The Alabama Center for Real Estate created the following rankings based on new construction as a percentage of total residential sales during May.
1. Athens: 31.7%
2. Huntsville: 25.9%
3. Lee County: 23.0%
4. Baldwin County: 18.9%
5. Montgomery: 13.0%
May New Construction Recap
Statewide Overview: Alabama’s existing-home market had an impressive year in 2018 as total sales surpassed the high water mark set in 2005, and the state’s new construction market is trending in the same direction. Total new construction sales have grown year-over-year in 40 of the past 43 months, an impressive streak going back to November 2015. May’s new construction sales increased 5.9% from 751 transactions in May of 2018 to 795 transactions in May of 2019. Despite the upwards trends of new construction sales, total inventory is trending downwards. New construction listings have declined year-over-year (y/y) in 9 of the last 12 months. With a 3.5% decrease in inventory this month it is not surprising that median sales price increased 5.7% when compared to the same time one year ago. Stay tuned to see if the state’s new construction and resale markets continue to match or surpass last year’s impressive results.
Athens: Total sales of newly constructed residential housing in the Athens area (Limestone County) remained unchanged from last month’s total of 63 closed transactions, and increased 6.8% year-over-year. May’s median sales price saw an increase of 9.3% y/y from $242,222 to $257,770. Following the statewide trend, new construction inventory has decreased y/y for 11 consecutive months in the Athens area, while falling from 167 listings in May 2018 to 135 in May 2019. Months of new construction supply also saw a significant decrease from 3.2 to 2.1 when compared to May of last year. Average days spent on the market remained unchanged when compared to last year’s average of 36. New construction represented 31.7% of all residential transactions in the area during May.
Huntsville: Huntsville (Madison County) leads the state in total new construction sales for another consecutive month. Total sales increased 17.6% y/y from 165 to 194 closed transactions. The May median sales price also saw an increase of 7.7%, rising from $257,037 last year to $276,829. Mirroring statewide trends in the new construction market, inventory decreased 5.3% from 506 to 479. Months of new construction supply decreased from 3.1 months to 2.5 months, and average days on market saw a slight increase from 68 days to 69 days compared y/y. New construction represented 25.9% of all residential transactions in this area for the month of May, up from 22.1% last year.
Lee County: Total sales of newly constructed residential housing in Lee County decreased 8% y/y from 61 to 56 closed transactions. The May median sales price decreased 10.7% y/y from $330,300 to $294,900. Following statewide trends for this month, inventory decreased 16.7% y/y from 318 units available to 265. Months of new construction supply also decreased this month when compared to May of last year, falling from 5.2 months to 4.7. With area inventory clearing faster than before, average days on market has also fallen. Homes in this area are selling at an average of 15 days faster when compared to the same time last year. New construction represented 23.0% of all residential transactions in the area during May, up from 22.3% one year ago.
Baldwin County: Total sales of newly constructed residential housing in the Baldwin county area increased this month, rising 1.5% to 138 closed transactions when compared to May of 2018’s total of 136. May’s median sales price decreased 4.9% falling to $241,900 this month from $254,465 during May of 2018. Going against the statewide trend of continuously falling inventory totals, baldwin county saw an increase of 7.1% y/y this month. Months of supply slightly increased this month to 4.4 months when compared to last year’s supply level of 4.2 months. Average days on market decreased 7 days from 115 last year to the current level of 108. New construction sales represented 18.9% of all residential transactions in the area this month, down from 20.5% one year ago.
Montgomery: The Montgomery total sales of newly constructed residential housing saw a significant increase this month of 27.8% y/y. The month of May saw 69 newly constructed housing transactions, this is compared y/y to 54 transactions in May 2018. Median sales price is also on the rise in the area, up 5.2% this month to $257,000 from $244,403 one year ago. Following the statewide trend of clearing inventory, the Montgomery area saw a decrease of 16.7% in total new construction listings. Months of new construction supply also decreased dramatically, falling to 2.0 months from the previous year’s supply of 3.0 months. The average days spent on the market increased from 108 days to 113 days. New construction totaled 13.0% of all transactions in the area this month, up from 11.0% last May.
