It was hot in July – and we’re not just talking weather.

Huntsville home sales continued to climb and last month was no exception.

However, the average and median sales prices for houses in July saw a drop from June’s prices.

According to the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s monthly report for July, 929 houses were sold last month, compared to 863 a year ago and 847 in June. Usually, the report said, July’s sales fall from June’s sales.

“Historical data indicates that July residential sales on average (2015-19) decrease from June by 6.1 percent,” the ACRE report said. “This month’s sales increased 9.7 percent from the prior month.”

There were 663 existing single-family homes sold, compared to 332 a year ago, while newly built houses accounted for 248 of July’s count, along with 18 condos.

While July’s median and average prices were up from a year ago, they dropped compared to June’s numbers.

The median sales price in Huntsville for the current month was $249,900, a 12.1 increase from July 2019’s
median sales price, but the median price was “historically” down from June’s median price of $253,900.

“Historical data indicates that July median sales prices on average (2015- 19) increase 0.7 percent from June,” ACRE said. “The current month’s median price decreased 1.6 percent from the previous month.”

Like the median sales price for houses, average sales prices, while rising from a year ago, saw a drop from June. The average sales price for July was $277,844, a 10.8 percent increase from $250,742 one year ago. But it was off some 2.3 percent from June’s price of $284,489.

“Historical data indicates that July average sales prices on average (2015-19) increase by 0.7 percent from June,” the report said. “The current month’s average price decreased 2.3 percent from the prior month.”

The report did not cite a possibility for the 3 percent turn-around (from 0.7 percent increase to 2.3 percent decrease) in prices.

In spite of the price drop, with just a 1.1-month inventory of available houses, it’s still a seller’s market, according to ACRE.

“July’s 1.1 months of supply is well below the five-year average of 3.5 months,” the report said. “Huntsville’s inventory-to-sales ratio is 4.9 months below equilibrium, indicating a continued transition where sellers typically have elevated bargaining power.”