Recent conversations we’ve had with several homeowners about selling their homes remind me of a fact I consider important to remember:

We may be in the age of unprecedented access to information, but there’s still a lot of misinformation out there.

Cases in point are Sellers we’ve talked with in Alabaster and Hoover.

Both have tried to sell their homes, both properties are in popular neighborhoods, but neither home sold; in fact, neither couple even got an Offer. One of the homes has been on the market twice.

Why?

According to both Sellers, the reason is pretty obvious. “Everybody knows nothing is selling,” one said, while the other told me,
“There just aren’t any Buyers.” To back that up, one of the Sellers points to a home directly across the street from hers that has
been on the market since November, 2008. Within only a few blocks of this setting are at least four more homes that never sold,
either.

I have to admit that I can’t blame these folks for thinking there are no Buyers out there. After all, the sight of real estate signs swinging in the breeze for long periods of time is pretty convincing visual proof for them.

But when you watch the market day in and day out, a different picture emerges.

With almost 1200 homes having sold across Shelby Co. since April, it’s a bit of a stretch to say there are simply no Buyers. The truth is that those Buyers are going after the best deals they find.

The real reason most homes fail to sell is because they’re overpriced. We see proof of this all the time, both in properties that draw little interest from Buyers, and others that draw almost immediate interest after going on the market.

Generally speaking, the current market is not one for putting your home up for sale to simply test the waters or “just see if it will sell.” Sellers with this perspective face slim chances at best of even getting an Offer.

The homeowner who is motivated to sell, and who is willing to meet Buyers on their price terms is the Seller who is far more likely to be successful.

David

Unless you have enough cash in pocket to buy a home outright, you’re probably going to be looking to get a loan when the time comes.

And here’s some good news from the mortgage industry:

Interest rates for the Shelby Co. and Birmingham area have dropped, compared to a week ago.

Rates for 30-year fixed loans have dropped to around 4.8%, down from around 5.0% at this time last week.

Rates for 15-year fixed loans have also slipped from last week’s 4.3% range to the current 4.2%.

So, what does this mean if you’re thinking of buying a home? Simple: The cost of getting a loan is still extremely attractive.

If you’re considering buying a home in the Birmingham/Shelby Co. area and want to get the purchase financed, your best bet—even before starting to look at homes—is to start talking with a Lender. That way, you’ll be well on your way to having your financing already lined up when you find the home of your dreams!

David

You may not think of being on someone’s black list as a very desirable situation, but here’s proof that it can be good. Yep, you can be on someone’s black list, and, most likely, benefit from it.

This all started earlier a little over a month ago. That’s when Colleen and I saw an excellent opportunity pop up on the MLS. A Foreclosure, consisting of a house and about five acres of property in a desirable area of Shelby county had gone up for sale. Asking price: $109,900.

We thought it was such an enticing offer that we immediately sent e-mails to a number of people we thought might be interested. Would anyone respond? We had no idea.

We got our answer. Lots of folks, it turned out, wanted to know more, and several visited the property.

The inquiries continued. In less than five days, the property had multiple offers and sold. Needless to say, being able to capitalize on a great opportunity requires quick response. Speed is definitely the issue. Or, as some say, if you snooze, you lose.

Given the response we received, we knew it was time to let technology help people know quickly when a good real estate opportunity arises.

And so, The Black List was born.

The Black List is our quick notification e-mail list you can join to get periodic updates about attractive chances to own property in the Shelby Co. and Birmingham area.

When we see what we consider an especially juicy real estate opportunity, we’ll let you know via The Black List. Needless to say, if you’re on the list, you’ll be among the first to learn about it. And that will automatically put you in a position to capitalize on the chance, if you wish to pursue it.

The properties you read about might be Foreclosures, or they might be regular sales or Short Sales. They might be large homes or small homes. They might be in the city, or maybe in the country. They might need work, or might be move-in ready. They might be our Listings, or they might be those of another Agent. The point is to let you know quickly when a good deal pops up.

You can sign up by clicking here and entering your e-mail address in the sign-up box at the top of our website’s main page.

We’ll operate this e-mail list the way we think e-mail lists should be run: We won’t share your information, and we won’t constantly blast you with e-mails. You can unsubscribe at any time, with no questions asked.

Here’s hoping The Black List will help you with being able to take advantage of some of the great opportunities we’re seeing more and more in the Shelby Co. and Birmingham areas!

David

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home in the Birmingham or Shelby county area, be aware: the clock is ticking…

The government’s Tax Credit for first time (and many existing) Buyers ends April 30th.

Under current rules, that’s the last day you can have a Contract to buy a home in place and still be eligible for the credit.

Have you been ‘on the fence’ about buying?

Here are some of the reasons proving why buying now is such a good idea:

Ever wished for a crystal ball so you’d know what’s ahead? That might, or might not, be a good thing, depending on what you want to know…!

On the one hand, having a crystal ball to look into the real estate market could sure help ease concerns for some folks here in the Birmingham and Shelby county areas. Or would it?

Suppose you’re thinking of selling your home. Would you be more inclined to sell sooner, if, say, the ball suggested values would continue to slide in 2010? What if the ball suggested you’d get more if you wait?

I don’t think we really need a crystal ball to know that home values will rise. Nearly every expert out there predicts they will, at some point.

It’s those last three words that are the kicker: At some point.

Hmm. Does that mean in the next three months? Ten months? Two years? This is where having a crystal ball would be pretty handy.

However, crystal balls are about as plentiful as bumper stickers in Alabama supporting the Texas Longhorns. People ask us questions frequently that would pretty much need a crystal ball to answer accurately. “What is my home going to be worth in a year?” would be one such question.

“What will my home sell for if I list it right now?”

Ahh. There’s a question that doesn’t need a crystal ball as badly to answer. We have good resources we can draw upon to come up with a figure that—more times than not—winds up being very close to actual selling price.

The fact is that if your home ’shows nicely’ as Agents like to say, and is priced where we know Buyers will bite, your odds of selling are promising. And, yes, that’s true even in the tough market affecting so many neighborhoods in the Birmingham and Shelby Co. areas as we plow into 2010.

This might sound ridiculously obvious to some, but the ’shows nicely, priced right’ concept is one we’ve seen trip up a lot of people trying to sell their homes. So, not everyone really understands how important this really is. Or put another way, not everyone really ‘gets it.’

During 2009, we represented Sellers who agreed to price their homes where we suggested. Granted, they weren’t always thrilled with the price we recommended. But they swallowed hard and said, ‘okay.’ Why? Because they needed to sell. Helping ease this frustration was their knowledge that—when they turned around to buy another home—they’d be enjoying the opposite side of the tough selling market, getting a very good deal on the home they’re buying.

We also dealt with Sellers in 2009 who disagreed with us. They felt they had a better idea than we did of what their home would would sell for. And guess what happened with their efforts to sell? Nothing. Zilch. Their homes didn’t sell, despite being on the market plenty long enough to sell. I remember several cases where other homes in the same neighborhood as our Clients’ house sold, and in the general price range we had recommended.

There were some cases where our Client’s home never even got an Offer. We always talk about how important it is to listen to what the market is telling us. Let me assure you of one thing: If a home for sale doesn’t even get an Offer, that’s the market talking. It may even be shouting.

I know one thing for sure about trying to get a home sold in this market. You either have to ‘get it,’ or you have to trust your Agent’s advice. Otherwise, your home is probably not destined to sell.

I think the real question that emerges is: How badly do you want, or need, to sell?

Clearly, there are many situations for folks where—regardless of how the market may be performing at the moment—it’s important to sell sooner, rather than later. Some Sellers who contact us tell us they need to sell as fast as possible, and are waiting for us to tell them what to do to make it so.

These are the people we feel confident we can help.

And no, we don’t have a crystal ball to predict the outcome.

But listening to the market and to your Agent go a long way right now, and will most likely mean you can start packing sooner, rather than later.

David

You can have fun and help people at the same time.

That’s what the Oak Mountain Real Estate Network’s annual Christmas Auction, held November 18th in Pelham, is all about:

Despite a tough economy, we had a lot of Agents and people working in affiliated fields participate. When it was all over, the Network had raised nearly $2,200. The Network supports two very worthy causes here in Shelby County: SafeHouse and Family Connection.

Special thanks to Auctioneers Kelly Bishop-Hicks with Allstate Insurance and John Holliman of the Holliman Law Firm, who did a great job!

David

My hat’s off to folks who actually look for work instead of groan about having no money coming in. That’s where Wyatt Trader, Brent Childree and Haden Bethea come in to the picture:

These young gentlemen, who live nearby, spent the day in our neighborhood Saturday walking from house to house, offering to do odd jobs like washing cars, raking leaves and general clean-up. When they got to our place, they scored two cars to wash:

A mutually beneficial arrangement for all involved: Cash for some young people needing it, and clean cars for us!

David

Congress has taken a step many people were watching for, and has extended the $8,000 tax credit for people buying a home for the first time. But the extension also carries a big change that could affect you if you own a home right now and want to buy again.

The credit, which was originally set to expire November 30th, now applies to Sales Contracts in place by April 30th, 2010. Homeowners have an additional 60 days beyond then to actually close the sale.

If you currently own your home and have lived in it for five consecutive years, the extension provides for a $6,500 credit if you buy another property by the new deadline. In the current market where so many homes have lost value, this may help Sellers frustrated over not being able to get an Offer for as much as they’ve wanted.

So … either way, the extension is intended to make buying a home more enticing to a larger group of people. That’s exactly why Congress passed the bill, in a continuing desire to stimulate the housing market.

Another point many buyers are not aware of is the fact that you can still qualify for the credit even if you owned a home previously. The government defines a first time buyer as someone who has not owned a home during the previous three years. So, if you owned a home in, say, 2004, but have not owned your residence since then, you would qualify for the first time buyer’s credit.

The tax credit’s extension and expansion, coupled with such affordable deals and financing on homes in the Birmingham and Shelby Co. area really do suggest that—unless you plan to move again soon—you’re much better off owning, rather than renting, and—if you qualify as an existing owner and have been wanting to move—now’s the time.

David

How much does it cost to buy a home in the Birmingham/Shelby Co. area?  Here are a few numbers that really show the variety of inventory and pricing currently available.  Remember that these are asking, and not sold, prices:

Alabaster/Maylene/Saginaw
Homes For Sale:  370
Under $150,000:  125
$150,000-$199,999:  111
$200,000-$249,999:  51
$250,000+:  83

Helena/Pelham (Shelby Co.)
Homes For Sale:  502
Under $150,000:   148
$150,000-$199,999:  153
$200,000-$249,999:  72
$250,000+:  129

No. Shelby Co./Hoover
Homes For Sale:  725
Under $150,000:  30
$150,000-$199,999: 41
$200,000-$249,999: 127
$250,000+:  527

Chelsea
Homes For Sale:   287
Under $150,000:   23
$150,000-$199,999:  92
$200,000-$249,999:  53
$250,000+:  119

Calera/Montevallo/Wilton
Homes For Sale:  334
Under $150,000:  203
$150,000-$199,999:   77
$200,000-$249,999:  29
$250,000+:  25

Source:  Birmingham Multiple Listing System

David

We just never know who’s going to walk in the door around here.  But I’m not complaining!

It’s always enjoyable and educational to sit and talk with Republican State Rep. Cam Ward, who is a candidate for the Alabama State Senate.

Most Shelby Co. and Birmingham area civic, business and legislative leaders know Cam well, in part, for his track record as a State Representative.  He’s also Executive Director of Alabaster’s Industrial Development Board.

With so many jitters about the national economy, what’s Cam’s take on the economy closer to home here in the Shelby Co. and Birmingham area?

That’s one of the questions we put to Cam, who’s the guest in our latest netcast.

Click the player just below to listen now…

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…or click here to download.

We hope you enjoy … and thanks, Cam, for stopping by!

David Black