Posts (RSS)Birmingham Foreclosure Listing Prices Pull Down Average Home Prices
The average price for homes sold in Birmingham in June would have been more than $220,000 if foreclosure listing prices in June did not average at a low of $80,273, according to real estate analysts in Alabama.
In June, the average price for houses sold in the city was $189,332, an increase compared to May and the highest price level reached since January 2009. If foreclosure listing prices were not considered, the average price for houses sold would have been $223,660.
Sales of pre-owned homes and new homes also increased in June, providing positive signs of housing market improvement in the city. Total sales jumped up by 13 percent in June compared to May.
The number of houses sold in June increased to 1,090, compared to the 959 units sold in May. A total of 887 units got sold in April while 854 units were sold in March.
Sales from foreclosure listing inventories in June remained at 29 percent of all home sales in the city, which is the same percentage of foreclosure sales in May. In March, 40 percent of all home sales were from foreclosure listing inventories while in April, 38 percent were foreclosure sales.
Another report on Birmingham home sales in June from another real estate analyst also showed an improving trend in the city?s housing market. This report said that the overall value of homes sold in the city increased to $229.6 million, a jump of 11.5 percent from May.
The number of new homes sold was 215, marking a rise of 34 percent from May. But current inventory of homes has dropped by 17 percent to about 13,000 and new active listings declined to 1,865 compared to 2,262 in May.
Despite the positive signs, analysts are still cautious about pronouncing a market recovery, saying that the month of June is historically a home buying month and that foreclosure listing inventories are expected to rise due to the rising unemployment rate.
Despite the rise in home sales in June compared to the previous month of May, June home sales were still far below sales levels in 2008. The number of houses sold during the first half this year was 22 percent lower than the total number in the first 6 months of 2008.
In addition, the overall value of home sales in the first half this year decreased by 32 percent compared to sales in the first half last year. The decrease is largely because of substantial declines in foreclosure listing prices.