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Things are really moving here (in Mobile)

The Mobile Area Association of Realtors, in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Multiple Listing Service, is kicking off a marketing campaign on August 12^th at 9 AM with a press conference featuring Mayor Sam Jones and Dr. Donald Epley of the USA Mitchell College of Business Center for Real Estate Studies, to spread the word that the residential real estate market in Mobile, Alabama is much better than national statistics would have you believe.

This campaign will encourage potential homebuyers and sellers to visit ThingsAreReallyMovingHere.com to find out the facts and learn more about buying and selling a home in Mobile, Alabama. The campaign will feature radio, billboards, newspaper and on-line advertising, all pointing people to the micro site, ThingsAreReallyMovingHere.com. On this site consumers can receive buying and selling tips, read monthly real estate reports provided by the USA Center for Real Estate Studies, hear what our partners are saying about the local economy and real estate and register to win a gift certificate from Lowe’s.

MAAR has partnered with the City of Mobile, Mobile County Commission, Mobile and Saraland Chambers of Commerce, Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, USA Center for Real Estate Studies, Home Builders Association and Alabama General Contractors to help spread the word and present a unified front to the public regarding the housing market.

Mobile hotel looking to expand, add condos

Just the headline alone is encouraging for downtown Mobile. But how serious are the owners of the Admiral Semmes Hotel? The area is still suffering from an abundance of unsold homes and vacant condos. And so many recent projects are sitting on the back burner or have been abandoned completely.  Look,  for example, at what happened with the Gayfers project. Where does that stand? While a number of units are presold (have promise notes with $5000 deposits) in the St. Francis Street condo project; how long will it be before we see dirt moving? And when it comes to guarantee the financing on these condos, how many people will back out?

Unfortunately it’s just the current economic circumstances and the financial ”crisis” that has finally hit Mobile. While the city is expected to turn around much quicker than other municipalities across the country, it still may take a few years.

But the fact remains, this is really good news. Organizations are looking to grow and expand in Mobile. Everyone expects Mobile to boom, to become a major hub of economic prosperity along the Gulf Coast.

Lets all keep our hopes up.

According to the story headlining today’s Real Estate section,

The owners of the Radisson Admiral Semmes Hotel downtown are seeking investor partners to build 100 more hotel rooms, 50 condominium units and office space at an estimated cost of $27 million.

“The way to increase revenue and market share is to have more rooms,” said Kashi Misra, general manager of the 170-room hotel on Government Street. “We want to have the rooms ready when the demand is there.”

The project could start later this year and be finished by 2011 or early 2012, he said.

For the full story, see Admiral Semmes Hotel owners seeking investor partners for project …

Gulf of Mexico Alliance wrapping up Mobile summit

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is currently meeting  in Mobile this week to discuss the health of the Gulf Region and it’s impact on the area. Topics include water quality, habitat conservation, pollution, and more.

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance is a partnership of five states, with the goal of significantly increasing regional collaboration to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf states have identified six priority issues that are regionally significant, including environmental education and coastal community resilience.

This week the group is examining topics like water quality and habitat conservation in the region.

Statistics provided by the Alliance show the importance of the Gulf of Mexico on the region’s economy.  About 50,000 people in Mobile and Baldwin counties alone make their living from businesses tied to the Gulf.  Shrimp, fish, and oysters brought into Bayou La Batre alone are worth more than $32 million dollars a year.

The event taking place at the Battle House Hotel in Mobile ends today. For more information, see Gulf of Mexico Alliance.

Web technologies worth considering

In a recent issue of Alabama Realtor a number of  free web tools are listed that should be considered for your real estate business or personal use. A couple of these I already use — Firefox and Google Docs.

In basic terms, Firefox is an internet browser based on open software. Firefox offers a number of add-ons also free to enhance your web browsing capabilities. Firefox offers a simple interface, top notch security, and seems faster in terms of loading web pages. For more information or to download visit, Mozilla.org.

Google Docs is simliar to Microsoft Word or other word processing software. It also includes a spreadsheet and presentation package. But here  again, like Firefox, it’s free. And one of the best features is you are able to store your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online without taking up space on your hard drive. I also use Google Calendar for the same reason. It sits online and not on my computer therefore allowing your computer to operate faster without being bogged down with more files. For more information, see Google Docs.

Other free tools discussed include:

Mint – a secure financial management tool that compiles credit cards, bank account, mortgage and other loan data. For more, see Mint.com

Zenbe – a multi-account, Internet-based interface that allows one to check Yahoo mail, Gmail, AOL, Windows Live, as well as Twitter and Facebook pages. It also includes a shareable calendar, an address book and other tools.  To read more about it, see Zenbe.com.

GIMP – provides Photoshop-quality image manipulation tools. See Gimp.org.

Security is always an issue these days, but it appears that most of these products are based on open software technologies and are more immune to virus threats and hacking issues.

U.S. home prices see first rise in three years

U.S. single-family home prices rose in May from April, the first monthly increase in nearly three years, suggesting prices may be stabilizing, according to Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller home price indexes on Tuesday.

The annual rate of decline for the 10- and 20-city indexes improved for the fourth straight month, though prices have still tumbled by more than 32 percent from the peaks in the second quarter of 2006.

The index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.5 percent in May from April, after a 0.6 percent decline the month before, in contrast with the 0.5 percent drop forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

The May monthly rise resulted in an annual downturn of 17.1 percent, although this was the fourth straight month that the rate of decline slowed. This follows a 16-month string of record annual declines starting in October 2007 and ending in January. For the full story on Yahoo.com, see U.S. home prices see first rise in three years – Yahoo! News.

Dauphin agent Brunson trying old tricks

Dauphin Realty’s Holly Brunson may be a Baptist, but she’s turned to a Catholic saint to help sell a house in Wilmer.

The day after burying a statue of St. Joseph in the seller’s yard, Brunson had an offer on the house, a showing and a bunch of calls. St. Joseph, the patron saint of the family and household needs, will stay put until the house sells, she said, adding, “He’s not going anywhere.”

Desperate times call for the power of prayer and whatever else works to get homes sold in today’s sluggish sales market, agents said. For the full article as it appeared in Sunday’s Mobile Press Register, see From prayer to Facebook, agents try whatever works – al.com.

Existing-home sales show promise

The news this week that existing home sales are finally on the mend sent the stock market up over 9000 for the first time in over six months. Will this market segment continue this trend? Let’s cross our fingers and continue to encourage folks to buy now — the inventory, plus low mortgage rates, and lower home prices — it’s a great time to make that investment in a new home.

The U.S. housing market has started to recover from the most far-reaching crisis since the Great Depression, data released Thursday shows.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June, the National Association of Realtors reported. That hasn’t happened since early 2004, during the boom.

“The turnaround in the housing market appears finally to be here and indeed may be gaining some speed,” wrote Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. For more, see Existing-home sales leap in June – Real estate- msnbc.com.

A good time to buy, a good time to sell in Mobile

In a recent study out of the Center for Real Estate Studies, University of South Alabama it is reported that the average sales price for June increased a modest 0.2 percent from $150, 403 to $151,121. The number of sales declined slightly from 303 in May to 296, and the average days on the market declined to 81. The highest volume of properties sold is in the $100,000 to $149,999 price range with 99 which increased from 94 in March. The total number of sales from $0-$149,999 represents 62.2 percent of the Mobile market. Adding the additional 54 sales in the $150,000-$199,999 price range is 80.4 percent of the 296 properties sold.

The price range of $300,000-$499,999 had 16 sales which increased from 12 sales in March, and is comparable with the 16 properties sold in June, 2008. Transactions over $500,000 declined to 1 sale from 4 in March which is below the 7 sold at this time in 2008.

The latest revised U.S. numbers show a very healthy 15.7 percent increase in the number of sales, and concurrently, a decline of 1.2 percent in the average sale price of $208,800. The U.S. median sales price dropped by 1.9 percent to $166,600 and the estimated inventory declined to 5.2 months for April. The increase in sales and decline in inventory reflect the foreclosed homes that are driving the numbers up and average prices down. In addition, there may be some initial impact from the buying incentives that Congress has implemented through new financing programs and tax incentives especially for lower priced properties.

The Mobile market is still holding its own. It should begin to see the impact of national stimulus programs soon. It is still a good time to buy, and still a good time to sell.

One number not shown in this report is the average number of months needed to sell the existing inventory. One rule of thumb given by the National Association of Realtors is that 6-8 months represents a healthy market. It gives the buyer a good choice of alternative properties from which an informed selection can be made. Simultaneously, a sufficient number of properties for sale provide good competition to assure that the desired price is competitive.

In April, 2006, an average of 4.47 months was required to sell the existing inventory of properties. In April, 2009, the Mobile number has risen to 11.4 compared to 10.1 for the U.S. The 11.4 months should be viewed as another reason to buy in the current market with an increased inventory.

Additional data and information can be found at http://cres.southalabama.edu.

New government programs to help in refinancing

Appraisals have always been key to refinancing. Traditionally, the mortgage amount could not exceed the property’s current market value. Those with Adjustable Rate Mortgages stuck with unaffordable mortgage payments, or those tempted by historic low interest rates have good reason to want – or need – to refinance their loans. Luckily, the federal government has introduced programs to help.

The Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program, launched early this year, allowed refinances for those whose first mortgage was as high as 105 percent of a comparable market analysis (CMV). A July expansion now allows participation by borrowers current on payments, but up to 125 percent “underwater.” This especially helps those in down markets, such as Las Vegas, where about two-thirds of current mortgage holders owe more than the worth of their homes. Nationwide, 4 to 5 million homeowners whose mortgages are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac might reach more affordable monthly payments through the program, which falls under the broader Making Home Affordable initiative.

Those with government-based Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans also have new refinance opportunities thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The revised single-family loan limits now reflect the higher loan limits set by the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 or the Housing and Economy Recovery Act of 2008, all determined by county or metropolitan area. Effective through the end of 2009, those limits range from $271,050 to $729,750 and permit FHA to insure loans on amounts up to 125 percent of the 2007 area median house prices. For more, see Government Programs Mean Easier Refi’s – WalletPop.