The Alabama Association of REALTORS released its monthly Alabama Economic and Real Estate Report for the month of March, showing a continued monthly increase of home sales across the state.
“Statistics from our latest report offer every indication that the spring selling season is underway,” said Senia Johnson, 2024 President of Alabama REALTORS. “We remain hopeful that the monthly increases in home sales, active listings, and building permits signal the beginning of a turnaround in Alabama’s market.”
A current increase in home sales has continued into March, with 4,976 sales recorded statewide. That figure represents a 5.6% growth in comparison to February’s number and also shows that for the second consecutive month in a row home sales in the Yellowhammer State have continued to increase.
In addition, Alabama also had more active residential listings at the end of March in comparison to one year ago, demonstrating a 33.5% annual increase. March listings were also up by 497 listings compared to February.
RELATED: Alabama home sales saw month-over-month increase in February
Building permits increased as well by 254 units in February relative to January. That represents a 20.5% monthly increase and an increase of 51.2% annually. Permits are continuing to trend upward to begin the year.
Alabama REALTORS emphasized that going into this spring, the state’s housing market is on track for continued sales increases.
There are some obstacles, however, in growing the expanding housing market within the state.
For example, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in general declined through March, decreasing by 15 basis points throughout the month from 6.94% to 6.79%. According to the organization, however, rates have increased through the first two and a half weeks of April to 7.1%.
Alabama REALTORS CEO Jeremy Walker spoke to the effects of increased rates.
“We believe home sales hit their lowest point in January, a period that traditionally represents the bottom of the market, and are slowly increasing,” said Walker. “However, both the consumer price index and mortgage rates have also been increasing quickly and may pose a real threat to the recent increases in Alabama’s housing market.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
