Sales of single-family homes in Madison County jumped nearly 20 percent from February to March, the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors reported Monday. That suggests more would-be buyers are taking advantage of the federal tax credit.
The median selling price dropped 7 percent last month, while the number of days a house for sale stayed on the market dropped just over 9 percent from February, and about 2 percent from March of last year. The majority of homes sold last month – 223 – were under $200,000, the association reported.
The increase in home sales – from 284 in February to 340 in March – marks the second consecutive month with an uptick. In January, 268 homes were sold.
“The Huntsville-Madison County market continues to be sound and show signs of continued growth,” Oscar Gonzales, the association’s CEO, said Monday. “However, we must watch closely to see what further action the federal government may take to stimulate the economy.”
The federal program allows for a credit of up to $8,000 for homebuyers who have not owned a house in at least three years. It’s “bringing in a lot of first-time buyers,” said Roland Lowrey, a Realtor with Distinctive GMAC Real Estate. Lowrey said his team’s sales activity has picked up, and most of the interest is in the under-$180,000 price range.
But he said tighter lending guidelines are shutting out some buyers.
“They still have to qualify.”
In March, 2,834 homes were on the market locally, up 2 percent from February but down 1 percent from March 2008. The Huntsville market had about 7.2 months of inventory at the end of March, up slightly from February and more than a month in March 2008. Inventory is calculated by dividing the number of homes listed for sale in a month by the number sold that month. The result shows, at the present rate, how long it would take to sell every listed home.
Nationwide, the inventory of homes available is about 10 months, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In a related matter, Gov. Bob Riley today will sign the Alabama Home Buyers Initiative into law, according to a news release from his office.
Alabama has an estimated 41,000 homes for sale, far exceeding the normal inventory of 32,000, the release said. The new law is designed to stimulate the housing market in the state and infuse $1 billion in mortgage financing into Alabama’s economy. AL.COM
