The Alabama Association of REALTORS® has released its March 2024 Economic and Real Estate Report, indicating that while Alabama’s spring housing market is down year-over-year, it has shown increases in key areas month-over-month. In March, home sales saw a 5.6 percent increase compared to the previous month, with 4,976 sales recorded. This marks the second consecutive month of growth in home sales. Additionally, there were more active residential listings in Alabama at the end of March compared to one year ago, representing a 33.5 percent annual increase.
Building permits in Alabama also increased by 254 units in February compared to January, showing a 20.5 percent monthly increase and a 51.2 percent annual increase. This upward trend in permits is expected to continue as the year progresses. According to Senia Johnson, the 2024 President of Alabama REALTORS®, the statistics from the report suggest that the spring selling season is underway and hopeful for a turnaround in Alabama’s market.
However, rising mortgage rates may pose a challenge to continued sales increases into the spring and summer months. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased throughout March but has since increased to 7.1 percent in April. Jeremy Walker, CEO of Alabama REALTORS® believes that while home sales likely hit their lowest point in January and are slowly increasing but consumer price index and mortgage rates are rising rapidly which can pose a potential threat to recent increases in Alabama’s housing market
