fairhope: I saved big bucks on homeowner's insurance, but at what risk?
- 05/09/14 02:37 AM
Give me 2 minutes of your time and I may save you money -- or heartache.
I saved $1,100 on my homeowner’s insurance. Interested?
I also incurred more financial risk should catastrophe strike. That’s what I learned when I talked to two of my favorite go-to guys who sell insurance in Fairhope, Daphne and Spanish Fort … and beyond.
But first, let’s talk about my last insurance carrier, Wilshire. The policy was written by a Mobile insurance company in 2011 for $2,556. When my renewal notice arrived in April, the cost was $3,499, roughly a $1,000 … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Sales, pendings up in March in Spanish Fort, Daphne & Fairhope
- 04/04/12 05:53 AM
It’s the beginning of the high home-buying season on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile, Alabama, metro area.
Sales are up and pending sales are up. But a curious thing is happening: Inventory is falling. Does it signal a change in the housing market in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope? Are sellers so leery of the market that they’re staying put? Are they too upside down on their mortgages to sell? Will the foreclosure shadow inventory start to trickle back into the market?
All things to watch, but only time will tell.
Here’s what’s going on.
Total houses for sale: … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Pending sales up in January 2012 in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope
- 02/09/12 06:26 AM
January 2012 home sales were typically down from December 2011 sales, but pending sales are improved over last month and January of last year.
Homes going under contract in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope stood at 170, while only 140 were under contract after the first week in December and only 146 this time last year.
Who are these buyers? My experience is that it’s a good mix of tranferees and renters who have been sitting on the fence for quite some time.
The average sales price remained largely unchanged. All good news for the real estate … (1 comments)
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fairhope: 2011: The good, the bad & the ugly in home sales in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope
- 01/16/12 01:23 AM
2011 was the Year of the Foreclosure.
Foreclosure sales comprised almost a third of all single-family home sales in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope. This segment of the market expanded from 14% of sales in 2009; to 25% in 2010; to 31% in 2011.
Yet at any given time only 10-15% of homes listed on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile, Ala., metro market are foreclosures or short sales.
In a nutshell, buyers have been foreclosure crazy, and who can blame them? Some properties are in deplorable shape, yet others are better than many an owner-occupied home.
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 304 South Drive, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
- 04/07/11 06:28 AM
Home for sale at 304 South Drive, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532. To see this home please call Janet English, RE/Max By The Bay, 251-591-2411.
4 bedrooms, 4 baths
3087 square feet, plus 500 square foot heated & cooled basement area for hobbies, gym, etc.
Formal living & dining
Deck, patio overlooking Rock Creek golf course
3-car garage
$350,000
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Eastern Shore home sales surge ahead of tax credit expiration
- 04/14/10 11:19 AM
Gosh, it's been grim.
But I'm here to tell you that this month - April 2010 - feels like it might as well be 2005, considering the volume of house sales going on.
Sure, the homebuyer tax credit expires April 30. Sure, some people moved up their time frames to capture as much as $8,000 in tax credits.
But I'm hoping that the effort to get the housing market chugging again like a great locomotive will have staying power. It just takes some time to get the big wheels on the Real Estate Express moving. And maybe, just … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Eastern Shore home sales surge ahead of tax credit expiration
- 04/14/10 11:17 AM
Gosh, it's been grim.
But I'm here to tell you that this month - April 2010 - feels like it might as well be 2005, considering the volume of house sales going on.
Sure, the homebuyer tax credit expires April 30. Sure, some people moved up their time frames to capture as much as $8,000 in tax credits.
But I'm hoping that the effort to get the housing market chugging again like a great locomotive will have staying power. It just takes some time to get the big wheels on the Real Estate Express moving. And maybe, just … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Pending sales soar in March, 2010, on Mobile Bay's Eastern Shore
- 04/08/10 08:50 AM
Pending sales have soared as the expiration of the home buyer tax credit approaches. By April 8, 173 homes on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile, Alabama Metro area had gone under contract, up from 125 under contract during the first week in March, 2010. Of these, 43 are new construction and 30 are short sales or foreclosures. The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, later expanded to include many previous homeowners, expires April 30. Buyers must have properties under contract by the time to get up to $8,000 in tax credits. Home sales also rose in March to 80 units, up from … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 454 Liberty Street, Fairhope, AL 36532
- 03/02/10 10:25 AM
To see this home please call Janet English, RE/Max By The Bay, 251 591-2411
Home for sale at 454 Liberty Street, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
3 bedroom, 2 bath in sought-after Fairhope Fruit & Nut section 1649 square feet Many updates, with original hardwood floors Deck, patio, small fenced backyard Walk to Mobile Bay or Downtown Fairhope $225,000
… (2 comments)
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fairhope: Pending sales improve, but January 2010 home sales weak in Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope
- 02/05/10 08:23 AM
Pending home sales are showing signs of better days ahead for the real estate market on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile, Alabama, Metro area.
January sales were typically weak, at 43 homes sold in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope, compared with 56 in December 2009. Still, last month's sales were a slight improvement over January 2009 when just 40 homes sold.
This first week in February, 117 homes are under contract, a nice improvement from the 101 under contract in the first of January.
Pricing remains soft, with sellers taking on average 7 percent off the list price in January.
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home prices hit the skids in 2009 in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope
- 01/19/10 07:59 AM
Statistics can be manipulated. But the evidence shows a 17.5% decline in house values on the Eastern Shore in 2009. Coupled with our deceptive and behind-the-rest-of-the-nation 1% decline in 2008, housing prices are almost back to pre-Hurricane Ivan levels of 2003-04.
The picture is a bit brighter in terms of the number of homes sold. Low interest rates, the first-time homebuyer tax credit and an abundance of inventory and incentives helped check the decline in the total sales to only 3.5% compared to 2008.
For the year, 803 homes sold between Spanish Fort and Point Clear, compared with … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 10999 Niblick Loop, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
- 11/24/09 04:19 AM
Home for sale at 10999 Niblick Loop, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532. To see this home, please call Janet English, Remax By The Bay, Daphne, Alabama, 251 591-2411
4 bedrooms, 3 baths 2,691 square feet, built 2005 Smart upgrades, including hideaway TV cabinet and washer/dryer area Master has sitting room Master bath with oversized walk-in shower with dual shower heads $329,500, plus $3,000 towards buyer's closing costs
… (3 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 12598 Clay City Road, Fairhope, Alabama
- 08/16/09 11:26 AM
To see this home, please call Janet English, RE/Max By The Bay, 251 591-2411
Contemporary 3/2, plus loft 1261 square foot Woodsy half-acre lot Huge cedar screened porch $128,600
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 11388 County Road 32, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
- 02/18/09 01:07 AM
Home for sale at 11388 County Road 32, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
3/2.5, plus bonus room for formal living, office Built 2003, 1950 square feet Beautifully decorated Lot: 124x299 $224,900
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Did we hit bottom in November 2008? Time will tell in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope
- 01/08/09 05:45 AM
2008? Whew! Glad that's over.
2009? At least we know what we're dealing with.
Here's a backward look on a sorry year in real estate, and a forward look in which I will stick my neck out.
2008:
•n Twenty-four percent fewer homes sold than in 2007 from Spanish Fort to Point Clear.
•n Foreclosures, short sales and distress sales (essentially pre-foreclosures) captured buyers' attention.
•n On the Eastern Shore, the average sales price was down only 1% from the previous year and the median sales price was down just 6%. But it didn't feel that way, and a late-year … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 417 Clubhouse Drive, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
- 05/29/08 11:40 AM
Designed for casual entertaining and upscale living
4 bedrooms, 4 baths, built 2002, 2893 sf Hardwood and extensive crown molding in greatroom and formal dining Cook's kitchen with gas cooktop, double ovens, breakfast bar with granite, large keeping room Luxury master bath -- separate shower, jet tub - with walk-in closet All bedrooms are down and have adjoining baths 18x13 bonus room upstairs with bath Covered porch, fenced yard, sprinkler system $444,900 This home is in Rock Creek golf community in Fairhope, Alabama; homeowners association dues are $550 a year; swim & racquet priviliges are approximately $80/month
… (0 comments)
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fairhope: Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
- 04/07/08 12:19 PM
What a strange trip this has been. All of us piled up in this stationwagon taking in the sights at CNN and the morning news.
Oh look, it's an up day on Wall Street. Uh oh, it's down again.
There, over on the left ... it's another report of unemployment rising.
Stop, put the brakes on. The Fed has spoken and bailed out Bear Stearns!
Everyone in the car keeps asking if we're there yet. Is this bottom?
It's times like these that make me wish I could present these figures in a grid format and let you take from … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Condo for sale at 8553 Garden Circle, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
- 03/26/08 12:20 PM
Condo for sale at 8553 Garden Circle, Fairhope, Alabama, 36532
To see this home, please call Janet English, RE/Max By the Bay, 251 591-2411
Freshly painted with new carpet and Pergo flooring, this 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in Fairhope will be a place to call your own at an affordable price. This upstairs unit has a greatroom, open to the dining area and kitchen, including a refrigerator. Each bedroom has an adjoining bath and large walk-in closet, plus new carpet. Deck off the back overlooks natural area. Condo fees are $100 a month and include structure insurance (owner gets content … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Home for sale at 107 River Oaks, Fairhope, Alabama -- Motivated sellers will entertain all offers
- 03/04/08 06:25 AM
To see this listing please call Janet English, Re/Max By the Bay, 251.591.2411 … (0 comments)
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fairhope: Plain English for Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope 2007 market
- 05/13/07 11:11 AM
Tip O'Neill once said: All politics is local.
Such is true right now with real estate. National coverage of the housing market's ups and downs paints a broad picture.
But real estate issues that may affect you are local.
"How's business," I've been asked repeatedly. And before I can get the answer out, the questioner volunteers, "Slow, huh?"
Actually, I'm slammed.
So let's get to what's going on in the local market.
►Inventory is at an all-time high between Spanish Fort and Point Clear. More than 1,000 homes on the market is cause for concern, but it's also the product of this … (0 comments)
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