Lee County area residential sales in January increase 10 percent from prior year
Click here to view or print the entire January report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.
Sales: Lee County area residential sales totaled 66 units in January, an increase in sales growth of 10.0 percent or 6 units above the same period last year. 2014 sales increased 7.7 percent from the prior year.Forecast: January sales were 4 units below our monthly forecast. The Center's 2014 sales forecast projected 1,344 closed transactions while the actual sales were 1,378 units, a favorable variance of 2.5 percent.
View full sizeLee County residential sales increase 10% in January from last year. Housing Inventory has been favorably reduced by 41% from the January 2011 peak. Infograph courtesy of ACRE. All rights reserved. January inventory in Lee County did increase 1.9 percent from the prior month. This direction contrast with historical data indicating that January inventory on average ('10-'14) decreases from the month of December by 5.6 percent.
The inventory-to-sales ratio in January was 12.4 months of housing supply. Restated, at the January sales pace, it would take 12.4 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand) is considered to be approximately 9.0 months during the month of January.
Demand: January residential sales decreased by 34.7 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with seasonal buying patterns and historical data indicating that January sales on average ('10-'14) decrease by 48.6 percent from the month of December. Existing single family home sales account for 56 percent (up from 52% in Jan'14) of total sales while 30 percent (up from 28% in Jan'14) were new home sales and 14 percent (down from 20% in Jan'14) were condo buyers.
Pricing: The Lee County median sales price in January was $178,700, a 9.2 percent decrease from last January. The January median sales price also slipped 6.2 percent compared to the prior month. Historical data ('10-'14) indicates that the January median sales price traditionally increases from the month of December by 4.5 percent. Pricing can fluctuate from month-to-month as the sample size of data (closed transactions) is subject to seasonal buying patterns so a broader lens as to pricing trends is appropriate and we recommend contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.
Industry Perspective: "Consumers are as positive about their personal finances at the start of 2015 as they have been since we launched the National Housing Survey in 2010, and this optimism seems to be spilling over into housing market attitudes," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "Consumers are more optimistic about the environment both for buying and for selling a home today, and the share who plan to own on their next move has jumped back up, reversing a three-month trend toward renting. These results are in line with lender optimism about future growth in their mortgage origination business, as shown in our Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey™. Overall, these are good signs to start off 2015 and are consistent with our expectation that strengthening employment and economic activity will boost the speed of the housing recovery." For full report, go HERE.
See how Lee County compares to other Alabama real estate markets.
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The Lee County Residential Monthly Report is work product developed in conjunction with the Lee County Association of REALTORS to better serve Opelika/Auburn consumers. The ACRE monthly report is provided to illustrate the "general" market direction & trends when comparing prior periods with the most current available data. Real estate is local and statistics will fluctuate between areas within a city including subdivisions. ACRE recommends that you consult a local real estate professional for "specific" advice associated with your market.The foundation of the Lee County Association of REALTORS is to promote and enhance the success of its members through education, professionalism, and ethical conduct.
The Alabama Center for Real Estate's core purpose is to advance the real estate industry in Alabama by providing relevant resources in the areas of research, education and outreach. ACRE was founded by legislative act in 1996 due to the efforts of the Alabama Real Estate Commission, the Alabama Association of REALTORS and the Office of the Dean, UA Culverhouse College of Commerce to serve the State of Alabama real estate industry and the consumers it serves. ACRE is not a state-funded entity, rather its operates in part because of the goodwill & generosity of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet, Alabama real estate licensees and our statewide ACRE Partners. For other Alabama real estate resources & news, please visit our website and our ACRE blog. You can also follow ACRE from our facebook page and on twitter @uaacre.
