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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 50 units during October, up by 2 units or 4.2 percent from the same month in 2016, when sales in the area totaled 48. Year to date, area sales are up 31.6 percent from the same period in 2016. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

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

Forecast: October sales were 6 units or 13.6 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s sales forecast through October projected 464 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 570 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in October was 385 units, a decrease of 9.2 percent from a year earlier. October inventory decreased by 5.2 percent from the prior month. There was 7.7 months of housing supply in October (6 months is considered equilibrium), a decrease from last October’s 8.8 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales decreased 11 units or 18 percent from the prior month.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in October was $220,500, an increase of 35.3 percent from October 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: “The first print of third-quarter economic growth showed surprising resiliency. The expected economic hit from the recent natural disasters either failed to materialize or was drowned out by business optimism,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “Recent data showed a stronger pickup in domestic demand than anticipated, leading us to increase our growth forecast for the final quarter of this year and coming quarters. We also revised higher our 2018 growth forecast to 2 percent. Tax cuts, if enacted, present upside risk to our growth forecast for next year but could also lead to more aggressive Fed action. Housing still remains a drag on the economy, as shortages of labor and available lots, coupled with rising building material prices, further complicate existing inventory, affordability and sales challenges.”

Click here to generate more graphs from the Lake Martin area October 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.