Housing Market Overview
The median home price (often called the average home price), rent costs, affordability metrics, and housing stock characteristics for this housing market.
Median Home Price Map: Nearby Counties
Housing Market Overview
| Metric | Sumter County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $5,000 | $158,589 | $242,182 |
| Price Trend (Annual %) | -6.6% | 7.1% | 8.2% |
| Median Gross Rent | $841 | $962 | $1,342 |
| Rent Trend (Annual %) | 6.3% | 4.1% | 5.1% |
| Household Income Trend (Annual %) | — | — | — |
The median home price in Sumter County is about 97% lower than in Alabama. Rent is about 13% lower than the Alabama average.
Median Home and Rent Price Trends
Median Home Prices, 2015-2023
Median Rent Prices, 2015-2023
Home prices and rent are moving in opposite directions in Sumter County: home prices fell about 6.6% a year while rent rose about 6.3% a year. That is an unusual pattern worth watching.
Median rent in Sumter County rose about 51.4% between 2015 and 2023, from $555 to $841. Over the same span, rent in Alabama rose about 34.2%.
Affordability
On average, housing unit costs 0.1 yearly household incomes in Sumter County.
Buying the median-priced home in Sumter County costs roughly 0.5 years of rent at the median monthly rate. That is a relatively low price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor buying over renting in Sumter County. The price-to-rent ratio in Alabama is about 13.7.
| Metric | Sumter County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $5,000 | $158,589 | $242,182 |
| Median Household Income | $37,861 | $62,318 | $78,145 |
| Price-to-Income Ratio | 0.1 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
Home Prices vs Income Over Time
Between 2015 and 2023, the median home price in Sumter County fell about 91.4%, while median household income rose about 81.6% between 2009 and 2023 — income grew faster than the home price.
Income Growth vs Housing Cost Growth (Year-over-Year %)
Compare income and housing cost trends.
Occupancy & Tenure
| Metric | Sumter County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homeownership Rate | 52.4% | 59.5% | 58.2% |
| Rental Rate | 22.9% | 25.6% | 31.3% |
| Vacancy Rate | 24.7% | 15.0% | 10.6% |
| Median Tenure (years) | 20.0 | 16.0 | 15.0 |
| Median Year Moved In | 2006 | 2010 | 2011 |
Sumter County has a homeownership rate of 52.4%, lower than the Alabama average of 59.5%. Its housing vacancy rate is 24.7%, compared with 15.0% in Alabama.
Housing Stock
| Metric | Sumter County | Alabama Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Household Size | 2.10 people | 2.50 people | 2.54 people |
| Median Structure Built Year | 1984 | 1985 | 1978 |
| Median Number of Rooms | 5.4 | 5.8 | 5.5 |
The typical housing unit in Sumter County was built around 1984. On average, 2.1 people live in a home with about 5.4 rooms, staying for about 20.0 years on average.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the housing market in Sumter County, Alabama.
What is the median home price in Sumter County, Alabama?
The median home price in Sumter County, Alabama is $5,000, lower than the Alabama average of $158,589.
What is the average home price in Sumter County, Alabama?
The typical home price in %s, reported as the median sale price, is %s. The median is used instead of a mathematical average because it is not skewed by a small number of very expensive or very cheap homes, so it better reflects what a typical buyer pays.
What is the median rent in Sumter County, Alabama?
The median gross rent in Sumter County, Alabama is $841 per month, lower than the Alabama average of $962.
What was the median gross rent in Sumter County in 2020?
In 2020, the median gross rent in Sumter County, Alabama was $676 per month.
What is the price-to-rent ratio in Sumter County, Alabama?
The price-to-rent ratio in Sumter County, Alabama is about 0.5, meaning it would take roughly 0.5 years of rent payments at the median rent to equal the median home price. That is a relatively low price-to-rent ratio, which tends to favor buying over renting in Sumter County.
Are home prices or rent rising faster in Sumter County, Alabama?
Home prices and rent are moving in opposite directions in Sumter County: home prices fell about 6.6% a year while rent rose about 6.3% a year. That is an unusual pattern worth watching.
What is the homeownership rate in Sumter County, Alabama?
52.4% of households in Sumter County, Alabama own their home, lower than the Alabama average of 59.5%.
What is the vacancy rate in Sumter County, Alabama?
The housing vacancy rate in Sumter County, Alabama is 24.7%, higher than the Alabama average of 15.0%.