Tag Archive for: HAAR

Huntsville’s ValleyMLS ranked among the Best in WAV Group’s Customer Experience Index

ValleyMLS was named a BEST MLS for 2024. The award was presented by WAV Group, the industry’s leading real estate consulting and research firm, conducting their second annual Customer Experience Index (CXI) for MLSs. WAV Group’s Customer Experience Index program scores MLS organizations on seven standardized key performance indicators (KPIs): overall satisfaction, customer service, training, technology, data quality, responsiveness, […]

Monthly report shows prices rising as mortgage rates stabilize

The monthly report for the month of January 2024, as compiled by the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR), shows indications that the local real estate market is beginning to shrug off the sluggishness of the end of the year.  The addition of housing inventory continues apace, with 1738 units on the market in January, […]

Rate cuts likely delayed as economy hotter than projected

The Consumer Price Index, tracking the economy during the first month of 2024, suggests that the Federal Reserve will be unlikely to cut interest rates until late spring at the earliest.  Data for January showed that the annual inflation rate registered at 3.1%. While this is a noticeable decrease from the 3.4% of December, economists […]

Real Estate Update: Inventory Squeeze Cools Mortgages

Mortgage application volume dropped by 7.2% last week, a drop that the Mortgage Bankers Association is attributing to intense competition among buyers for a relatively small number of units available.  Across the nation, applications for mortgages for purchasing homes specifically declined by 11% over the week, which represented a total drop of 20% year-over-year.  This […]

December 2023 stats cap challenging year for Huntsville’s market

The Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR) has released its annual report for 2023, as well as the report for the month of December specifically.  2023 was a year defined by the interest rate shock, which reverberated throughout the entire real estate market. Would-be buyers found homeownership a more daunting prospect as 30-year fixed mortgage […]

Real Estate “Lock-In” effect weakens grip as market begins thaw

Housing and Real Estate statistics taken from the end of December 2023 indicate that the phenomenon of would-be buyers holding off until mortgage rates decline – an effect known as “lock-in” by the industry – has begun to weaken. This suggests that 2024 could see a turnaround from the sluggish pace seen since the twin […]

Huntsville receives national ranking for affordability amid housing and infrastructure concerns

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Adding to the growing list of accolades, the City of Huntsville was recently ranked as one of the fastest growing, affordable cities in the nation. According to U.S. Census Bureau data tabulated by GOBankingRates from December 07, 2023, populations in some of the largest cities in America, such as New York City […]

Real Estate Update: Recent monthly stats show continued slump

The Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR) has released their monthly report for November of 2023.  The amount of inventory available in the Huntsville/Madison County Market has continued to grow, with a total of 1856 units available, up from 1631 in November 2022.  However, the average sales price has continued to rise, up to $375k […]

Real Estate Update: Insurance premiums a storm on the horizon

The real estate market has been buffeted by the twin perils of inflation and interest rates, with inventory issues further complicating matters.  Last week, experts sounded the alarm on another disrupting factor for the continued future: the rising cost of home insurance in a world of climate change.  At last week’s National Housing Conference’s affordable […]

NAR says to expect 6% average for 2024 as mortgage rates decrease

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate continued to decrease this week, with the current average at time of printing down from 7.61% to 7.41%.  As a result, demand for mortgages have begun creeping back upwards, with applications nationwide up 2% over the week. However, this still represents a 20% decrease from the same time last […]