November 2011 home sales in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope

In the old days – Pre-Apocalyptic Housing Market Meltdown – the fourth quarter was the second busiest time of the year, eclipsed only by the spring/summer sales season.

And then … Well, we all know what happened then.

For Realtors, the rhythms were all off. Everything was out of sync. One month, good; the next, abysmal. Nothing made sense.

But this quarter things appear to be resuming their normal patterns, albeit at a more anemic level.

Home sales in November, rose to 84 over 76 in October and pending sales remain steady at 156.

Inventory continues to slowly drop and foreclosures only represent 8.5% of the homes for sale in Daphne, Spanish Fort and Fairhope. Expect that number to rise in the spring as the jolly ol’ bankers shed their Santa Clause costumes and resume business as usual.

Foreclosures still represented 29% of sales in November (buyers are drawn to them like a child to a candy cane). New construction accounted for 19% of sales.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore:

Total houses for sale: 893

Homes for sale in Spanish Fort AL: 134

Homes for sale in Daphne AL: 303

Homes for sale in Fairhope AL: 457

Pending Sales:

Total: 156

Spanish Fort: 20

Daphne: 96

Fairhope: 40

Closed sales for November, 2011

Total: 84

Average sales price, $196,791, a little down from $197,251 in October and significantly down from $213,523 in September.

Median sales price: $163,100, down again from $168,800 in October and $171,838 in September.

List to sale percentage: 93.93%, a decline from 94.16% in October

Spanish Fort: 11

Daphne: 35

Fairhope: 38