The Huntsville-Madison area experienced a record second quarter in 2017, with 2,006 homes sold over the last three months, according to the latest data from the Alabama Center for Real Estate.

Huntsville home sales rose 13 percent over the 1,779 homes sold during the same period in 2016.

Home sales in June alone totaled 744, an all-time high for the month dating back to 2001.

Matt Curtis, Matt Curtis Real Estate

“For Huntsville, I anticipate that we will continue to experience growth,” said Matt Curtis of Matt Curtis Real Estate. “Personally, I think we are going to see a decade of growth, with all of the jobs and infrastructure that is coming to the area.”

Over the past five years, Huntsville has won several thousand manufacturing jobs, ranging from Remington Arms to Polaris. Also, multiple mixed-use projects near and inside the city center are attracting younger people to the area, Curtis said.

“We’re finally starting to attract more millennials, which is a needed boost for a lot of local businesses,” Curtis said.

The median sales price for homes sold in Huntsville during the second quarter was $186,000, another high for the three-month period, dating back more than 15 years.

One competitive edge the Huntsville metro has is its ability to construct new houses to fit the current demand, Curtis said. Low inventory is an issue many metros across the country, including some Alabama cities, are dealing with today.

“To me, it’s not that big of an issue here,” Curtis said. “We have enough land that the inventory issue hasn’t been what you’ve seen across the nation.”

During the second quarter, there was an average of 2,303 homes listed on the market. That is down 17 percent from 2016, but there is still ample supply for buyers, Curtis said.

The market had 3.5 months of housing supply during the second quarter. While the market is tilted toward the seller, it is still 29 percent off the months-of-supply low of 2.7 reached in 2006.

Curtis said other factors like environmental impact fees, which could be stifling growth in other areas in the United States, are not as big an issue in Huntsville.

“Those fees are relatively a whole lot lower, so we can build a lot of starter homes,” Curtis said. “With all of the new construction we’ve had in the area, that’s allowed homes to still remain affordable in the Huntsville market.”

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

The Huntsville/Madison County Residential Quarterly Report is developed in conjunction with the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors to better serve North Alabama consumers.