Your Guide to Living In Greater Birmingham

Vestavia Hills AL Real Estate Market Statistics January 2008

It’s finally 2008, and time to begin our look at a new year of market statistics for the area. As we have always stated that as a homeowner, potential resident, potential seller, or as a real estate consultant, we think it is always important to know the stats about what is happening with Vestavia Hills AL Real Estate

January 2008

Newly Listed Properties during January: 81

Average Price: $482,833

Median Price: $425,000

Price Range: $209,900-$1,200,000 

January 2008

Sold Properties: 23

Average Price: $428,804

Median Price: $380,000

Price Range: $194,900-$1,250,000

Average Days on Market: 113

Currently active as of 2/7/08

Active Properties: 291

Average Price: $551,178

Median Price: $462,900

Price Range: $145,800-$3,500,000

Average Days on Market: 117

If you would like to be contacted as soon as homes become available in the Vestavia area just let me know, or if you would like to see statistics about other areas, don't hesitate to ask.

You can actually search all of the active homes as of 2/7/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $486,000

Active Properties $487,000 and above

To see how much your Vestavia Home may be worth or to search all of the homes for sale in Vestavia and all its communities visit VestaviaHomeSearch.com

Learn more about Vestavia at Vestavia Hills Alabma Real Estate Guide and Community Tour, an earlier post giving a brief history and video of the Vestavia Hills area.

*Note these stats are accurate as of 2/7/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.

Yes, There Are Still Mortgage Options

Last week... rate change

This week... another rate change

What does it all mean for us here in the Birmingham Area and those interested in real estate in Birmingham Alabama?

Accoding to a lot of local lenders, it means things may not be as bad as it seems on the national level since people are still buying houses and getting mortgages!

An article by Lisa Harris, Mortgages Remain Available, Affordable, sums this up for us quite well.

By reading it we can see a lot of what is happening here and maybe even learn some truths. For instance, with all of the news about the sub-prime mortgage industry. This only makes up a small percentage of the loans out there since most borrowers are still getting 15 and 30 year loans.

Steve Shoemaker, Vice President/Regional Manager for MortgageAmerica in Birmingham, pointed out that one of the reasons for the sub-prime mortgage mess was the boom in the market, which created an anvironment where a lot of lenders were just doing whatever they could to get people into homes (and sometimes this may not have been the best time or the best candidate.)

Another thing pointed out was the hesitancy and cautiousness of todays buyers. Some things they should be doing to help protect themselves are to:

* Get a good faith estimate from thier lender so they can get an idea of closing costs.

* Lock in your rates (you may want to request this in writing)

* Create a budget and eliminate debt.

* When you get a loan, or if you have one already, you might be able to make extra payments or pay more that the amount due to build equity and save money on interest over time.

* Stay current if it all possible with all payments

Homewood AL Real Estate Market Statistics January 2008

It’s finally 2008, and time to begin our look at a new year of market statistics for the area. As we have always stated that as a homeowner, potential resident, potential seller, or as a real estate consultant, we think it is always important to know the stats about what is happening with Homewood AL Real Estate. 

 

January 2008

Newly Listed Properties during January: 62
Average Price: $392,166

Median Price: $354,000
Price Range: $110,000-$1,199,000

 

January 2008

Sold Properties: 17

Average Price: $331,007

Median Price: $261,224

Price Range: $128,000-$1,250,000

Average Days on Market: 76

 

Currently active as of 2/7/08

Active Properties: 233

Average Price: $384,614

Median Price: $329,000

Price Range: $110,000-$1,199,990

Average Days on Market: 106

If you would like to be contacted as soon as homes become available in the Homewood area just let us know, or if you would like to see statistics about other areas, don't hesitate to ask.

You can actually search all of the active homes as of 2/7/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $300,000

Active Properties $300,000 and above

To see how much your Homewood Home may be worth or to search all of the homes for sale in Homewood and all its communities visit HomewoodHomeSearch.com. 

*Note these stats are accurate as of 2/7/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.

World of Wheels Comes To Town

Vroom! Vroom! Get you motor running! It's time for the O'Reilly World of Wheels to come to Birmingham, Alabama.

On February 8, 9, and 10th the World of Wheels will be at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC).

Some of this years special apperances will be from Vinnie Dimartino from OCC, Orange County Choppers who will be there on Saturday between 1:00-4:00 and 7:00-9:00, Lightning McQueen will be there all three days, and the Hero's Truck which is a tribute to all of our servicemen, who we all know are great heros. AND these are just some of the special guests. (The World of Wheels website has the entire list.)

Hours of Operation are:

Friday: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Saturday: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Sunday: 12:00 noon - 7:00 pm

Prices for Admission will be $15 for adults, ages 6-11 will be $5, and children 5 and under are FREE. With these prices, it's a great way to have some family fun and make some memories together.

For directions use the map below of click on the BJCC Maps and Directions Page.

View Larger Map

The Mortgage Crisis Explained

Every time you turn on the TV, you see more and more news about the mortgage crisis.

But, have you wondered what caused it?

While reading another blog today, Discover Columbus, I found this video, which she found on The Mortgage Report. where it was called "Why It Matters When Mortgage Guidelines Change"

Either way.... It gives a great explanation about why we are in the situation we are in now.

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Fire Safety

Here are some facts:

1. Every 76 seconds (thats more than 1,136 times a day) a home in the United States catches fire.

2. More than 3,600 children under the age of 14 are killed or injured in a fire every year.

3. In 2006, there were over 3,200 fire fatalities and more than 16,000 injuries. That's one death every 162 minutes and one injury every 32 minutes.

4. Approximate loss of property resulted in $11,307,000,000 in 2006.

5. 80% of all fire deaths were in the home.

Are you getting the point?

Your home is like a treasure chest. It holds your greatest blessings... your wife, your husband, your kids... What are you doing to protect your treasure?

I ran across a list today of Top 20 Fire Prevention Tips. You can go the link to see them all, but some of the tips were:

1. Don't use extension cords permanently; extension cords are responsible for more than 3,300 residential fires every year.
2. Keep your outside grill at least three feet away from the side of the house.
3. Clean the lint screen of your dryer every time you use it, and turn the dryer off when you leave the house.

You can also get some great advice on setting up a Fire Safety Plan on the site.

Some links you can also use are:

www.Fire Safety.gov for Kids

www.McGruff.org

As a current or future home owner, we urge you to take the time to not just educate yourself but also prepare yourself so that your truest treasure can be protected.

Social Bookmarks, Social Networks, and Blogs, OH MY!

Every week, it seems, I learn about another site, another way to social bookmark, another way to social network, or maybe even another place to put my blog!

Does it not seem a bit overwhelming sometimes? What to do? What do I choose? Where do I go? Where will I be found?

Those kind of sound like the questions of the bloggers universe, do they not?

I was playing around a bit today and found this little video. I thought you might enjoy it.

So, what are your favorite words?

Mercedes Builds First Hybrid in Alabama

In 1997 Alabama joined placed itself on the map of automakers when their first Mercedes M-Class came off the line. Since then Alabama's Vance Mercedes-Benz plant has been manufacturing the R-Class, M-Class and GL-Class vehicles.

Merecedes made an announcement at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce its first hybrid vehicle in 2009 - a version of the M-Class sport utility that is assembled at the German automaker's Alabama factory in Vance."

According to Mercedes, they should begin hitting the market in 2009. This new hybrid model will have "a  V-6 gasoline engine and two electric motors — that will generate 340 horsepower and get about 31 miles per gallon." This will also be Mercedes' first gas-electric vehicle.

To learn more about this announcement, you can read, Vance Plant To Produce Mercedes' First Hybrid, Alabama Plant to Produce Mercedes' First Hybrid Vehicle, or Alabama Plant To Make Hybrid Version of Mercedes M-Class.

Vance is located about half way between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa and can be found within a hour drive of town. A few years ago I took the tour and was amazed at what Mercedes is doing there and what Alabama is a part of.