Huntsville Real Estate Blog

Huntsville’s Von Braun Center Concert Hall To Get Spring Makeover

The Von Braun Center Concert Hall will undergo a major renovation this spring according to architect Paul Matheny. The $4.75 million dollar project will begin in late February and is expected to last a year.

Funds for the VBC hall renovation come from a $3 million dollar gift donated by the family of the late Mark Smith, founder of Huntsville telecommunications company Adtran Inc.

The concert hall’s 2,100 seats will be replaced with modern ones and a center aisle will be created. Work will also include luxury suites in the balcony, new restrooms, elevator access to all levels for patrons with disabilities, additional reception space, new lighting and sound equipment, and a window-dominated facade.

Linda Smith made the donation on behalf of her late husband. Mark Smith came from a musical family and often touted the VBC and the city’s arts and music community when recruiting professionals for his business.

Smith founded Universal Data Systems. After selling that company to Motorola, he founded Adtran, which anchors Cummings Research Park.

The hall will be renamed the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall.

The concert hall isn’t the only part of the VBC that will get a major facelift. Shortly after the Smith donation this fall, Huntsville businessman William Propst announced a $5 million donation for a major renovation of the VBC arena.

Combined with $10 million in city money, the donation will help add 1,000 seats, create a larger lobby with a glass front overlooking Big Spring International Park, add VIP suites with private boxes, add restrooms and improve the concourse.

That project could also get under way by spring, with construction spanning 14 to 18 months. The arena will be named the Propst Arena.

Propst arrived in Huntsville in 1946 and built a fortune in steel, drugstores, manufacturing and real estate.

The multimillion-dollar donations for both projects were solicited by then-Mayor Loretta Spencer.

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Visiting Huntsville Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights is a wonderful family outing for this time of year. Pack the kids in the car, turn the radio to holiday music and enjoy na fun filled evening together. Below are the dretails as found on the Botanical Garden’s website:

Don’t miss North Alabama’s favorite holiday tradition! Galaxy of Lights is a holiday light extravaganza featuring larger-than-life animated light displays. See Santa soaring over a delightful winter village. Nursery rhyme characters dance and frolic among traditional scenes of the season. And, best of all, experience the magic of the twinkling icicle forest. Galaxy of Lights is the perfect holiday treat for the young and young-at-heart.

Galaxy of Lights was named a Southeast Tourism Top 20 event for 2007. New displays covering almost a mile and a half make for more lights, more displays, more holiday fun!

Members-Only Walk-Through Nights, November 13-16, 5-7:30 p.m.
By invitation.

Public Walk-Through Nights, November 21-23, 5-7:30 p.m. (NO DRIVE THROUGH).
A fun family atmosphere with Santa, crafts, refreshments and entertainment.
Children $3, Adults $6 (no fee for children 2 and under).

Drive-Through Nights, Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, 5:30-9 p.m.
Passenger Car - $15 per car (up to 10 people)
Vans - $15 for 10 people and $3 for each additional person
Tour buses - $15 for 10 people and $3 for each additional person (tour bus driver is free).

• We will be accepting your donations of toys, canned goods, paper products, dog/cat food and warm coats for our local charities; $1 off the price of admission with a donation.
• Discounted drive-through tickets are available for members in Gazebo Gifts. They must be purchased in advance.

Extended Hours, December 15 through 24, 5:30 - 10:00 p.m.
We’re staying open later to shorten your wait! We encourage young families to come early, and those of us with later bedtimes to come a little later. Good things come to those who wait, but by spreading out the traffic over a longer time on peak nights we hope to improve the Galaxy experience for everyone.

Group Tours welcome. Call (256)430-3572 ext. 223 for group rates.

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Finally, some good news! It has just been announced by the Huntsville Times that the Tennessee Valley Authority will cut electricity rates by about 6 percent starting January 1.  This rate cut reflects lower fuel costs and offers some relief for customers after a major rate increase earlier this year.

The savings should equal about $4 to $8 a month for the federal utility’s 8.8 million residential consumers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

The change reflects a 25 percent reduction in TVA’s fuel cost charge, which is adjusted quarterly.

The reduction will help offset an across-the-board 20 percent rate hike enacted Oct. 1. It was TVA’s highest increase in three decades and blamed largely on rising fuel costs for its power plants and power purchased from others.

Learn about Huntsville real estate at HuntsvilleHomesOnline.com.

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Real Deal - Experience Huntsville’s best businesses at a Half-Off Price!

Channel 19, WHNT-TV if offering half off deals with local businesses. 

They’ve worked out deals with some of our area’s best restaurants and businesses to give you 1/2 off gift certificates - That’s right, 50% off food and more!

Each week they will feature a business of the week. At 8:30 AM each Friday, they’ll open up the ONLINE store for that week’s business. But you have to be fast - there are only a limited number of gift certificates per week.

Have fun and Happy shopping! And keep checking back for more half-off certificates from Real Deals!

I can’t offer you half off your next home Huntsville pruchase, but I can promise to get you the best deal possible.

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Existing-home sales increased last month as buyers responded to improved housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors^®.

Existing-home sales - including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops - rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August, and are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains. “The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island,” he said. “The South was hampered by much lower home sales in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.”

Let’s take a look at the sales statistics for September 2008 to see how the Huntsville AL real estate market looks: 
  
Huntsville/Madison County Real Estate Sales Statistics 

Huntsville and Madison County real estate saw a 2% decrease in average sales price over September 2007.  There was a 10% decline in home sales this September, when compared against September 2007. The average list price has seen an decrease of 2% over last year.  Likewise, the sales price to list price ratio remained constant.  The average price per square foot saw a 1% decrease.  Homes remained on the market an average of 2 days longer than last year.  

There are lots of good things happening in Huntsville and Madison County real estate. I encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities. 

For the latest Huntsville AL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 256-508-0211 or visit MoveToHuntsville.com.

Search all Huntsville real estate and homes for sale.

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

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I going  to diverge from Huntsville real estate for a minute and encourage everyone to register to vote. With our economy in such dire straights, this election is extremely important!

The deadline to register is 10 days before the election, which is Tuesday November 4.

You can get Alabama Voter Registration information here.

Won’t be around on November 4? Here is Absentee Ballot information.

And here is Absentee Ballot Information for Military and Overseas citizens.

Don’t forget…you can’t just register to vote…you actually have to go to the polls and vote to make a difference!!!

Interested in learning about Huntsville real estate? Visit MoveToHuntsville.com.

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Huntsville Real Estate Market Report

The level of home sales is expected to show little movement in the months ahead, according to the latest projections by the National Association of Realtors^®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, fell 3.2 percent to 86.5 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.4 in June, which had risen 5.8 percent from May. The July index remains 6.8 percent below July 2007 when it stood at 92.8.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales continue to edge up and down. “Pending home sales are oscillating month-to-month, with the long-term trend essentially flat,” he said. “Overly stringent lending criteria imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past month no doubt held back contract signings.” 

Let’s take a look at the Huntsville sales statistics for August 2008 to see how the Huntsville AL real estate market looks: 

Huntsville/Madison County Market Statistics 

Huntsville and Madison County real estate saw a 3% increase in average sales price over August 2007.  There was a  32% decline in home sales this August, when compared against August 2007.  The average list price has seen an increase of 5% over last year.  Likewise, the sales price to list price ratio remained constatant.  The average price per square foot saw a 1% decrease.  Homes remained on the market an average of 7 days longer than last year. 

There are lots of good things happening in Huntsville and Madison County. I encourage you to take advantage the opportunities.  

For the latest Huntsville AL real estate market conditions in your area, please call me at 256-508-0211 or visit MoveToHuntsville.com.

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

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Not so long ago helping the environment meant recycling plastic and newspapers, but today it has evolved into “green” thinking and extends to our homes and our living environments.

According to a recent NAR survey, nine out of 10 Realtors® said their clients are interested in energy efficient features of green homes and the potential cost savings of such features. An overwhelming 90 percent agreed there will be even more interest in green building practices a year from now.

Results of a Harris Interactive poll by Move, Inc. show potential home buyers consider “green” building features more important than luxury amenities. Almost half of the adults surveyed (49 percent) said features such as solar panels or energy-saving appliances were “important,” compared to just 31 percent who rated luxury amenities important.

Ninety-three percent of all home buyers are not willing to pay more for green or energy efficient features when building a home, according to a recent independent study commissioned by The New York Times Customer Insight Group.

However, a recent survey from Green Builder Media reports U.S. home buyers are willing to pay a premium for more environmentally friendly, green-built homes.

More than half of home builders surveyed (250 residential builders across the U.S.) said that buyers are willing to pay a premium of between 11-25 percent for green-built homes. The same builders report that the average green home buyer is between the ages of 35-50 with a college degree and fair understanding of green products.

Despite the conflicting statistics, the U.S. Green Building Council believes thinking “green” is an industry trend, rather than a passing fad; not only does it save on energy costs, it is better for our overall health and the environment as a whole.

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Existing-home sales rose from the first quarter in 13 states, largely from buyers responding to discounted home prices, according to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors®. Nearly one-quarter of metropolitan areas showed rising home prices in the second quarter from a year ago, with greatly mixed conditions continuing around the country.  

NAR President Richard Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said foreclosures are distorting the price data. “In many areas with large concentrations of foreclosure sales, homes are being purchased below replacement cost values,” Gaylord said. “Many buyers with long-term expectations are getting exceptional value in the current market. Once the inventory is drawn down, price pressure will return because the costs of construction are rising - today’s buyers are very well positioned to build wealth over time.” National Association of Realtors®. 

Let’s take a look at the sales statistics for July 2008 to see how the Huntsville AL real estate market looks: 
  
Huntsville/Madison County Real Estate Sales Statistics 

Huntsville and Madison County saw a 20% decline in home sales this July, when compared against July 2007.  The average list and sale price has seen an increase of 6% over last year.  Likewise, the sales price to list price ratio remained almost the same.  The average price per square foot increased saw a 4% increase.  Homes remained on the market an average of 17 days longer than last year.

Even though the statistics show a drop in the total number of sales, it is important to remember we are comparing to record year in 2007. The current market is good, just not as good as in years past. I fully expect the Huntsville market to rebound early next year. It is an excellent time to buy now as we are seeing larger amounts of negotiating room on the existing inventory. Interest rates are very low making it an excellent time to buy.  

There are lots of good things happening in Huntsville and Madison County. I encourage you to take advantage the opportunities. Please call or email anytime with any questions, 256-508-0211.

Search all Huntsville real estate and homes for sale.

Get the current market value of your Huntsville home.

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

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