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

Sales: According to the Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service, Birmingham metro-area residential sales totaled 1,369 units during July, 0.3 percent above the same time last year. Total 2016 home sales during July were 1,365. Year to date, Birmingham-area sales are up 3.4 percent from the same period in 2016. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

For all of the Birmingham area’s housing data, click here.

Forecast: July sales were 100 units or 6.8 percent below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s 2017 sales forecast through July projected 9,068 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 8,923 units.

Supply: The Birmingham-area housing inventory in July was 6,670 units, a decrease of 9.5 percent from July 2016 and down 50.5 percent from the July peak in 2007 (13,477 units). July inventory in the Birmingham metro area neither increased nor decreased from June.

According to the Greater Alabama MLS, in the Birmingham metro-area market, there were 4.9 months of housing supply during July, down 9.8 percent from 5.4 months of supply during July 2016. The “months of housing supply” is a simple calculation – homes listed (supply) divided by homes sold (demand). In general, about 6 months is considered the point of equilibrium during July .

Demand: July residential sales decreased by 11.8 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that July sales, on average (2012-16), decrease from June by 11.4 percent.

Existing single-family home sales accounted for 87 percent of sales, up from 84 percent in July 2016, while 9 percent were new home sales and 4 percent were condo sales.

Pricing: The median sales price in July was $200,000, an increase of 7 percent from July 2016 ($187,000). The July median sales price decreased 2.4 percent from June. This direction is consistent with historical data (2012-16) indicating that the July median sales price on average decreases from June by 8.8 percent. Pricing can fluctuate from month to month as the sample size of data is subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends consulting with a local real estate professional who has access to pricing data at the neighborhood level.

Industry perspective: “We are keeping our full-year economic growth outlook at 2 percent as risks to our forecast are roughly balanced,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “On the upside, consumer spending growth might not moderate as much as we have accounted for in our forecast. A build-up in inventory also should be positive for growth this quarter and nonresidential investment in structures will likely continue to improve as oil prices stabilize.”

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

The Birmingham Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Greater Alabama MLS and the Birmingham Association of Realtors to better serve Birmingham metro-area consumers.