The Alabama Association of Realtors released its October 2024 Alabama Economic and Real Estate Report.

The report indicated a slowdown in real estate sales across the state, which the report attributed to a combination of high interest rates, which spiked up to 6.72% by late October, and seasonal slowdown typical for fall.

Alabama recorded 4,880 home sales across the state in October, a decline of 8.6% month-over-month, and 12.8% year-over-year, the third month in a row of declining home sales.

“Rising mortgage rates have made homeownership more challenging, particularly for first-time buyers,” said David Hughes, Economist at Alabama Realtors. “At the same time, the affordability index remained stable in October, indicating that homes are still within reach for median-income households. Along with other positive trends in the market, this stability offers a solid foundation for consumers moving forward.”

Alabama had many houses come onto the market in October, a total of 19,329 homes across the state. This forms a 32.6% increase year-over-year, improving the options for buyers looking to purchase a home.

Here in Huntsville specifically, the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR) has released its weekly report on the Huntsville/Madison County market.

The report shows a decrease in new listings for both single-family homes and townhouse/condo units, with single-family listings down by 16.3%, and townhouse listings down by 8.7%.

Pending sales of single-family units were up by 12.5%, while sales of townhouse units saw a flat 20% decrease.

Inventory of both types of housing continued to come onto the market, with inventory of single-family units increasing by 25.2%, and townhouse units increasing by 117.4%.

On the national scale, a new report from Redfin shows that real estate prices are increasing higher in areas that are less at risk from flooding, fire, or extreme heat.

“The fact that this is happening across risk types — and thus, across the country — is some of the best evidence we have that climate change is impacting people’s homebuying decisions,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa in a news release about the data.

“With climate catastrophes becoming increasingly frequent and calamitous, many people have decided they don’t want to live in risky areas. And with insurance costs skyrocketing, many risky areas that were once affordable have become prohibitively expensive.”

Much of this loss in demand is centered around Florida and Texas, where insurance premiums have also risen in response to more frequent and devastating natural disasters.

A 2023 survey conducted by Zillow found that 80% of buyers, out of a pool of 12,000, said that they considered climate risk as a factor when buying a home.

The Huntsville Business Journal will continue to monitor developments in the real estate market, both nationally and here at home.