April Waterfront Home Sales Prices at Lake Martin

183 mine ridge

By ACRE

The Lake Martin waterfront median home sales price during April was $460,000, an increase of 23 percent from one year ago.

Sales: Lake Martin waterfront sales totaled 24 units during April, down 27.3 percent from one year ago. The 10-year peak for April waterfront sales was in 2017 when 33 units were sold, while the trough hit in 2009, with only nine units sold.

Forecast: April results were three units or 11.1 percent below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE projected a total of 89 waterfront sales through April, while there have been 81 actual sales.

Supply: The Lake Martin waterfront housing inventory in April was 276 listings, an increase of 9.5 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 0.7 percent from one year ago.

Pricing: The Lake Martin waterfront median sales price during April was $460,000, an increase of 18.7 percent from the previous month and an increase of 22.7 percent from one year ago. Pricing will fluctuate from month to month because of changing composition of actual sales (lakefront vs. non-lakefront) and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

Demand: April waterfront sales decreased 17.2 percent from the previous month. This is consistent with historical data indicating that April sales on average (’13-’17) decrease from March by 3.8 percent. Waterfront homes selling in April averaged 73 days on the market, representing a 46.3 percent improvement from one year ago. Waterfront homes on Lake Martin are currently selling 63.6 percent faster than the five-year April average of 200 days on the market.

Seeking balance: There were 11.5 months of supply in April, up from 8.4 months of supply one year ago. Restated, at the April sales pace, it would take 11.5 months to absorb the current inventory for sale. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand on a non-seasonally adjusted basis) is approximately 6 months.

Industry perspective: Statewide, residential real estate sales continued to show growth during the first quarter of 2018 as they grew 2.4 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Low inventory levels, however, played a large role in driving prices upward. During the first quarter of the year, the statewide median sales price increased 7.1 percent from one year ago. Although good news for sellers, this price growth, combined with rising interest rates, could lead to affordability issues for buyers in today’s markets.

The Lake Martin Waterfront Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.

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Sales prices for Lake Martin waterfront homes up 13 percent from a year ago

By: ACRE Research

Sales: There were 13 waterfront properties sold on Lake Martin during January, a 27.8 percent decrease from one year ago, when 18 lake homes were sold. Current sales totals are 14 percent above the five-year average of 11 January sales. The 10-year peak for January waterfront sales was in 2017, when 18 lake homes were sold, while the January trough hit in 2008, with one unit sold.

Forecast: January’s 13 waterfront sales were one unit or 7 percent below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly forecast. ACRE forecasts a total of 346 waterfront sales on Lake Martin in 2018, a slight decrease from the 349 lake homes that were sold during all of 2017.

lake martin waterfront home sales graph

Supply: The Lake Martin waterfront housing inventory in January was 175 listings, a decrease of 16.7 percent from January 2017. Current waterfront inventory is 63.8 percent below the 10-year January peak reached in 2009 of 484 listings. January inventory increased 16.7 percent from December. This increase in waterfront listings goes against historical data from 2013-17, which indicate that January inventory on average decreases from December by 17.6 percent.

Pricing: The Lake Martin waterfront median sales price during January was $415,000, an increase of 12.8 percent from one year ago and an increase of 26.9 percent from the prior month. Pricing will fluctuate from month to month because of changing composition of actual sales and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

Demand: January waterfront sales decreased 43.5 percent from the previous month. This trend is consistent with historical data indicating that January sales on average (’13-’17) decrease from December by 38.3 percent. Waterfront homes selling in January averaged 223 days on the market, representing a 22.3 percent decrease from one year ago. Homes on Lake Martin’s waterfront are currently selling 5.1 percent faster than the five-year average of 235 days on the market.

Seeking balance: The inventory for sale divided by the current monthly sales volume equals the number of months of supply. The market equilibrium (balance between supply and demand on a non-seasonally adjusted basis) is approximately 6 months. During January there were 13.5 months of waterfront housing supply, up from 6.5 months last month and up from 11.7 months one year ago. In other words, at the January sales pace it would take 13.5 months to absorb the current inventory for sale.

Industry perspective: The recent headlines in the real estate world have revolved around rising interest rates. As of Jan. 31, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.38 percent. This is up from 4.18 percent on Jan. 10 and up from 4.08 percent on Dec. 6, 2017. The stock market has rebounded somewhat from its large selloff on Friday, Feb. 2, and Monday, Feb. 5, as investors adjust from an accommodating monetary policy to one with some inflation and higher interest rates. The recent market decline is a signal of a return to normalcy and higher debt costs. Rising interest rates, however, do not cause housing activity to come to a halt, in the same way that rising rates do not cause businesses to go into hibernation. In the spring of 2006, the Federal Reserve stopped raising interest rates after raising rates 16 times over a three-year period. The economy was performing well during this time (2004-2005) of rising interest rates. The Great Recession happened, interestingly enough, at a time when interest rate increases were halted.

Home ownership rates increased to 64.2 percent during 2017 after falling to a post-1965 low of 62.9 percent in 2016. Not surprisingly, home ownership rates peaked during 2005 at approximately 69 percent. Millennial home ownership rates are also on the rise as their employment situations continue to improve. Millennials, in fact, have been recently credited with an improvement in suburban housing markets as not all are city dwellers. This rise in home ownership was highlighted recently at the annual TrendLines 2018 program in Washington, D.C., with an analysis of Census Bureau housing data presented by Sage Policy Group, Delta Associates and Transwestern. The following excerpt is from the closing paragraph from the homeownership report, and is encouraging news for residential real estate markets across the nation:

“This year, the most common age in America will be 26 years old. There is also an abundance of 25- and 27-year-olds. All of these people are millennials, America’s largest and most educated generation. As more of this demographic block marches into their 30s, demand for ownership opportunities will rise. While there may be downturns that occasionally suspend these demographics, the next decade stands to emerge as a period of rapidly expanding home ownership and single-family homebuilding in America.”

The Lake Martin Waterfront Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.

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Lake Martin waterfront home sales increased 2.7 percent since September 2016

905 point windy lake martin al

By: ACRE Research

The Lake Martin waterfront median sales price during September was $599,000, an increase of 36.1 percent from September 2016.

Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.

Sales: Lake Martin waterfront sales totaled 38 units during September, a 2.7 percent increase from the same period in 2016. Sales for September 2016 on Lake Martin’s waterfront totaled 37 units.

Supply: The Lake Martin waterfront housing inventory in September was 229 units, a decrease of 10.9 percent from September 2016 and 48.5 percent below the August peak in 2010 of 447 units. September inventory decreased by 9.7 percent from August. There were 6.7 months of housing supply in September (6 months is considered equilibrium).

Pricing: The Lake Martin waterfront median sales price during September was $599,000, an increase of 36.1 percent from September 2016 and 42.3 percent above the prior month. Pricing will fluctuate from month to month because of changing composition of actual sales (lakefront vs. non-lakefront) and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

Industry analysis: “The impacts from this season’s hurricanes on the U.S. economy were wide-ranging but should dissipate over time. These include the loss of momentum in consumer spending and residential investment, as well as a decline in September payrolls and August home sales and contract signings,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. “We expect economic activity to rebound in coming months. The recovery will likely be slower for home sales and home building, however, as the labor shortage and rising material prices will likely worsen after the hurricanes, exacerbating already-tight inventory. While we expect full-year economic growth for 2017 to come in at the same rate projected in our prior forecast, we now believe that total home sales will be essentially flat this year compared with the moderate rise predicted in the prior forecast. Despite muted underlying inflation, we continue to expect the Fed to raise rates for the third time this year in December.”

The Lake Martin Waterfront Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.

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Lake Martin waterfront home sales in March up 7 percent over last year

lake martin waterfront sales

By: Bryan Davis

Sales: Lake Martin waterfront sales totaled 29 units during February, up 7 percent from the same period in 2016. Sales for March 2016 on Lake Martin’s waterfront totaled 27 units. It is important to note that even single-digit changes in the home sales total can cause double-digit percentage changes.

Supply: The Lake Martin waterfront housing inventory in March was 259 units, a decrease of 21 percent from March 2016 and 51 percent below the March peak in 2009 of 523 units. March inventory increased by 4 percent from February. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that March inventory on average (2011-15) increases from February by 7 percent. There were 8.9 months of housing supply in March (6 months is considered equilibrium).

Demand: Waterfront residential sales increased 45 percent during March, from 20 units sold in February. Historical seasonal patterns indicate March sales on average (2012-16) increase from February.

Pricing: The Lake Martin waterfront median sales price during March was $350,000, a decrease of 19 percent from March 2016 and unchanged from the prior month. Pricing will fluctuate from month to month due to changing composition of actual sales (lakefront vs. non-lakefront) and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. ACRE recommends contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

The Lake Martin Waterfront Residential Monthly Report is developed in conjunction with the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.

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Lake Martin “waterfront” home sales at near December peak level

lake martin waterfront sales

By: Brian Davis

Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.

Sales: Lake Martin “waterfront” sales totaled 24 units during December, an increase in sales growth of 60 percent from the same period in 2014. This is just shy of the December peak in waterfront home sales at Lake Martin (26) established in 2013. Year-end sales through December were up 24 percent above 2014. Two more resources to review: Quarterly Report and Annual Report.

Click here to check out all of ACRE’s data on Lake Martin’s waterfront sales.

Supply: The Lake Martin “waterfront” housing inventory in December was 200 units, a decrease of 12.3 percent from December 2014 and 57 percent below (this is good news) the December peak in 2008 (461 units). In addition, December inventory decreased by 26 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that December inventory on average (2010-14) decreases from November by 13.7 percent. There were 8.3 months of housing supply in December(6 months considered equilibrium in December NSA), a favorable decrease of 45 percent from last December 15.2 months of supply.

Demand:  “Waterfront” residential sales increased 26 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with seasonal patterns and historical data indicating December sales on average (2010-14) increase by 18.9 percent from November.

Pricing: The Lake Martin “waterfront” median sales price during December was $417,500, a decrease of 26.8 percent from December 2014 but virtually unchanged compared to the prior month. Historical data indicate that the December median sales price (2010-14) typically increases 5.5 percent from November. Pricing can and will fluctuate from month to month due to changing composition of actual sales (lakefront vs. non-lakefront) and the sample size of data (closed transactions) being subject to seasonal buying patterns. A broader lens as to pricing trends is appropriate and we highly recommend contacting a local real estate professional for additional market pricing information.

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