the survey’s inception in 2010 about the direction of the economy, while homebuilders’ optimism remains near an 11-year high. Tight inventory remains a boon to home prices and Americans’ net worth, but it also continues to price out many would-be first-time homebuyers. However, our research suggests that aging millennials, now boasting higher real wages, are beginning to narrow the homeownership attainment gap.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Gadsden March 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.