October Intown Market Report

By Bill Adams, President

For October 2024, the Average Sales Price is $771,493, a 7% year over year increase and a two-year increase of 13%. The Average Number of Days on the market is unchanged over the last 12 months at 39 days. The Number of Units Sold seems to have flattened out as 1,437 properties sold over the last year, a 9% year over year decrease. In September, the annual number was 1,436 units so maybe the slowdown in transactions is near the bottom.

This month, I would like to look at the price increases since 2014 and 2019 in the small municipalities covered in our report. These cities have had significant price appreciation over the last five and ten years. The chart below shows the Average Sales Price (ASP) in each of the three time periods as well as the five- and ten-year increases in actual dollar amounts.

An interesting exercise is to see what the impact on a homeowner’s monthly payment would be due to appreciation since 2014 and 2019. I used a mid-October 2024 average of 6.5% for a 30-year fixed rate loan. I assumed that all the increase in price would be financed. I looked at the most expensive city, Decatur and the least expensive city, East Point. In Decatur, using today’s interest rate, the ten-year appreciation would cost the homeowner $2,606 per month extra while the five- year appreciation would cost the homeowner an extra $1,836 per month. In East Point, the ten-year appreciation would cost a homeowner $1,687 per month extra while the five-year appreciation would cost the homeowner an extra $1,087 per month. Some of these costs can be attributed to higher interest rates. Interest rates for a 30-year loan in October 2014 were 4.17% and in October 2019 the rate was 3.78%. The other obvious culprits are inflation and, of course demand and supply. To give you a lesson in appreciation from not too long ago, the $2,606 per month extra a homeowner in Decatur would pay today is well over $1,000 per month more that I paid for our total 1996 mortgage in Decatur in a much higher interest rate environment.

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