Click here to view or print the full quarterly report compliments of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority.
Alabama’s first-quarter home sales this year were the highest in the first three months of any year since 2006 (13,350).
There were 12,189 homes sold during the year’s opening months, an 8.5 percent rise from the first quarter in 2016 (11,230).
The state of Alabama averaged 9,601 home sales during the first quarter from 2012-16.
During the recession, home sales statewide dropped off, hitting a recession low of 7,544 during 2011. Since that year, home sales have steadily risen.
While sales have risen, inventory has dipped statewide, decreasing 6.7 percent to 26,897 during the first quarter, compared to last year. This has made for a much more balanced market across the state, with 6.8 months of housing supply on the market during the first quarter. Restated, at the first-quarter pace, it would take 6.8 months to absorb the current supply of inventory.
The market is considered to be balanced at around 6 months of housing supply. There were 7.9 months of supply during the first quarter of 2016. This year’s ratio is 56 percent lower than the 2009 peak of 15.5 months of supply.
The median sales price for homes sold during the first quarter was $138,530, up 6 percent over last year and a new peak for the first quarter in Alabama.
Homes sold in Alabama during the first quarter spent an average of 139 days on the market, 8 percent lower than last year’s 151 days.
The Alabama Housing Finance Authority was created in 1980 by Act No. 80-585 of the Alabama Legislature. AHFA is a public corporation and instrument of the State of Alabama dedicated to serving the housing needs of low- and moderate-income Alabamians. AHFA creates housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income Alabamians through the affordable financing of single-family and multifamily housing. Its programs have helped more than 122,000 families find homes they could afford.
The Alabama Association of Realtors serves as the voice of the real estate industry in Alabama. AAR is the largest statewide organization of real estate professionals who sale, lease, appraise and develop residential, commercial, rural and resort properties.
