Published: Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 8:27 AM     Updated: Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 8:37 AM

HUNTSVILLE, AL. - For the first time in six months, home sales in Huntsville and Madison County declined in July, a drop many Realtors and executives attribute to the expiration of the federal tax credit for homebuyers.

But the July single-family home median price - the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less - was $200,000, an increase of 6.1 percent from June ($188,500) and 14.29 percent from last July ($174,900).

According to data released Monday by the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors, sales decreased by 32.5 percent from June to July, from 523 homes to 353 in total sales. There was also a 28.97 percent drop from last July when 497 homes were sold.

"I look around the country, and I see the bigger markets - Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles - that saw a significant decrease in July,'' said Oscar Gonzales, the CEO of the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors. "Typically, we have been bucking the trend.''

For much of the spring and into the early summer, while homebuyers were eligible for the federal tax credit, local sales eclipsed most national figures.

To qualify for credits of up to $8,000, buyers with signed contracts had until June 30 to complete their purchases.

Locally, those credits accounted for an extended rise in sales - 2.5 percent in February, 65 percent in March, 2 percent in April, 22 percent in May and 3.98 percent in June.

Gonzales cited three factors for the decline in July: The expiration of the federal tax credit, the national economy and the local layoffs from cuts in NASA's Constellation program.

Yet, Gonzales is still confident.

"I don't think it's anything to be alarmed about," Gonzales said. "I don't foresee any major hiccups in our market at all."

Rob Hatchett, regional general manager of Crye-Leike, remains optimistic, too.

"Because of the tax credit, we knew a lot of closings that would have been in July got bumped into June and May to take advantage of the tax credit," he said. "This was an expectation, that there would be a low amount of volume. So many got rushed up."

The number of available properties - active listings - increased by 2.46 percent in July, compared with June and 17.41 percent compared with last July.

The number of average days on the market rose by 29, from 76 in June to 105 in July - an 8-day increase from last July.

"We're in nine major cities, and we recognize that Huntsville is the best market of those cities," Hatchett said. "Because of the government money, it is better than the other markets we're in.

"Any national news or news about the South, Huntsville is the least hard hit of any of the major cities. Huntsville is the most promising."

 

 

Because of that promise, Gonzales expects Huntsville to continue to defy national trends.

"We're not immune, but we're in a better position than other parts of the country," he said. "But when they hear (news about the economy) from national media, they are shy."