Over the three months ending in April 2026, homes in Downtown Huntsville sold for a median price of $520,000, down 4.8% from the same stretch a year earlier. Price per square foot fell harder, down 16.2% year over year to $217. Read those two numbers alone and the historic core looks like it's cooling.
In the Twickenham Historic District, a different set of facts describes the same downtown footprint. The Annie Merts Center, a 1928 building that once housed Huntsville High School and later the school district's central office, finished its major construction in August 2026 after a multi-year conversion into condominiums. WAFF reported in August 2026 that the million-dollar-plus segment of the Huntsville market has been operating from a stronger position lately than the $350,000 to $400,000 band.
Both statements are accurate. They describe different products that happen to share a neighborhood label.
What the Median Is Actually Averaging
The figure everyone quotes for Downtown Huntsville blends whatever closed inside the boundary that quarter: original-condition bungalows in Five Points, established resale condos in buildings like 301 East, and now a small run of new conversions and construction. When more of what closes in a given stretch comes from the lower end of that range, the median drops, even if nothing at the top got cheaper.
That's close to what's happening. Five Points, the bungalow-heavy historic district a mile east of downtown, posted a median sale price of $357,450 over the trailing 12 months, down roughly a quarter from the year before. Most of what's moving there is older stock that needs work. Five Points has been a designated Historic Preservation District since 1999, and any exterior change visible from the street requires design review before a permit is issued. That review adds time and cost a listing price doesn't show, and buyers pricing that friction into their offers are the ones setting the comps dragging the broader downtown median down.
Volume backs this up. Twenty-seven downtown homes closed in April 2026, up from 20 a year earlier, while the median sale price fell and days on market dropped to 30 days from 56. A falling price and a faster sale usually point in opposite directions. Here they point the same way for the same reason: more of what's transacting is smaller and older and priced to move, not because buyers lost interest in downtown, but because that's what's actually available to buy in volume right now.
The Schoolhouse That Didn't Get Cheaper
Annie Merts sold into a different kind of demand entirely. The developer preserved the building's Renaissance Revival brick exterior while gutting the interior for high ceilings and new finishes, converting the former school into ten condominium units. Three had sold before construction was even finished. By August 2026, the remaining five units were on track to be move-in ready within eight months.
Nearby on Washington Street, the Lewter District delivered downtown's first multi-million-dollar new-construction townhomes in April 2026: 14 units priced from roughly $1.3 million, built next to the historic Lewter Hardware Company building, which is being converted into a restaurant called Brick and Tin. New construction has historically been scarce inside the historic district's boundaries, which is part of why both projects moved as fast as they did.
Neither Annie Merts nor Lewter District shows up in the downtown median as a discount. They show up as a handful of high closings sitting alongside a much larger number of lower ones, which is exactly what drags a blended number down even as the top of the market holds.
What Doesn't Show Up at All
MidCity, the mixed-use district built around Research Park several miles from the historic core, isn't part of this median in either direction. The roughly 1,200 apartments spread across Encore, Metronome, Anthem House and Wellory Living are rentals. Nothing there is for sale yet. The developer has said a future phase will add for-sale condos and single-family homes, but that phase hasn't broken ground. Until it does, MidCity contributes zero data points to any downtown sales figure, which means the number people are reading as a verdict on "downtown" is really a verdict on the historic core alone.
The Resale Condo Market Is Too Thin to Trust on Its Own
Established buildings like 301 East round out the picture with the smallest and least stable segment of the three. Recent resale listings there have ranged from the mid-$400,000s to the mid-$800,000s. At any given time only a handful of downtown condos are on the market at all. As of spring 2026, that count was six, with a median asking price of $805,000. A sample that small means one or two closings can swing the average by tens of thousands of dollars in either direction.
| Segment | Typical price range | What's happening now | What it signals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Points bungalows | Trailing 12-month median around $357,000 | Mostly original-condition stock subject to historic district design review | Declining median reflects renovation-minded pricing, not a falling ceiling |
| Resale condos (301 East and similar) | Mid-$400,000s to mid-$800,000s | Only a handful listed at any time; six on market with an $805,000 median ask in spring 2026 | Too thin a sample to read as a stable trend on its own |
| New conversions and construction (Annie Merts, Lewter District) | Roughly $1.3 million and up for Lewter District townhomes | Annie Merts finished major construction August 2026; Lewter District delivered its first units April 2026 | Sits at the high end, where WAFF reported in August 2026 that sentiment has been stronger than in the $350,000 to $400,000 band |
What This Means If You're Comparing Downtown Options
A buyer using the neighborhood median as a starting comp is really averaging three products that don't compete for the same buyer. A bungalow in Five Points priced against a converted schoolhouse condo will look artificially cheap. A new-construction townhome priced against the blended median will look artificially expensive. Neither comparison says much about what a specific property is actually worth.
The more useful approach compares within the segment. A renovation-ready bungalow should be measured against other original-condition homes inside the historic district's review boundary, not against finished units at Annie Merts. A turnkey unit in a building like 301 East should be measured against the handful of other resale condos that closed in the last year, not against the wider downtown median that mixes in cheaper single-family stock. New construction or a historic conversion should be measured against Lewter District and whatever comes next, not last year's Five Points closings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the falling Downtown Huntsville median mean prices are dropping across the neighborhood? No. It means more of what's closing right now is coming from the lower end of the range, largely original-condition homes in Five Points. The new-construction and conversion segment, Annie Merts and Lewter District, sits at the high end of the market, where WAFF reported in August 2026 that the million-dollar-plus segment has shown more strength than the $350,000 to $400,000 band.
Is MidCity included in the Downtown Huntsville sales data? Not yet. MidCity's roughly 1,200 units are rentals, split across Encore, Metronome, Anthem House and Wellory Living. The developer has said for-sale condos and single-family homes are planned for a future phase, but nothing has broken ground.
What should I actually compare a Five Points bungalow to? Other original-condition homes that sold recently inside the historic district's review boundary, not the finished units at Annie Merts or the new townhomes at Lewter District. Those are different products serving different buyers, and blending them produces a number that describes neither one accurately.
If you're weighing a Five Points bungalow against a finished unit at Annie Merts, or trying to figure out what a downtown listing price is actually telling you, Donna Burns can walk through the comps that apply to your specific segment rather than the blended average. Request a Confidential Consultation to get a clear read on what your target property is worth.
