Sales: According to the Alabama Realtors, new home sales in February increased 4.4% year-over-year (Y/Y) from 797 to 832 closed transactions, ending seven consecutive months of Y/Y declines in new home sales. Following seasonal trends, sales increased 23.9% from January. New homes represented 15.6% of all residential sales in Alabama during February, up from 15.3% one year ago.
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Inventory: New homes listed for sale decreased 32.9% year-over-year from 1,645 listings one year ago to 1,106 in February. New builds represented 14.9% of all homes listed for sale in the state.
At the current sales pace, all the active inventory on the market would sell in 1.3 months, down from 1.8 months in January and down from 2.1 months in February 2021. The equilibrium point where buyers and sellers have roughly equal bargaining power is 6 months of supply.
Pricing: The median sales price for new construction in February was $317,356, an increase of 23.5% from one year ago and a decrease of 0.7% from January. 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 February averaged 38 days on the market (DOM), 8 days faster than one year ago.
National Overview: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new home sales nationwide were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 772,000 in February. This represents a 2.0% decrease from the revised January rate of 788,000 and is 6.2% below the February 2021 estimate of 823,000
The median sales price for new homes increased 10.3% Y/Y from $362,200 to $399,100.
Supply of new homes was estimated at 401,000 listings (seasonally adjusted) in February. Months of supply increased from 4.4 one year ago to 6.1 in February 2021.
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Monthly New Home Sales Data: Athens, Baldwin County, Birmingham, Calhoun County, Gadsden, Huntsville, Lee County, Marshall County, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan County, Tuscaloosa, and the Wiregrass region.
The Alabama New Construction Monthly Report is developed in connection with the Alabama Association of Realtors.
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 February 1 – 28, 2022. Thus, the performance represented is historical and should not be used as an indicator of future results.
