Local home sales defy trend
By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser
The Montgomery housing market has remained strong, despite the weakening seen nationally.
-- Karen S. Doerr
Home prices in Montgomery experienced a slight drop over the past year, but a leading real estate analyst says the area housing market still is gaining in value while the national market is on the decline.
Numbers released today by the University of Alabama show Montgomery's median home price decreased slightly from $140,000 in August 2005 to $138,885 this year.
However, the average home price increased by more than $6,500 in the same period, while the average median price rose by $17,000.
The news comes at a time the national market is experiencing its first pricing downturn in 11 years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"Alabama is, at this point, bucking the national trend," said Leonard Zumpano, executive director of the Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center, the department that compiles Alabama's home market numbers.
Nationally, the median price of homes decreased by 1.7 percent in 2005 compared to this year. In the South, the median home price decreased by 2.6 percent, the association reported.
"This is the price correction we've been expecting -- with sales stabilizing. We should go back to positive price growth early next year," said David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, in a statement.
Zumpano said most markets in the state seem to be beating national numbers and continue to show health. The exception is Baldwin County, which is losing value as condominium prospectors go belly up.
Average home prices in Montgomery appreciated to $164,427 in August, up from $157,851 in August 2005, the National Association of Realtors' report states.
The number of existing homes sold in Montgomery also went up during the same period. Last month, 597 homes sales were reported, compared to 529 homes last August.
Norman Schlemmer is responsible for managing more than 90 agents at Alfa Realty in Montgomery.His sales office touches all levels of homes in the River Region.
"The last two or three years has been the high water mark for this area," Schlemmer said, "and this year is ahead of last year, which is a good sign for our local economy."
The regional market is extremely competitive today, Schlemmer said, adding at least 150 agents into the mix since last year.
"Usually you don't attract new agents into this business if it is going the opposite way," Schlemmer said.