Local sales strong; updated 3/2 houses in demand

The volume of residential real estate sold to date in 2018 is up $2.6 million over the same period last year.

Donna Raines, president of the Covington Realtors Association, said reports from the association’s listing service show th at realtors have closed $19.1 million in residential real estate sales in 2018. In the same period last year, the total was $16.5 million.

The average price paid for homes was up $1,311 to $114,856, and the number of days on the market fell from 2017 in 2017 to 162 days this year.

The number of units sold has increase 14 percent over the same period last year, a trend that is slightly higher than statewide numbers.

According to the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE), total residential sales increased 10.4 percent year-over-year from 16,450 to 18,157 closed transactions. Home price appreciation in the state also continues its upward trajectory as the median sales price during the second quarter increased 4.3 percent year-over-year from $155,278 to $161,975. Mirroring national trends, statewide inventory decreased 9.4 percent from one year ago. Low inventory levels were a major factor contributing to rising sales prices during the second quarter, according to ACRE.

Homes listed for sale statewide during June totaled 24,159 units, a decrease of 11 percent from June 2017’s 27,140 units, and a decrease of 2.3 percent from May 2018’s 24,720 units.

Raines, who is an owner/broker for Advantage Realty said even though there are 265 residential listings currently in inventory in Covington County, realtors still have trouble filling the demand for updated three bedroom, two-bath homes in the $90,000 to $150,000 range.

To date, there have been 325 new listings entered in 2018, as opposed to 300 in the same period last year.

Most buyers (51) used conventional financing, while 47 paid cash, 40 used FHA financing, 13 qualified for VA financing and seven were owner-financed.

At present, there are also 269 land listings and 66 commercial listings in Covington County.