Alabama’s housing market experienced strong growth in May as both home sales and other values increased compared to the previous month and year while, at the same time, listings and inventory reached a five-year high, according to the Alabama Economic and Real Estate Report released on Friday by the Alabama Association of REALTORS®.
Alabama’s 6,214 home sales last month signaled a 7.3 percent increase from April’s figures and represented a 6.5 percent increase year-over-year when compared with May of 2024. Likewise, the median home price in May was $230,130, a 2.3 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 6.7 percent — or $14,510 — boost when juxtaposed with the same period in 2024.
“Home sales picked up in May in Alabama, and improving consumer sentiment in June may bode well for the housing market” Alabama REALTORS® economist Evan Moore said. “Buyers continue to enjoy an increased number of listings in the state while sellers saw an increase in the median sales price in May, but market conditions will likely continue to favor buyers over the next few months as listings are at their highest level in more than five years.”
The sold volume across the state, which is the total value of homes closed, was $1.70 billion in May, a significant 10.4 percent increase over the previous month and an impressive 26.9 percent rise from the same period in 2024.
The average home sale price in May of $274,096 also reflected a 19.7 percent increase over last year, and the state’s 19,709 active listings at the end of May were 24.9 percent higher than the 15,776 of one year ago, which continues to provide buyers with ample selection and inventory from which to choose.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate tracker recently introduced as a feature of the monthly AAR Economic and Real Estate Report showed that rates averaged 6.56 percent over the past 40 years and 7.68 percent over the past 50 years, and the 6.82 percent recorded in May falls within the low end of that range.
At an average of 58 days, homes in Alabama remained on the market one day longer in May as compared to April, and economists predict little change in the near future under the current financial conditions.
Moore noted that Alabama’s economy is stable with unemployment at 3.3 percent for the eighth consecutive month, a figure that remains below the 4.2 percent national rate. The labor force participation rate in Alabama also rose to 57.9 percent, marking the third consecutive month of positive growth and the highest level in at least a decade.
The Alabama Economic and Real Estate Report is published monthly and annually by the Alabama Association of REALTORS®. Click here to view the full monthly and annual reports.
