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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
Home sales in Hoover climbed 14% in 2024, but that didn’t mean a strong year for everyone in the housing industry.
In fact, it was a difficult year for many as the inventory of homes for sale remained small, interest rates stayed high, lenders tightened credit requirements, and some real estate agents scrambled for customers.
“It was literally the worst year of my career,” said Jordan Hosey, the owner of HBH Realty. “There was uncertainty in the national economy. Consumer confidence was just really, really terrible. … I think a key driving factor of that was just the high mortgage rates.”
Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates hovered around 7% for much of the year, and more than half of borrowers have rates lower than 4%, according to Realtor.com.
“People just don’t want to come off their property,” Hosey said. “A lot of times, it doesn’t make sense for them to sell their house and buy a new one or upgrade because their mortgage, in some cases, will double, if not triple.”
Some people can manage that, but it’s difficult with the rising cost of living in other areas, she said.
The number of homes sold in Hoover in 2024 climbed from 1,421 in 2023 to 1,644 in 2024, but the vast majority of that increase was in new home sales, which rose 80% from 255 in 2023 to 460 in 2024, according to statistics from the Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service. Existing home sales in Hoover rose just 1.5%, from 1,166 to 1,184.
Signature Homes, which sold 357 homes last year, accounted for 78% of all new home sales in Hoover, CEO Jonathan Belcher said. More than half of those—187—were townhomes in Everlee in western Hoover and Windsor Court in eastern Hoover near Meadow Brook.
With interest rates rising, Signature Homes began building townhouses as a more affordable option, and that will continue in 2025, Belcher said. Signature expects to sell about 100 townhomes in Everlee in 2025, along with about 160 other homes in Everlee, he said.
A new offering for Signature this year is condominiums restricted to people age 55 and older. There are plans for 300 age-restricted condos in Everlee, and the first 43 of those hit the market in February, Belcher said.
Signature Homes also sold 77 homes in Blackridge in 2024 and expects to sell that many or slightly more in Blackridge in 2025, he said. Other companies are building new homes in places such as The Preserve, Lake Wilborn, Smith Farms, and Spencer Preserve in Bluff Park.
Hoover has a two-month supply of new homes for sale and a 1½-month supply of existing homes, while the Birmingham market as a whole has a three-month supply, Belcher said. The limited inventory of homes in Hoover has helped prices remain strong, with the average home costing $506,171, MLS statistics show.
Belcher said he doesn’t foresee interest rates coming down meaningfully this year and thinks sellers and buyers realize that, too, and may be more willing to jump into the market. He considers the market to be healthy.
Hosey said she’s already seeing signs of renewed interest, such as a rise in mortgage applications, stronger consumer confidence, and more listings by sellers.
