Sales: According to the East Alabama Board of Realtors, Phenix City area residential sales totaled 70 units during January, up 7.7 percent from 65 sales in the same month a year earlier. January sales were down 5.4 percent compared to 74 sales in December. Results were 8.4 percent above the five-year January average of 65 sales. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and the Annual Report.

For all Phenix City area home sales data, click here.

Inventory: Homes listed for sale in the Phenix City area during January totaled 422 units, a decrease of 2.3 percent from 432 units one year ago and a decrease of 5.2 percent from December 2018’s 445 units. January months of supply totaled 6 months, a decrease of 9.3 percent from January 2018. January’s months of supply increased 0.3 percent from December’s months of supply.

Pricing: The Phenix City median sales price in January was $153,000, an increase of 20.6 percent from one year ago and a decrease of 14.3 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data (2014-18) indicating that the January median sales price on average decreases from December by 4.7 percent. The differing sample size (number of residential sales of comparative months) can contribute to statistical volatility, including pricing. ACRE recommends consulting with a local real estate professional to discuss pricing, as it will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. The average number of days on the market (DOM) for homes sold during January was 108 days, a decrease of 6.1 percent from 115 days in January 2018 and a decrease of 9.2 percent from 119 days in December.

Forecast: January sales were two units, or 2.9 percent, below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE projected 70 sales for the month, and actual sales were 68 units. ACRE forecast a total of 1,132 transactions in the Phenix City area during 2019.

ACRE’s statewide perspective: After 10 consecutive months of gains, statewide residential sales in December decreased 1.6 percent year-over-year from 4,371 to 4,303 closed transactions. For the entire year, statewide residential sales increased 6.3 percent from 57,427 in 2017 to 61,062 in 2018. Home price appreciation in the state continued to climb as the median sales price in December increased 4.7 percent year-over-year from $151,667 to $158,772. The median sales price for all of 2018 was up 4.6 percent from 2017. Although nationwide inventory levels are trending upward, Alabama’s residential inventory decreased 6.9 percent from one year ago. Low inventory levels were a major factor contributing to rising sales prices throughout 2018. With low inventory, it is not surprising to see homes selling more quickly than in previous years. Homes selling in Alabama during December spent an average of 102 days on the market, an improvement of 11 days from 2017.

NAR’s national perspective: During December, total existing-home sales nationwide declined 11.7 percent from approximately 427,000 one year ago to 377,000 currently. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says current housing numbers are partially due to higher interest rates during most of 2018. “The housing market is obviously very sensitive to mortgage rates. Softer sales in December reflected consumer search processes and contract signing activity in previous months when mortgage rates were higher than today. Now, with mortgage rates lower, some revival in home sales is expected going into spring.”

Click here to view the entire monthly report.

The Phenix City Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the 

East Alabama Board of Realtors.