ALABAMA REAL ESTATE JOURNAL

Alabama’s new home sales hit record high in December

Sales: According to the Alabama Realtors, December new home sales in the state increased 31.9% year-over-year (Y/Y) from 860 to 1,134 closed transactions, marking a record high and 17 consecutive months of Y/Y gains. Sales increased 32.8% from November. New home sales are now up 22.8% year-to-date. Additionally, new home sales represented 17.8% of all residential sales in Alabama during December, up from 16.8% one year ago.

For all new construction housing data, click here.

Inventory: New homes listed for sale decreased 22.3% year-over-year from 2,945 listings one year ago to 2,288 in December. New builds represented 19.1% of all homes listed for sale statewide. Months of new home supply (inventory to sales ratio) tightened from 3.4 one year ago to 2.0 currently.

Pricing: The median sales price for new construction in December was $273,856, an increase of 12.3% from one year ago and an increase of 2.4% from November. 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.

New homes sold in December averaged 58 days on the market (DOM), 15 days faster than one year ago.

Monthly new construction sales data is available for the following markets: AthensBaldwin CountyBirminghamCalhoun CountyGadsdenHuntsvilleLee CountyMarshall CountyMobileMontgomeryMorgan CountyTuscaloosa, and the Wiregrass region.

Click here to view the entire monthly report.

The Alabama New Construction Monthly Report is developed in connection with the Alabama Association of Realtors.

National Overview: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new home sales nationwide increased 12.2% year-over-year from approximately 49,000 one year ago to 55,000 in December. Inventory continued to trend downwards as new homes listed for sale declined 5.8% Y/Y. With elevated sales activity and declining inventory, months of supply (inventory to sales ratio) tightened from 6.6 in December 2019 to 5.6 currently. The median sales price increased 8% Y/Y from $329,500 to $355,900.

Additional Resources: Database of building permits and housing starts for all Alabama Counties and MSAs.

Editor’s Note: All information in this article reflects data provided to the Alabama Center for Real Estate for the time period December 1 – 31, 2020. Thus, the performance represented is historical and should not be used as an indicator of future results, particularly considering the impact of COVID-19 on the housing market.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
X