Your Guide to Living In Greater Birmingham

Vestavia Hills Real Estate Market Statistics February 2008 vs February 2007

With so much media coverage about "the state of the real estate market" being broadcast, we chose to start doing a now and then segment to show how the market has changed from one year to the next. 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 AL Real Estate.

In February 2007, there were 75 properties listed during the month. The average price was $438,977 and the median price was $388,000. The listed price range was $142,000-$1,263,500.

In February 2008, there were 75 listed properties during the month. The average price was $545,990 and the median price was $399,900. The listed price range was $149,900-$2,995,000.

In February 2007, there were 43 sold properties. The average price was $369,685 and the median price was $336,250. The price range was $175,000-$740,000 with 97 average days on market.

In February 2008, there were 21 sold properties. The average price was $468,236 and the median price was $370,000. The price range was $144,250-$1,050,000 with 103 average days on market.

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 3/20/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $300,000

Active Properties $300,000-$500,000

Active Properties $500,000 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 3/20/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.

Homewood Real Estate Market Statistics February 2008 vs February 2008

With so much media coverage about "the state of the real estate market" being broadcast, we chose to start doing a now and then segment to show how the market has changed from one year to the next. 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.

In February 2007, there were 73 properties listed during the month. The average price was $329,089 and the median price was $279,900. The listed price range was $22,490-$1,000,000.

In February 2008, there were 59 listed properties during the month. The average price was $325,957 and the median price was $287,900. The listed price range was $158,900-$997,780.

In February 2007, there were 24 sold properties. The average price was $339,954 and the median price was $293,500. The price range was $157,000-$798,000 with 99 average days on market.

In February 2008, there were 17 sold properties. The average price was $324,818 and the median price was $282,500. The price range was $165,000-$750,000 with 103 average days on market.

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 3/20/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $300,000

Active Properties $300,000 - $500,000

Active Properties $500,000 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 3/20/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.

Birmingham Alabama Home Owners Tax Benefits

With all of this news about the housing market being such a source of frustration and worry for so many buyers and sellers out there, I was reminded there are some things that we can be thankful for. These are the tax benefits of owning a home.

I was catching up on some email today and I ran across this article, Tax Benefits of Owning A Home, from RealtorMagazine Online and Leonard Wiener of The Boston Globe. While I need to state first that I am not a tax expert nor am I trying to give tax advice, I do think this can give us some things to think about and talk to our own tax preparer/expert about.

The article gives some good tips. Among these tips are:

1. Mortgage interest and sometimes mortgage insurance premiums might be able to lower your tax liability.

2.  Home equity lines and the interest on them may be deductable no matter what you used it for.

3. Gains or profits made from the sale of a home may be tax exempt. The article said, "When a home owner sells a primary residence, any profit on the sale of the property is tax free up to $250,000 for single home owners and $500,000 for married home owners filing. Any profit above that is nearly always a long-term capital gain taxed at 15 percent - less if the seller's tax rate is less than 20 percent."

4. Finally home ownership may be able to itemize some deductions which can open up more deductions than standard deductions.

For more information from the article, check the link above. Also, before you decide to take any new deductions be sure to check with a tax professional.

Birmingham Alabama Real Estate Secret: It's Out!

Alabama has been making a move over the past few years and this year beat 35 other statres!!!

What did they beat them in? The beat them in being the place to be and emerging to become yet another destination state in the South.

How do we know? According to an article, Alabama Becoming A Destination State in South by Erin Stock of the Birmingham News, it is based on net migration. (Isn't that a fancy word?)

Net migration is measured by the number of people who leave with the number of people who come. It was just a few years ago that Alabama was in the red on this with a loss of more than 8,000 in 2001-2002. Since then though the growth has been steady with 5,009 new residents in 2002-2003, 16,445 new residents in 2004-2005, and  18,427 in 2006-2007.

According to the article one of the biggest reasons for these moves are jobs. Over the past several years Alabama has moved a lot of people in who will be working in banking, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, at the Mercedes-Benz site in Vance, the Honda plant in Lincoln, a ThyssenKrupp steel plant near Mobile, and the Redstone Arsenal base in Huntsville.

Our new family has been pleased too! Again, according to the article, Sarah Kindsvater, a new resident to Birmingham's Mountain Brook community said that, "My husband and I both grew up in North Carolina, which is just a really beautiful state... We really pictured Alabama as flat and farmland. We had no idea. We were very pleasantly surprised to drive into Birmingham and find hills and mountains and beautiful views." And, Harvey Player, a new Huntsville resident noted that,  "One of the biggest positives is the reduction in his daily commute time... It's also a less stressful place to live, and people are very friendly... I suppose in the northern area up there everybody's on the go, there's a lot of hustle and bustle, they don't take time to be friendly or speak because they're kind of caught up in that world of work..."

So, it looks like the secret is out about Alabama. It is a great place to live!

Birmingham Luxury Home Real Estate Market Statistics 2008(Up To 3/14/08)

The Birmingham Alabama Luxury Home Market continues to be a topic of discussion in many areas due to the sales data. It seems that this market may be fairing better than other available markets. Therefore we feel that it needs mention. Let me note for this article, we are classifying luxury properties as those that sell/list for one million or more.

Sold Properties

So far for 2008, we are 2 down from the same period in 2007 at 14 homes that have sold in the million dollar plus in the Birmingham luxury home market. The highest price home sold was $1,950,000 and the average million dollar plus home that sold, sold for $1,302,647 which is down $319,825 from the same time period last year. Average days on market for the sold luxury homes was 105 days, which is down 113 days from the same time frame in 2007.

Listed Properties

So far for 2008, 75 million dollar plus Birmingham Luxury Homes have been listed this year which is up 4 from the same period last year. Unlike the sold properties though, the average list price is up $201,012. This highest priced home listed so far this year is $5,800,000.

Active Properties

So far for 2008, there are 165 active million dollar plus Birmingham Luxury homes. (Some of these have been on the market since the previous year.) The highest price home right now is for $5,800,000. Average active price is $1,730,983. The average days on market for the active properties are 139 days.

To see these Birmingham Luxury Homes that are currently on the market as of 3/14/08 check out the links below.

Birmingham Luxury Real Estate priced $1,000,000 to $2,000,000

Birmingham Luxury Real Estate priced $2,000,000 to $3,000,000

Birmingham Luxury Real Estate priced $3,000,000 and Up

* Areas included are Jefferson, Shelby, and St. Clair Counties

* All statistics are accurate as of 3/14/08 according to the Birmingham MLS and are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties.

Trussville Home For Sale

FREE! Search 100's of homes for sale in Trussville at TrussvilleHomeSearch.com

Here is an immaculate 4 bedroom, 2.5 Bath home with a basement den that is move in ready.

This home features a gorgeous hardwood floor entry, living room with crown molding, a marble gas log fireplace and a great arched window. The separate dining room has an arched door way, crown molding and a chair rail. The large kitchen is open and roomy, with a breakfast nook with a bay window, plenty of cabinet space and a view of the wooded back lot.

The master bedroom is on the main level and is spacious whose master bath features jetted garden tub with a tile surround, dual vanity, separate shower and walk in closet.

This home has plenty of storage including easily accessible walk in attic storage!

A large deck off of the kitchen is partially screened and partially open. Perfect for entertaining with stairs to the peaceful flat backyard. The finished basement den is perfect for playroom, billiards, exercise room, etc. and the 2 gar garage has an additional area for work or more storage!!

This home is priced to sell at $254,900!!!

Helena Home for Sale!

FREE! search 100's of homes for sale in Helena at SearchHelenaHomes.com

This is an immaculate home in a quiet neighborhood!

Helena was recently ranked by Money Magazine as one of the top 100 places to live in the US and number 1 in the Alabama.

This is a sidewalk community within walking distance to Christmas parades, Movies in the Park, Supermarkets, Bank, Resturants, Pharmacy, Movie Rental, and a Veterinarian. It is also less than 1/2 mile from Elementary school and the new Middle School which is scheduled to open in the Fall '08 and less than 2 miles from the Intermediate school.

This home features tray ceilings in the living room, an eat in kitchen, and vaulted ceilings in the master suite with garden/jetted tub. Marble surrounds the wood burning fireplace in the living room.

This home is priced to sell at $129,900!

 

      

Daves Pizza: For A Good Pizza Call Daves in Homewood

The addiction for us began just a few years after they opened their doors in 1993. For a while there  we went almost every week. I am sure our welcome was well worn out. So, you can imagine, when we had the opportunity to partner with Dave's Pizza, we jumped right at it!

One of the reasons we enjoyed Dave's so much was because it was not one of the big chains. Dave's, which opened in 1993, is family owned and operated in Homewood, and ALL the ingredients are made in house; the dough is made fresh daily and the veggies are sliced fresh daily as well so you know you are not just getting another pizza, you are getting the best!

Their family friendly atmosphere with Alfresco dining, great music, and an above average beverage list is perfect for a special night out for two up to all sorts of parties from wedding rehearsals, attorney softball league post game parties, corporate events, club meetings, etc. They can accommodate up to 200 people.

Give Dave's Pizza a try. They are open Monday thru Saturday 11am - 10pm and Sunday 5pm - 10pm. You can find them at 1819 29th Avenue South, Homewood, Alabama, 35209, on the phone at 871-DAVE, or via the web at http://www.davesontheweb.com/

For directions you, can use the map below:

View Larger Map

For a limited time we have coupons available for a FREE appetizer. If you would like one, just let us know, and if we haven't run out we will be happy to share one with you.

Pelham Real Estate: Market Statistics February 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 Pelham AL Real Estate.

February 2008 Listed Properties

For the month of February there were 37 Newly Listed Properties. The Average Price was $246,752. The Median Price was $206,518, and the Price Range was $133,900-$849,900.

February 2008 Sold Properties

For the month of February there were 21 Sold Properties. The Average Price was $269,213. The Median Price was $257,000, and the Price Range $124,920-$489,900 with 89 Average Days on Market.

Currently active as of 3/7/08

Currently there are 263 Active Properties with an Average Price of $278,381. The Median Price is $237,405 and the Price Range is $118,900-$1,200,000 with 105 Average Days on Market.

If you would like to be contacted as soon as homes become available in the Pelham AL 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 3/7/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $200,000

Active Properties from $200,000 to $400,000

Active Properties $400,000 and Above

To see how much your Pelham AL Homes may be worth visit PelhamHomePrices.com

To search all of the homes for sale in Helena and all of the Greater Birmingham Area visit PelhamHomeSearch.com

*Note these stats are accurate as of 3/7/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.

Helena Real Estate: Market Statistics February 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 Helena AL Real Estate.

February 2008 Listed Properties

For the month of February there were 66 Newly Listed Properties. The Average Price was $214,077. The Median Price was $188,250, and the Price Range was $82,900-$669,900.

February 2008 Sold Properties

For the month of February there were 27 Sold Properties. The Average Price was $221,336. The Median Price was $200,000, and the Price Range $126,000-$455,559 with 85 Average Days on Market.

Currently active as of 3/7/08

Currently there are 248 Active Properties with an Average Price of $245,907. The Median Price is $209,900 and the Price Range is $82,900-$895,000 with 102 Average Days on Market.

If you would like to be contacted as soon as homes become available in the Helena AL 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 3/7/08 if you click below at...

Active Properties up to $200,000

Active Properties from $200,000 and above

To see how much your Helena AL Homes may be worth visit HelenaHomePrices.com

To search all of the homes for sale in Helena and all of the Greater Birmingham Area visit LivingInGreaterBirmingham.com

*Note these stats are accurate as of 3/7/08 according to the Birmingham MLS. They are subject to change as agents submit listed and sold properties into the MLS.