Before you jump in and buy one of the condos in Huntsville, make sure you also consider what some people consider the downside to owning a condo:

1.  Space – Buying a condo means sharing an interest in it.  What you own is your personal “box of air.”  The rest of the condo – the common areas – is shared between the other owners.

2.  Neighbors – Because you share walls and common areas, there’s a high chance that you’ll be able to hear them as they move about their own space.  You’ll run into them more often, and have to coordinate with them in issues regarding the common areas.

3.  Reselling – If you own a condominium and think you might resell it later, be aware that condos in Huntsville are typically more sensitive to the real estate market and take longer to recover than traditional single family homes.

4.  Fees – You’ll have to pay monthly condo fees to take care of the maintenance of the common areas and for amenities you may not use, such as a swimming pool or fitness facility.

5.  Rules – All condominiums have CC&Rs, or Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.  The CC&Rs may not fit your lifestyle.  They can include noise level restrictions, types of renovations, owning a pet or even the type of curtains you use.

6.  Association – Instead of property management professionals, the association is made up of homeowners.  It may be weak or inefficient, and you might have to get approval to make renovations or rent out your unit.

Condos in Huntsville are great to own, but they aren’t for everyone.  Make an informed decision before buying one, and you’ll be a happy owner.

If you’re looking to buy the perfect condo, I’d love to help.  Call me at 800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me for more information.

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The summer heat can also assault your wallet.  In fact, you can easily watch your utility bill double during the summer months.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to cool your Huntsville home for less money and less impact on the environment this summer. Here’s how.

1. Prep your home. Turn off heat-generating lights and appliances.  Don’t use your oven. In the afternoon, close your windows and outside doors and keep window coverings drawn. At other times, use fans to create a cross breeze.
2. Raise your thermostat. When you’re not home, raise the thermostat to 80 degrees. Lower it two or three degrees when you are home and use ceiling fans to keep rooms cool. Moving your thermostat from 75 to 80 will lower your consumption by 15%. Your Huntsville home will still feel comfortable, and you will notice significant savings on your next utility bill.
3. Take a look at your windows. You’d be surprised to find out how much heat enters your home from old, single pane windows. Newer energy efficient windows with double panes block more heat and keep more cool air inside. If you can’t afford new windows now, at least cover the ones you have with heavy curtains or shades to keep out heat.
4. Check for leaks. Leaky duct work and poorly sealed doors can let as much cool air out of your home as an open window. Walk around your home checking under your doors and around your windows to feel for escaping air. Hire a professional to check your air conditioning systems for you. Take the time to have duct leaks repaired and seal air leaks.
5. Dress appropriately. There’s no reason to keep your home so cold that you have to wear extra layers of clothing when you’re inside. Wear light, loose fitting clothing. You’ll be more comfortable in slightly warmer temperatures. Keep light throw blankets handy for anyone who easily gets cold under a ceiling fan.

Implementing even one or two of these tips in your home can save you money and help the environment.

Want to buy an energy efficient home?  I can help.  Call me today at 800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me to learn more.

Search all Huntsville homes for sale.

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Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

The Madison County and Huntsville price appreciation remained level in May with 122 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 0.14% lower than national statistics and the same as state figures.

Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity by Month

The number of  Bank-Owned properties decreased from 103 in April to 76 in May. The number of  Auctions decreased from 65 to 46. There is a 6-month rising 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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Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

The Madison County and Huntsville price appreciation remained level in April with 168 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 0.14% lower than national statistics and 0.01% higher than state figures.

Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity by Month

The number of  Bank-Owned properties increased from 67 in March to 103 in April. The number of  Auctions increased from 34 to 65. There is a 6-month rising 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 is home to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the town boasts unemployment well below the national average, according to the RelocateAmerica.com Web site, which released its list Tuesday.

Huntsville is home to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the town boasts unemployment well below the national average, according to the RelocateAmerica.com Web site, which released its list Tuesday.

The city also ranked No. 1 on the site’s list of “Top 10 Recovery Cities,” those poised for a swift economic rebound or already experiencing growth.
View all the RelocateAmerica.com lists.

“[Huntsville has] benefited from having a diverse economy, specifically within defense, aerospace and life sciences,” said Peter Meyers, vice president of research and content development at RelocateAmerica.com. It also ranked high on quality-of-life aspects, including safety and education, Meyers said.

RelocateAmerica.com is a Web site that provides online resources to people who are moving. Each year, it collects nominations for its list of 100 best cities to live. In addition to the overall list, breakout lists include the best places to retire, the most “earth-friendly” cities, the top recreation cities and the top small towns.

For the 8,000 nominations received for 2010’s list, the editorial team analyzed economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data of the areas, interviewed local leaders and reviewed resident feedback to come up with rankings.

The overall list is put together for consumers who are considering relocation options, with a heavy emphasis on places where there are positive job possibilities, Meyers said. But even those with no intention to move tend to peek at the results, he said.

“Even if you’re happy with where you are, we’re always interested in what the other options are,” he said, adding that there is “a natural curiosity to know what else is going on in the U.S.”

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Pending home sales rose sharply in February, potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent above February 2009. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improvement is another hopeful sign. “The rise in pending sales may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten. We need a second surge to reduce inventory and stabilize home values.”

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

Madison County/Huntsville AL Real Estate Sales Statistics

Huntsville and Madison County saw an increase of 40% in sold listings when compared to Feburary 2010.  The average sales price decreased by 1% to $177,722.  The average price per square foot increased by 3% when compared with Feburary 2010.  And the average list price decreased by 1%, while homes were on the market an average of 1 days less than March 2010.

As Mr. Yun said and these statistics show a second home surge maybe coming this spring, which will help reduce inventory and stabilze home prices. For more information about Huntsville AL real estate, please visit MoveToHuntsville.com or call me at 256-508-0211.

To begin searching Huntsville AL 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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• Use the appropriate cooking utensils in your kitchen.  Most electric stoves are equipped with two small burners, and two large ones.  Make sure that you are using your small pans on the small burners, and large pans on the larger burners.  Using a small pan on a large burner wastes energy, adds heat to kitchen, and may cause the handles to warp on the pans if they become too hot.  Place lids on your pots and pans when they are on the stove, this will conserve the heat and decrease the workload on your cooling system.
  
• Repair dripping sink faucets in the kitchen.  You can replace the faucet in your Huntsville home inexpensively.  A few drips on a constant basis adds up to gallons of wasted water.  Replacing the faucet can substantially decrease the amount of water you use.
• Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.  There are several ways to save energy with the dishwasher.  Make sure that the appliance itself is energy efficient.  Next, scrape the dishes before you load them.  This may allow you to set the wash cycle to a light or normal wash, instead of a heavy wash cycle.  Set the drying cycle to air dry.  Air-dry cycles decrease the amount of heat the appliance creates.  These tips will save a lot of water and energy.

It’s easier than you may think to update the kitchen in your Huntsville home using green appliances and energy-saving methods.  Depending on what you buy, you may also qualify for a federal tax credit for energy efficiency.

Want to buy an energy-efficient home?  Call me now at800-803-0053, 256-508-0211 or email me, mike@huntsvillehomesonline.com, for more information.

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To quote from the Moody’s article:

“It’s extremely significant,” Joe Vallely, Huntsville’s economic development director, said Tuesday. “Anytime you get a No. 1 ranking nationwide by a respected firm like that, it’s big. They don’t just give those puppies out.”

An Economist story titled “Alabama’s small cities are poised for recovery,” mentions Cummings Research Park, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, AEgis Technologies, which created the three-dimensional models of Vancouver that NBC used in last month’s Olympic broadcasts, and CFD Research, a defense firm researching insect-mounted cameras and glucose-based batteries.

“Eat your heart out, Birmingham,” the article concludes.

Huntsville’s previous Moody’s Economy.com accolades were partly based on the continuing relocation of 4,700 military jobs from suburban Washington. Assistant economist Martin Soler Garcia, who studies the city for Moody’s, could not be reached Tuesday to talk about the latest review.

Vallely said job-growth rankings, which are widely reported in the financial media, can “spur renewed interest” from companies that have flirted with moving to the Rocket City and help validate the decision of those that are already here.

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Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

The Madison County and Huntsville price appreciation dropped 1.01% in February with 173 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 0.12% lower than national statistics and 0,01% higher than state figures.

Madison County & Huntsville Foreclosure Activity by Month

The number of  Bank-Owned properties increased from 49 in January to 89 in February. The number of  Auctions increased from 81 to 89. There is a 6-month rising 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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