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

Sales: Lake Martin area residential sales totaled 48 units during October, up 14 percent from the same period last year. Home sales are more than double what they were in the sales trough of 27 during 2011. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

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

Lake Martin home sales during October rose by six units over the same month last year.

Forecast: October sales were three units or 7 percent above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through October projected 485 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 433 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin area housing inventory in October was 424 units, a decrease of 5 percent from a year ago and 41 percent below the October peak in 2006 of 722 units (this is good news). October inventory decreased by 3 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that October inventory on average (2011-15) decreases from September by 1.9 percent. There were 8.8 months of housing supply in October (6 months is considered equilibrium in October), a decrease of 17 percent from last October’s 10.7 months of supply.

Demand: Residential sales decreased 14 percent from the prior month. This direction contrasts with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating October sales on average (2011-15) increase by 1.6 percent from September.

Pricing: The Lake Martin area median sales price in October was $163,000, a decrease of 47 percent from October 2015. 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: “Since July, more consumers, on net, have steadily expected mortgage rates to rise and home price appreciation to moderate,” said Doug Duncan of Fannie Mae. “Furthermore, consumers’ perception of their income over the past year deteriorated sharply in October to the worst showing since early 2013, weighing on the index. However, this component of the HPSI (home purchase sentiment index) is volatile from month to month, and the firming trend in wage gains from the October jobs report, if sustained, may foreshadow an improving view in the near future.”

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.