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Montgomery Education - A Community Effort

by The Hat Team

I was honored to have an article I wrote concerning Montgomery's public education system printed in the Montgomery Advertiser a couple of weeks ago.

The article addresses the fact that both school and city officials acknowledge a problem with our schools, but merely throwing money at the problem won't solve it. It takes involvement from the entire community to provide the educational opportunities our almost 32,000 students deserve.

If we are to have an effective educational experience for our children, each of us must play our part and the article goes on to offer two avenues to do this. Partners In Education and The Montgomery Education Foundation are two organizations with excellent volunteer possibilities. I hope you will read the entire article and become motivated to get involved.

 

Midtown Montgomery Home Sales Increase

by The Hat Team
"As home sales moderate, overall home prices will be essentially flat this year," says David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Tighter lending standards are expected to slow sales, but the good news is, inventory remains well below the levels seen in the real estate downturn of the early 1990's.

Our local market is not following this trend towards moderation, however. The number of single family homes in Midtown Montgomery (Midtown consists of neighborhoods south of I-85 between Exits 1 and 6) that sold in March increased by 3 homes or 6 percent.  At the same time, the number of pending listings decreased by only 1 home or less than 1 percent. 

Market times in March 2007 increased slightly with market times of 102 days vs. 99 days in March 2006.  The average sales price decreased $20,520 or 12 percent compared to March 2006. This decrease offsets the 17 percent increase in prices we saw in February. 

Midtown
Montgomery

Pending
Listings

Sold
Listings

Average
Market Times

Average
Sales Price

March 2007

70

53

102

$144,910

March 2006

71

50

99

$165,430

The fluctuation in prices may be the influence of an extremely high end property selling, therefore, skewing the numbers and not necessarily a trend downward. The 3 percent increase in sales should keep prices up

Are you thinking of selling your Montgomery home? You can have a current no-obligation price valuation emailed to you by visiting MontgomeryHomeInfo.com.

Information is provided by the Montgomery Area Association of Realtors and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. 

Living Green In Montgomery

by The Hat Team

I learned about a wonderful website, Earth Trends, offering many suggestions, several of which are pretty simple, about things we can each do to help make our increasingly crowded, biologically challenging world a more sustainable place for ourselves and future generations.

Many of these suggestions you have heard before, like turn off the water when your wash your car and use a bucket instead. But the list here is so comprehensive, I wanted to share it with you.

Hopefully , we will all think a little harder about what we do, and don't do, to contribute to the problems of the world's environment. 

Did you know that recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to run a TV for 3 hours or that compact fluorescent bulbs use only one-quarter of the energy of an ordinary light bulb and last 8-12 times longer. (Each bulb saves 500 lbs. of CO2 per year)

I hope you will visit Earth Trends to learn about saving our planet and Hat Team to learn about Montgomery AL real estate.

Alabama Home Sales Rise

by The Hat Team

Alabama's existing home sales increased in February by 14.7 percent with 4,069 homes sold, according to The University of Alabama's Real Estate Research and Education Center.

The average prices also rose in February to $155,632, an increase of 3.3 percent from the previous month. There were 36,702 homes listed on the market in February, representing a nine-month supply of homes in Alabama.

There are many more homes for sale  this year than last year, but the market appears to be able to handle the growth. This year is starting out to be another solid year for home sales in Alabama. 

Midtown Montgomery market statistics can be found on our website.

Midtown Montgomery Development Experiences Renaissance

by The Hat Team

There is much development going on downtown, but Midtown Montgomery is also benefiting from commercial development with its new Midtown Plaza.

The new 300,000 square foot shopping area has exceeded the expectations of the developer and local residents alike. The developer is pleased that all, but one small retail space is rented and residents are pleased the construction congestion has given way to new and convenient shopping and restaurants.

Stores include Super Wal-mart, Ross Dress for Less, Office Depot, Dollar Tree and Shoe Carnival.  Ala Thai, a favorite local restaurant, opens later this month. CiCi's Pizza will open soon after.

Living in Midtown gets better every day!

Interested in what Midtown real estate is doing? Visit our website for all your Midtown Montgomery real estate listings.

Montgomery AL Daylight Saving Reminder

by The Hat Team

Don't Forget

1. Move clocks AHEAD one hour.
2. Reset the time on your computer.
3. Change your smoke alarm battery.

This SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2007!

And a reminder to call The Hat Team for your Montgomery, Al real estate needs. 800-428-5239

Borrowing Is More Difficult For Montgomery Home Buyers

by The Hat Team

Montgomery home buyers with poor credit are having a more difficult time qualifying for a mortgage in a changing real estate market due to sub-prime lending practices. Sub-prime lending is the loaning of money, primarily for home equity loans, to people with spotty credit or the credit challenged, shall we say.

 

Skyrocketing property values in the past few years made it easy for homeowners to borrow heavily against their homes with second mortgages and home-equity loans. But as housing prices have leveled off, overextended homeowners are now defaulting because they cannot afford higher mortgage payments and can no longer refinance.

 

Every where you look, including websites such as BankRate.com, you see information about the dramatic increase in foreclosures due to sub-prime lending. In the wake of increased foreclosures, lenders are tightening their belts and increasing loan qualification limits. The majority of sub-prime borrowers are either lower income or minority borrowers, and the stricter loan qualifications are making it tougher for them to obtain financing.

 

As these alternative credit programs (loans for credit-challenged borrowers) disappear, it becomes increasingly important that home-buyers deal with an agent whose background and training include mortgage financing techniques.  No matter how tough lenders become, they all have what is called a Community Reinvestment Act obligation to reach out to marginal borrowers. 

 

We, at The Hat Team, not only have the knowledge and experience to help you find financing for your new home, we have a network of well-qualified, reputable lenders who will do everything they can to assist you also.

 

You can learn more about us at HatTeam.com or give us a call, 800-428-5239. We are at your service!

Alabama Ranks In Top 10 For Health Care

by The Hat Team

Expansion Management, a publication for executives looking to expand or relocate their businesses, awarded Alabama a 5-Star rating based on five major health care categories and ranked Alabama in the top 10 states in its annual 'Healthcare Cost Quotient' rankings.

Categories included health care facilities, health care providers, health insurance costs, health care provider costs, and malpractice insurance costs.  Full article...

5-Star rankings aid in bringing businesses and jobs to Alabama, which in turn increased our property values. Wondering what your property value is? Visit MontgomeryHomeInfo.com for a no-hassle home valuation. Your valuation will be emailed to you. And to talk with us in person, call 800-428-5239.

Bright Outlook For Alabama Economy

by The Hat Team

The Central Alabama Business Journal reports a bright economy for Alabama in the next few years. We have lagged behind the rest of the country in the last few years, but that has changed and we are ahead of the national averages.

Alabama’s population and median family incomes are topping the country’s gains. Our median family income has been inching closer to the national median of $62,400 and now at $51,400 is 86 percent of the national median – the state’s highest reading.

The state’s overall economy is forecast to grow 2.5 percent in 2007, just ahead of the Global Insight’s 2.4 forecast for the country. But, according to University of Alabama’s Center for Economic Research, the state’s economy could easily hit 2.9 percent.

The report also states Alabama real estate is undervalued in most cities, making us a great place to invest. If you are interested in buying Montgomery real estate, visit EmailMontgomeryAlabamaHomes for an automated email home search. Or, contact us, 800-428-5239, for your Montgomery real estate needs.

Central Alabama Buniness Journal full report...

CRS Sell-a-bration Guest Speaker - Sandra Nickel

by The Hat Team

Last week, I was a featured speaker at the 19th annual CRS Sell-a-bration® held last week in Las Vegas, NV.

The Certified Residential Specialist designation is held by the top 4 percent of Realtors around the world. Sell-a-bration®, held annually, was attended by 1,000 of these top producing agents.

My topic, Taking Your Business To The Next Level, included how to take your real estate business from 0 to 50 units and beyond, the importance of business planning, branding, and client for life programs.It was an honor for me to be invited to address one of the industry’s most exclusive gatherings. The annual Sell-a-bration® provides a forum for top agents and brokers in residential real estate to interact with and learn from one another. Sell-a-bration® features unparalleled education sessions, top keynote speakers, and social and networking opportunities, which provide attendees with ideas and techniques that will have an immediate impact on their businesses.

 

“My clients are continually complimenting me on the service, tools and technology I use to meet their needs. I owe that to my association with the CRS members and to the fact that we share among ourselves so freely.  In short, as s Certified Residential Specialist, I am surrounded by the best agents in real estate. I share with them, they share with me, and we all translate our newfound knowledge into increased services for our clients.”

Displaying blog entries 1301-1310 of 1311

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