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

Sales: According to the Lee County Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, Lee County area residential sales totaled 203 units during June, a decrease of 8.1 percent or 18 units from the same month in 2016, when sales totaled 221 units. Year-to-date sales were slightly behind the same period in 2016. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Click here for all of the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Lee County residential data.

Forecast: June sales were 12 units or 5.5 percent below ACRE’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s 2017 sales forecast through June projected 930 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 951 units.

Supply: The Lee County housing inventory in June was 532 units, an increase of 0.2 percent from June 2016 and a 65 percent decrease from the June inventory peak in 2010 (1,519 units). June inventory in Lee County decreased 1.8 percent from May. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that June inventory on average (2012-16) decreases from May by 4.4 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in June was 2.6 months of housing supply. Restated, at the June sales pace, it would take 2.6 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be approximately 6 months during May.

Demand: June residential sales increased 1 percent from May. This direction is consistent with seasonal buying patterns and historical data indicating that June sales on average (2012-16) increase by 5 percent from May.

Pricing: The Lee County median sales price during June was $245,000, up 14 percent from June 2016. The June median sales price was up 17.7 percent compared to the May median sales price. Historical data (2012-16) indicate that the June median sales price on average increases from the May price by 11.7 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 to discuss the latest pricing trends.

Industry perspective: “While second-quarter growth is poised to rebound, we expect growth to moderate through the remainder of 2017. Consumer spending, traditionally the largest contributor to economic growth, is sluggish and is lagging positive consumer sentiment and solid hiring,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “While labor market slack continues to diminish, wage growth is not accelerating and inflation has moved further below the Fed’s target. These conditions support our call that the Fed will continue gradual monetary policy normalization, announce its balance sheet tapering policy in September, and wait until December for additional data, especially on inflation, before raising the fed funds rate for the third time this year.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Lee County June Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

The Lee County Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lee County Association of Realtors to better serve Opelika/Auburn consumers.