The Huntsville real estate market continues to stay hot as the number of houses available is dwindling and the average sale price for a house approaches $300,000.

According to the most recent report from the Alabama Center for Real Estate, 869 houses were sold last month, compared to 729 in November and 683 in December 2019. These figures run contrary to the five-year average, ACRE said.

“Historical data indicates that December residential sales on average (2015-19) decrease from November by 2.5 percent,” the report said. “This month’s sales increased 18.9 percent from the prior month.”

And it is getting harder to find houses for would-be homeowners. At the end of last month, there were 764 houses on the market, compared to 842 in November. In December 2019, there were 993 houses available.

“Historical data indicates that December inventory on average (2015-19) increases 19.7 percent from November,” the ACRE report said. “The current month’s inventory decreased 9.3 percent from last month’s total of 764 homes.”

The breakdown of sales last month compared to December 2019 are existing single-family homes – 558 last month, 435 in December 2019; condos – 19, 16; and new construction – 290 and 232.

The houses are also increasing in value with the average sales price ($295,158) and the median sales price ($263,044) hitting all-time highs. In November, the average price was $258,455 and the median sales price was $232,500.

“Historical data indicates that December median sales prices on average (2015-19) decrease 3.3 percent from November,” ACRE said. “The current month’s median price increased 13.1 percent from the previous month.

“… December average sales prices on average decrease by 3.3 percent from November. The current month’s average price increased 14.2 percent from the prior month.”

ACRE said houses are on the market for less than three weeks at 17 days – nearly seven weeks below the five-year average of 65 days. This compares to 22 days on the market in November and 28 days in December 2019. ACRE said it expects the number to stay “within the current range (15-65 days) for the foreseeable future.”