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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 68 units during March, up by 32 units from the same month in 2016, when sales in the area totaled 36. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

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

Forecast: March sales were 19 units or 39 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s sales forecast through March projected 104 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 133 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in March was 411 units, a decrease of 21 percent from a year earlier. March inventory increased by 1 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that March inventory on average (2012-16) increases from February by 9 percent. There were 6 months of housing supply in March (6 months is considered equilibrium in March), a decrease of 58 percent from last March’s 14.4 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales increased 35 units from the prior month. This direction is consistent with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating March sales on average (2012-16) increase 61 percent from February.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in March was $220,000, an increase of 13 percent from March 2016. 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: “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 Lake Martin area March 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.