Birmingham, AL Housing Market: Prices, Inventory and Trends
Recent listing and value figures for Birmingham, AL point to flat-to-lower prices, but the sources date and define their numbers differently. This guide explains what each metric measures so you can read them accurately.
In this article
You can get a clear read on the Birmingham, AL housing market from two widely used sources: Zillow and Redfin. Zillow's average home value for Birmingham was $136,876 as of Aug 31, 2026, down 2.3% over the past year [1]. That means the average value of homes in the city has eased slightly over the year. It also helps to read Is Birmingham AL a Good Place to Live? Costs and Trade-Offs.
Redfin puts the average Birmingham house price at $161K for the latest month it covers, down 12.4% from earlier [2]. This figure measures sale prices, while Zillow's measures estimated home values, so the two numbers are not directly comparable.
Each one measures something different and updates on its own schedule, so read every figure with its date in mind. This article explains prices, inventory, competitiveness and where to find newer data, so you can tell what each number means for your own search.
What do median, average and listing price actually measure?
An average home value is the mean of the estimated values for homes in an area. Because it is a mean, a single very expensive sale can pull it up, even when most homes in the area did not change in price.
Suppose you add one luxury sale to a set of ordinary homes. The average rises, but a typical buyer's experience has not changed. That is why an average can look higher than what most homes are worth.
A median listing price is the middle asking price of the homes for sale: half are listed above it and half below. Because it sits in the middle, it is less affected by extreme prices than an average is. Realtor.com's Birmingham listings page reports a median listing price for homes for sale in the city [3].
Home values, sale prices and asking prices are three different measures. A home value is an estimate, a sale price is what a buyer paid, and an asking price is what a seller wants. Zillow's Birmingham page reports an average home value for the city [1].
The source decides which measure you see. An estimate covers many homes, while a listing median covers only homes currently for sale. If you compare an estimate with a listing price, you are comparing two different things. Use estimates to follow the trend, and use listing medians to understand what is currently on the market.
How much are homes selling and listed for in Birmingham?
Homes listed for sale in Birmingham, AL had a median asking price of $155,000 on Realtor.com [3]. The median is the middle price in the list, so half the listings ask more and half ask less. Realtor.com counted 2,192 homes for sale in the city [3], so the median describes a large pool of listings rather than a handful of sales. For a closer look, read Safest Neighborhoods in Birmingham, AL: How to Compare Crime Data.
What Zillow's value figure means
Zillow puts the average home value in Birmingham at $136,876 [1]. That number is an estimate built from a model, not a record of sales, so it can differ from what homes actually sell for. If you are setting an offer, treat it as background and weigh it against asking prices.
Reading the price changes
The decline Zillow reports is measured over the past year, so it describes change that already happened [1]. Comparing one date with the same date a year earlier shows direction, but it does not predict next year's prices.
How many homes are for sale, and what does that tell you?
Inventory is the number of homes for sale in a market at a given time. Realtor.com lists 2,192 homes for sale in Birmingham, AL [3]. That figure is one snapshot, so it tells you how many options existed when the page was viewed, not how the market has moved over time. Learn more in Tuscaloosa, AL Housing Market: Prices, Inventory and Sales Pace.
For a buyer, the count is a starting point. If you are looking in one price range or neighborhood, the total for the whole city may overstate your real choices. Filter the listings to your budget and area before you judge how much room you have.
Tracking how fast homes move
A listing count alone misses speed. Market dashboards also track new listings, sold listings and pending homes [4]. New listings show how much supply is coming onto the market, sold listings show what has closed, and pending homes show deals already under contract.
Homes may be sitting longer than usual. If sales and pending counts are high against the same inventory, homes are turning over faster.
A large count is not an advantage
A high number of homes for sale does not by itself show who has the upper hand. Buyers may have more choices, but sellers can still get strong offers when demand is high. Read inventory next to new, sold and pending figures to see which side is gaining ground.
Is the Birmingham market competitive for buyers right now?
Birmingham sits in the middle of the range right now, so neither side holds a clear advantage. Redfin scores the Birmingham market at 44 out of 100 for competitiveness and calls it somewhat competitive. [2]
What a middle score means for you
A score in the middle means neither side has a clear edge, so buyers may have room to negotiate in some cases. Suppose you are looking at a house that has been listed for several weeks. You can reasonably ask the seller to consider a lower price or to pay for some repairs, though the seller may still say no.
The citywide score is also a single number for a large area. A three-bedroom house in one neighborhood may move differently than a condo across town, so the score may not match the homes you are searching for.
Check the score against local figures
The score is a summary by one company, so check it against the listing and sales figures. Pull up homes near your target price and note each asking price, how long it has been listed, and what recent sales closed for. Look at at least five homes so one unusual listing does not mislead you.
If those numbers point the same way as the score, you can lean on it more. If they do not, trust the local figures over the summary.
Which Birmingham figures are old, and how do you check the date?
A MeridianLink blog post dated Jun 3, 2025 says 54% of Birmingham home listings are considered affordable [5].
Redfin's price figure is harder to date. Its page gives the average Birmingham house price for "last month" and does not name that month [2]. Without the month, you cannot tell how current the number is, so do not quote it on its own.
To date it, open the Redfin Birmingham, AL housing market page and find the month next to the price figure. Then write that month beside the number, so it reads as an average price for a named month. Learn more in Huntsville AL Housing Market: What the Latest Numbers Show.
When figures come from different dates, start with the newest dated one. Suppose you want to say prices are rising.
It does not describe homes you can buy today, and it should not lead your picture of the market.
Where can you find the newest Birmingham market data?
The Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama publishes Birmingham metro residential research and market reports, which makes it the best starting point for official, research-based data [6]. Its Birmingham metro page links to housing market reports, and it also covers the Alabama Residential Real Estate Index and county data [6]. For a sense of what a homebuyer is seeing right now, use it alongside a live listings-based dashboard.
LiveInAlabama provides local market trends for Birmingham, including new listings, sold listings, average price and pending homes [4]. Pending homes matter because they show what is moving toward a sale, not just what is for sale. If you check this page, look at the same measures each time you visit so the picture stays consistent.
Do not decide the market is changing from one reading. Pick one measure, such as the number of new listings or the average price, and record it from the same source every month for several months. A single month can swing for reasons that have nothing to do with the broader trend, while a steady pattern across months tells you much more.
Sources
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