More homes now up for sale in state

By Staff
November represents the second consecutive month the state housing inventory has decreased from the previous month, down 1,049 units or 2.40 percent, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate at The University of Alabama.
“We will continue to closely monitor this very important market indicator as the reduction in excess supply will be critical for the market to regain traction as we enter 2008,” said Grayson Glaze, executive director of the UA center.
Slower home sales during the latter part of the year contributed to the increase in the number of homes on the market, as the current supply of Alabama homes, when compared with November 2006, reflects a significant increase in year-over-year supply by 6,238 units, or 17.16 percent, and a higher than desirable inventory-to-sales ratio of 11.3, Glaze said.
According to Glaze, the inventory of homes for sale at the current sales pace is the inventory-to-sales ratio. An inventory/sales ratio of 11.3 means the supply of homes for sale will deplete in a little more than 11 months at the current sales pace. The 2007 year-to-date average inventory/sales ratio is 8.5, while the average Alabama inventory/sales ratio in 2006 was 6.6, closer to traditional and desired industry levels, Glaze said.
Despite the anticipated recent downward trend in home sales, Alabama will end 2007 at about 56,000 units sold, which represents a modest decline of 6 percent when compared to the high double-digit declines experienced by regional and national counterparts.
Total statewide home sales of 3,768 units in Alabama during November posted a decline of 11.78 percent, representing 503 fewer homes sold when compared to November of last year.