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

Sales: According to the Valley Multiple Listing Service, Gadsden-area residential sales totaled 97 units during May, up 18.3 percent from May 2015. Year-to-date sales are 26.2 percent or 85 units higher than the same period in 2015. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Click here to view all of ACRE’s Gadsden residential data.

Year-to-date home sales in Gadsden through May rose 26 percent over the same period a year ago.

Forecast: May sales were 19 units or 24 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’S year-to-date sales forecast through May projected 324 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 410 units, a favorable difference of 27 percent.

Supply: Gadsden-area housing inventory totaled 675 units. The May supply rose 2.4 percent from April. This direction is consistent with historical data that indicate May inventory on average (2011-15) increases from April by 2.3 percent.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in May remains higher than desired at 6.9 months of housing supply. Restated, at the May sales pace, it would take 6.9 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be about 6 months during May, so this represents an area where continued improvement would be welcome news. The encouraging news is that the months of supply have dropped 52 percent from the May peak of 14.6 months of supply reached in 2009.

Demand: May residential sales were up 4.3 percent from April. Historical data indicate that May sales on average (2011-15) increase from April by 15.6 percent.  

Pricing: The Gadsden-area median sales price in May was $124,000, a 41.9 percent increase over the five-year average of $87,390. The median sales price increased 37.8 percent compared to the prior month. This direction contrasts  with historical data (2011-15) indicating that the May median sales price typically decreases from April by 27.1 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 for additional market pricing information.

Industry perspective: “Continued home price appreciation has been squeezing housing affordability, driving a two-year downward trend in the share of consumers who think it’s a good time to buy a home,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The current low mortgage rate environment has helped ease this pressure, and fewer than half of consumers expect rates to go up in the next year. While the May increase in income growth perceptions could provide further support to prospective home buyers as the spring/summer home-buying season gains momentum, the effect may be muted by May’s discouraging jobs report.” For the full report on home purchase sentiment, click here.

The Gadsden Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Etowah-Cherokee County Association of Realtors to better serve its arsea consumers.