• Mortgage rates are holding steady below 5%, thanks to government intervention. Thanks to the low rates, more people are buying and refinancing. However, the downside is that banks are more reluctant to refinance or loan. This leaves many, who want to buy a Huntsville home, with the inability to do so. Ironic that, in a buyer’s market, it’s the banks with all the selling power.

The other “but” is that the Federal Reserve program providing the low mortgage rates is set to expire in March. Rates could very well double shortly after, which is highly likely to drop the number of interested buyers. A drop in buyer numbers will only further shift the supply/demand ratio.

• As of December 10, 2009, the number of foreclosures in a month had dropped 16%, nationwide. The home buyer tax credit expansion, foreclosure prevention programs and loan modification programs have helped, as well as state mandated financing programs. As great as that is, there were still over 300,000 foreclosures in November, 2009, which is 18% higher than November, 2008.

• Home prices are “firming,” showing improvement over five consecutive months. Although the rise is considered mild, fewer homeowners are underwater, where they owe more mortgage than their house is worth. Because housing prices are improving, home sellers are more confident in the listing prices they’ve set.

However, many – who are currently unemployed – have ARM mortgages that will be resetting shortly. While they can afford their current mortgages, many won’t be able to afford a higher one. This could bring another round of foreclosures and another drop in housing prices.

What does all this mean for Huntsville home buyers and sellers? As Ben Franklin put it, “nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes.” However, there is also the famous “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” 2010 could be rocky, but, if you’re careful and do your research, you’ll find smooth sailing ahead.

If you’re trying to buy or sell a home, I can help. Call me at 800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me at mike@movetohuntsville.com for more information.

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MLS# 320681

Gorgeous home in pristine condition! As soon as you enter the spectacular two story foyer with gleaming wood floors you will be amazed at the attention to detail. All dressed up? The formal living and dining rooms are perfect for formal gatherings. Entertain southern style in the massive family room featuring triple windows and a cozy corner fireplace. Do you love to cook but wish the clean up was easier? No worries, in this designer kitchen you can have the best of both worlds with everything you need to create a buffet of culinary masterpieces. The kitchen features a tile backsplash, work-island, wood floors, smooth-top range, breakfast bar and abundance of beautiful cabinets. Wait need more space? Check out the supersize pantry. You can fit all the extras in here. The lovely informal dining space with wood floors and triple window is perfect for enjoying family dinners. No need to worry about those stairs as the master suite with private entry is on the first level. Take time for yourself in the master’s glamour bath with separate shower, raised vanities, and a luxurious whirlpool tub. Shuffle the crowd upstairs to the 26 X 14 recreation room. Additional bedrooms generously sized for a growing family. When you need to get the work done, just close the door to the private study upstairs. Time to relax just grab your coffee and newspaper rain or shine step outside into the awesome screened porch. Fantastic fully fenced backyard! Storage, storage everywhere! Hurry this beauty will not last long! Call today for a private showing.

Learn more about 162 Bridgefield Road and other Huntsville real estate by visiting MoveToHuntsville.com.

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Pre-qualified Loans

Before shopping for Huntsville homes for sale, you want to look at lenders. Not all mortgage lenders are created equal. Especially now, with the rocky economic times, you have to be especially careful who you get your mortgage through.  When you find a lender you’re comfortable with, you have two choices: start shopping for houses or get pre-qualified for a loan.

Pre-qualification for a loan is based on the best estimate of the loan officer, not “set-in-stone,” verified facts. The officer believes, because of the information you tell them, that you have good credit and can financially afford a specific loan amount. For this reason, because it isn’t verified, pre-qualification doesn’t hold as much weight with buyers. As well, you could still end up wasting a lot of time looking at houses you can’t afford.

Pre-approved Loans

The second step in getting a mortgage loan is pre-approval. With pre-approval, the lender has received verification that, yes, you are credit worthy and yes, you can afford up to a specific loan amount.

Pre-approval not only gives the seller the idea that you’re a good prospect, but it also helps you out while looking for a home:

• You already know how much home you can afford.

• You already know that you’re qualified to buy any home you look at that falls within your verified loan amount.

• You have better negotiating power with the seller (who may be more willing to accept less than list price knowing that you are already pre-approved).

• The closing period can happen faster, narrowing the typical 30-day period to less than three weeks.

In short, when looking at Huntsville homes for sale, it’s better to be pre-approved, but you can’t get pre-approved for a mortgage without being pre-qualified.  So do yourself (and your new home) a favor and do both.

Need help selecting a mortgage lender?  I can help. Call me at800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me at mike@movetohuntsville.com for more information.

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You’ve cleaned your home—you think. Let’s examine a few areas many people overlook:

• Did you stuff all your stuff in cabinets thinking no one will be bold enough to open cabinets and look inside? Hum… maybe. Maybe not. Lots of people open drawers, cabinets, and definitely will look in closets, so don’t stash all your stuff in closets. Besides being untidy it is likely that overstuffed closets will fall out in an avalanche when an unsuspecting buyer happens to peek.
• Are there dirty dishes stacked up, clothes in the laundry baskets, or used towels all over the bathroom? Just because you have to live in your Huntsville real estate until you sell it doesn’t mean it looks good to your buyers. The ‘lived in’ look only makes your home look comfortable when friends and family visit, not prospective buyers.
• Does your loving pet adore your visitors? Even the most well-behaved dog or cat may be a distraction. Not everybody is a pet lover, and even if they are they don’t want to have to deal with your pets while viewing a home.   Have your dogs and cats in their crates when buyers come to see your Huntsville real estate listing.
  
• Is the lawnmower sitting on the patio, the pool skimmer lying on the lawn, the kid’s bikes piled up in the driveway? The inside of your home isn’t the only place that shouldn’t look ‘lived in’ when you are showing your home to the public.

Little things mean a lot. Don’t let those little nail holes, stray wires from a removed fixture, or coffee stains on the carpet go unheeded. Your buyer is not going to want to fix those things when they move in. And, it makes potential buyers think that if minor repairs haven’t been taken care of, most likely, major repairs have been let go also.  Take the time to do minor home fix ups and make your house look as inviting as possible.

If you’d like more tips like this, subscribe to my blog.  You’ll get a couple of new tips automatically emailed to you each week.

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It’s enough to give a person the terrors, even though Halloween is already past. In the interest of helping you have a good experience (thus raising the reputation of agents everywhere), here are three things you can do if your Huntsville real estate agent starts giving you the heebie jeebies:

1.  Find out if they’ve had any training since real estate school. Although it depends on the state, most agents have to complete a three- to six-week period of schooling. If they pass the real estate licensing exam they find a broker, sign a form, sign up with some real estate associations and are immediately moved into the echelons of “real estate professional.” That’s it.

If your agent hasn’t had any more training than that, there’s a high probability they don’t know everything they need to know to give you the professional help you need. Real estate school can only teach so much, especially in three to six weeks.

2.  Try to reach your agent by phone and email. If you get a voice mail, leave a message and see how fast they return the call. See how fast they return the email. Many agents leave comments on the listings such as “for questions, comments or to show, contact listing agent,” which means the only way potential buyers can get any extra information or see your home is by contacting your agent. If your agent never returns emails or phone calls, you may be missing out on potential buyers.

3.  Consider if they’re willing to show you houses you want to look at, or if they’re too busy. Some agents have a strange rule that they’ll only show a certain number of houses. Other agents seem to be too busy to show you a few extra homes you’re interested in. If either of these are the case, don’t call another agent – get rid of the one you have, first.

If you find that your Huntsville real estate agent is a genuine nightmare, take a step back and reassess whether you want to use them or not. If you decide you want to hire another one, first let your original agent know and officially cancel the contract.

If you’re looking for an experienced, well-educated real estate agent, I can help. Call me at 800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me at mike@movetohuntsville.com for more information.

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Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

The Madison County and Huntsville price appreciation dropped 0.04% in January with 70 new foreclosure homes.

Madison County AL foreclosure activity is based on the total number of properties that receive foreclosure filings – default notice, foreclosure auction notice or repossession notice – each month. Home price appreciation is based on month-over-month percentage change of the Home Price Index. The Home Price Index is calculated from home sales records.

Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

Madison County & Huntsville foreclosure activity was 0.20% lower than national statistics and 0,03% lower than state figures.

Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity by Month

The number of both the Bank-Owned properties dropped from 84 in December to 49 in January. The number of  Auctions decreased from 83 to 21. There is a falling trend in foreclosure activity.

Are you or someone you know behind on your mortgage payments and facing a Huntsville foreclosure? You do have options. A short sale may be the answer to saving you, your family and your home. Give me a call for a private consultation.

Learn more about Huntsville real estate.

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HUNTSVILLE — Huntsville was ranked second out of 387 metro areas – and Mobile was No. 4 – in Moody’s Economy’s latest report on expected employment growth.

The Huntsville economy is beginning to recover from the recession, bolstered by the federal economic stimulus, the increased demand for durable goods and the ongoing relocation of federal and military jobs resulting from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision, according to Martin Soler Garcia, an assistant economist for Moody’s Economy.com.

In his analysis, Garcia predicts employment in Huntsville will grow 2.5 percent this year and 4.3 percent, 4.8 percent and 4.4 percent for the following three years. Personal income will increase by 3.1 percent this year, and grow by 5.4 percent, 7.3 percent and 7.1 percent over the following three years, according to the report.

Garcia forecasts the Huntsville area jobless rate, which in December was 8.1 percent for the Huntsville metro area, which includes Limestone County, will be 9.1 percent this year, then 8.2 percent in 2011, 6.5 percent in 2012 and 5.7 percent in 2013. The Madison County jobless rate was 7.7 percent in December.

Other Alabama communities’ rankings in anticipated employment growth were Auburn-Opelika area, No. 23; Montgomery, 29; Birmingham-Hoover area, 53; and Tuscaloosa, 61.

The report also put Huntsville in the No. 1 spot in a ranking of the metro areas’ risk-adjusted return for the period 2008-2013. The risk-adjusted return determines if a regional economy’s growth compensates for its volatility; a positive value indicates that projected job growth compensates for the volatility in the region’s job growth.

Brian Hilson, president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, said the study and, in particular, the risk-adjusted return ranking “validates what we’ve recognized for a long time. The Huntsville metro area has a well-diversified, growing economy that represents one of the best investments a company can make out of all 387 metro areas in the country.”

It’s significant, Hilson said, that four Alabama metro areas were in the top seven and five were in the top 17 in the risk-adjusted return ranking.

“We’re seeing a lot of potential for growth across the board,” including the defense industry and in the healthcare, technology and automotive fields, said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “Our job is to make sure those potentials become a reality.”

The report noted two Huntsville strengths: per capita income well above state trends, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville becoming increasingly competitive. The weaknesses: high exposure to durable-goods manufacturing, susceptibility to changes in federal government spending priorities and remote location far from larger metro areas.

The November report was compiled for Moody’s by Precis Metro, and the findings were released this week by Gov. Bob Riley.

“We’re beginning to see evidence that Alabama’s economy is improving and this report validates that,” Riley said in a release.

“This is a strong indication that pockets in Alabama’s economy are growing and those areas will provide a positive impact on the economy of the entire state,” Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office, said in a release. “Other economic indicators also project that the state’s economy will begin to recover late this year and into 2011 especially as we see major projects that were recruited several years ago begin to start up operations this year.”

This is excellent news for the Huntsville real estate market. As the economy improves so will real estate. More people with money in their pockets means more people buying homes. More people buying homes will mean higher prices.

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Don’t miss this terrific full brick ranch nestled on private treed cul-de-sac lot. With over .75 acres and fully fenced you will have a lots of outdoor fun. Sit back and enjoy the view from your covered front porch. Step inside on the gleaming wood floors of the entry. Spend time with family listening to music or watching a show with surround sound in the large great room featuring trey ceilings, recessed lighting and easy access to the backyard. Whip up your favorite dishes in the kitchen. Then serve it up in the sunny breakfast area. When you are ready to call it a day, immerse yourself in the master suite with all the comforts you deserve. Two additional bedrooms are well portioned for your growing family. Keep that laundry organized in the separate laundry area. Call us today for a private showing of this immaculate ranch in peaceful setting.
Learn more about 102 Silver Poplar Place and other Huntsville real estate by visiting MoveToHuntsville.com.
Search all Huntsville real estate and homes for sale.

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Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist, said the first-time home buyer tax credit, combined with record low interest rates, played a dominant role in fourth quarter sales. Yun went on to say, “With inventory levels trending down over the past 18 months, we expect broadly balanced housing market conditions in much of the country by late spring with more areas showing higher prices.”

Take a look at how Huntsville real estate sales statistics in January 2010 compared to January 2009.

Madison County/Huntsville Real Estate Sales Statistics

Huntsville and Madison County saw a decrease of 14% in sold listings when compared to January 2009.  The average sales price decreased by 7% to $189,639.  The average price per square foot decreased by 1% when compared with January 2009.  And the average list price decreased by 7%, while homes were on the market an average of 12 days less than January 2009.

For more information about Huntsville real estate, please visit MoveToHuntsville.com or call me at 256-508-0211.

To begin searching Huntsville real estate and homes, please use my complimentary MLS search.

Statistics are based on information for the North Alabama Association of Realtors and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed

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