WASHINGTON - Nov. 5, 2009 - The $8,000, first-time homebuyer tax credit has not yet been extended beyond its Nov. 30 end date, but it's very close to gaining a longer life.
The extension was added as an amendment to an existing bill, HR 3548, that extends unemployment benefits. The U.S. Senate passed that bill on Wednesday and, after debate, the U.S. House passed HR 3548 this afternoon. It now needs only President Obama's signature to become law, and the White House has indicated it will sign it, perhaps as early as tomorrow.
Until the president signs the bill, however, it is not law.
In addition to extending the tax credit for first-time homebuyers under the current rules, the bill adds a smaller tax credit for move-up homebuyers who have lived in the house for five of the past seven years. The bill also increases the income limits of homebuyers from $75,000 (single) to $125,000; and from $150,000 (married) to $225,000.
Florida downpayment assistance
After the president signs the bill and extends the tax credit, the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program - a downpayment and closing costs assistance program relating to the federal tax credit -automatically gets extended too. The state still has about $28 million available for homebuyers. The money is essentially a loan to first-time buyers; they receive it upfront, use it for a downpayment or other costs, and pay it back once they get their federal refund.
Alabama Gulf Coast Condominium Market Update... The condo market in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, AL is very favorable to buyers. There has never been a better time to invest. Condos are 50% off what they were several years back. In some cases you can get a condo at 2002 prices! We have gorgeous beaches, golf courses, fishing, tennis, boating, shopping, sailing, jet skiing, diving, terrific restaurants, parasailing... and the list goes on and on. Join us! The Alabama Gulf Coast attracts the investor who is looking for all of this and more...
CLICK HERE to receive WEEKLY UPDATES of Gulf Shores, AL and Orange Beach, AL foreclosures. I offer updates for condo buyers looking for Alabama Gulf Coast real estate.
Alabama Gulf Coast Beaches.... Something magical happens when you visit Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama. The moment you arrive, the world starts to fade away. Maybe it's the sound of waves gently lapping the shore or the smell of coconut oil. Perhaps it's our white sand Gulf Coast beaches and sparkling emerald water. Suddenly building sandcastles moves to the top of your "to-do" list. You remember just how much fun your spouse is. You linger over a succulent, fresh seafood dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, where nobody rushes to get away from the table.
The Alabama Gulf Coast is more than you may realize. It is more than just a beautiful place, more than just the friendly people who live and work here. It is more than sand and sun and waves rolling onto 32 miles of sugar-white beach. The Alabama Gulf Coast is all these things and more. Taken together, these unique attributes create a region with a welcoming sense of place, perfect for families, investors, retirees and growing businesses. The Alabama Gulf Coast has been a family destination for many generations. Ask both visitors and residents, and you'll find that most folks down here have memories of the Alabama Gulf Coast that stretch back to childhood. Many parents recall visiting area beaches with their parents. Now they want to share that same fun with their children. As the area grows, the same family-friendly atmosphere that makes the Alabama Gulf Coast such a special place to visit makes the region a desirable permanent home. The past decade has witnessed significant growth in our area. As upscale residents and business owners relocate to the region, they bring with them increased services, commercial opportunities and a growing sense of community pride. From schools that continually score above the state averages to investors who pump dollars back into the local community, the Alabama Gulf Coast offers the best of all worlds. Come visit us. When you realize all that Gulf Shores and Orange Beach offer, you'll want to stay forever....
If you are interested in owning a beach condo in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, I would be happy to speak with you. My experience, training, market knowledge, contacts and enthusiasm can help you accomplish your objectives, should you be considering the option.
Want to come to the area to have a look? Rent our Beach Club condohere.
The following information was shared at the RE/MAX of Orange Beach sales meeting yesterday by Patrick Daily, Broker/Owner.
Patrick recently attended the RE/MAX Owner meeting and brought us back this interesting info given by David Linegar, founder of RE/MAX in 1973, and Carter Murdock, Bank of America's Economist:
•Savings is at its highest level. People are saving and not spending.
•The economy is already beginning to improve. It's going to recovery slowly.
•Unemployment is REALLY at 11-12% right now.
•Have to get more people working before people will start spending again.
•Small businesses will lead us out of the recession. However, there are no incentives for small businesses right now so the recovery will be slower than it has to be. All the help is going to large corporations rather than small businesses.
•Linegar's staff is been asked to bring solutions to the White House regarding the housing market (ie: where to go with it). The current administration knows they need real results and that they have made mistakes.
•Another real estate boom is coming in 2011 & 2012!
•Where a severe recessions starts (the US), it will be the first recovery.
•Loan markets are going "back to the left."
•Markets with the largest growth percentage will recover the quickest. This is great news for Baldwin County where projected growth is 40% over the next 10 years!
•It will be good for the economy when oil is $40-$80 a barrel.
•Mortgage rates have to go up for market to recover. We are seeing the best rates we are going to see. Therefore, NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! THESE RATES WON'T LAST!
GENERATIONAL MARKETING INFO I FIND FASCINATING:
Matures (Ages 65+): Have one more real estate transaction in them!
Baby Boomers (Ages 45-64): Have 3 transaction left. Most are downsizing. Typically haven't been savers but pretty good investors. There are 80 million Boomers.
Gen X (Ages 29-44): They have low birth rates. Not having as many kids as the Boomers. There are 48 million Gen Xrs. They are buying and selling real estate. Very tech oriented.
Millennials (Ages 15-29) (aka Gen Y): These guys will probably have similar habits as the Boomer, however, they will be wiser. They will have more kids than the Gen Xrs. There are 74 million of the Millennials. Very tech oriented.
David Linegar told everyone that agents that are unable to relate to clients with tattoos, piercings, torn jeans, etc, will get left behind when the Millennials start buying and selling! Also, we must be able to communicate to the Gen Xrs and Millennials in the ways THEY want to communicate (text, email, Facebook, etc).
Fortunately, Scott and I are in good shape with this. We are 1st and 5th year Gen Xrs. We have Baby Boomer work ethics but we do the work like Gen Xrs!
Realtors say both sales and rentals at Gulf are brisk at bargain prices Sunday, August 16, 2009 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor
Realtor Steve Neitzel has already sold five condominium units in August and predicts his best months will be this fall.
"We've cut half of our inventory because of the great deals," said Neitzel of Brett Robinson Real Estate in Gulf Shores.
Prices in the current market can be summed up as "what someone is willing to pay," said Neitzel, who sold a large Gulf-front unit in Phoenix 9 in Orange Beach for $700,000, a half-million less than the original asking price.
Summer brought increased sales and rentals at the Gulf, but with sales prices 35 percent to 45 percent less than listing prices of two to three years ago. Most condos have sold from $260 per square foot up to $350 per square foot, Neitzel said.
The rentals were as good as last summer, and agencies said they are gearing up for what's expected to be a busy Labor Day weekend. But like the drop in condo prices, the rental agencies are offering discounts.
"There were more visitors this summer, but folks were taking shorter vacations, and the average daily rate was down," said Sarah Kuzma of Meyer Real Estate in Gulf Shores, which manages rentals for 1,600 condo units and 300 houses at the Gulf.
"It takes more effort," Kuzma said. "We know that once they come and visit, they are hooked."
She said Meyer is offering Labor Day specials - rent a condo unit and stay the third night free or a rent a beach house and get the fourth night free - and for the Shrimp Festival weekend in October will offer to provide a free week's stay for every week booked.
The national reports say folks are willing to travel, but they want a bargain, Kuzma said.
The discounting started last year and has escalated, with reduced rates offered even in the peak rental month of July, according to Bob Stuart, owner of Sugar Sands Realty & Management in Gulf Shores. In the spring, people called to cancel summer reservations, half because one or both spouses lost a job, he said.
Renters bring potential buyers, agents said. For example, many of the buyers that have stayed in the past at one of the 2,057 units managed by Brett Robinson are now buying units due to affordable pricing, according to Neitzel.
Most of the agents at the Gulf are selling properties under $400,000, and many are in the $200,000 range, according to C.B. Brierty of Realty Executives in Gulf Shores. "We've had some good sales this past year. We're not making money like we did in the heyday, but we're working with people who are buyers."
High insurance costs continue to hinder sales, Brierty said. And buyers today can't expect a cash flow from renting their units. "I was working with a couple who were going to pay 50 percent down, and there still was not a cash flow with all the fees."
Most of the sales at Sugar Sands Realty have been at $400,000 or above, according to Stuart.
"We've had a lot of activity from Louisiana," he said. "Where they have traditionally purchased in Destin and Panama City, we're seeing more and more of those folks buy here. Our pricing is better and the property taxes in Florida are a lot higher."
Not everyone is discounting. Developer Larry Wireman has finished his second gulf-front building at Turquoise Place on Alabama 182 in Orange Beach, and plans to start closing the units soon. More than 120 units presold at prices starting around $1.25 million in the 227-unit building.
All but 38 of the 173 units in the first Turquoise tower have sold, he said. The units average 2,300 square feet and start at $1 million and go up.
"We sold several units at full price, some for over $2 million after the first of this year," he added. "People try to compare us to units that are selling for $200 per square foot. We can't sell the units for that."
/cut/3/cBILL STARLING/ Staff PhotographerBeach lovers enjoy the summer sun and surf on the condominium-lined beach at Gulf Shores. Condo sales in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were up in the summer, and rentals were as good if not better than last year, according to Realtors, who hope the upbeat market continues into the fall.
Auctions, distress sales, buyers with cash chipping away at bloated inventory at Gulf, agents say Sunday, August 02, 2009 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor
Condominium prices may be leveling off as auctions, distress sales and buyers with cash are reducing some of the inventory at the Gulf, according to agents.
The recent auction sale of 31 units at Escapes! To The Shores in Orange Beach, which netted more than $12 million, "makes a statement of what our rock-bottom prices are right now," said Tina Maynard of RealtySouth in Orange Beach.
The two- and three-bedroom units sold for under $200 per square foot, which included the 10-percent buyer's premium. That's less than half what comparable properties brought in the hot market just before 2004's Hurricane Ivan.
Some three-bedrooms at Escapes! sold at $168 per square foot. The units sold for $290,000 to $600,000, not including the buyer's premium, at an auction held by The National Auction Group.
The steep monthly maintenance fees at Escapes! - from $1,000 to $1,500 - prevented some people from buying, Maynard said. She and other agents predicted the fees will go down once a homeowners association is formed.
Today's buyers are typically end-users who do not plan to sell for four or five years, and most are looking for a deal, whether it's a foreclosure property or a motivated seller, agents said.
While there are some sales in the $700,000 and up range, most buyers are looking to spend $400,000 or less.
"They are buying with a lot of cash," said Patrick Daily, owner of REMAX of Orange Beach. Daily said he was surprised the Escapes! developers stopped the auction after 31 units sold when there were so many people in the crowd with cash.
"I think the developers took a beating," Daily said. "They wanted $200 per square foot and didn't get it." Still, he said, the buyers got nice, large units with wonderful amenities.
The auction buyers were typical of today's purchasers - educated, even comparing insurance costs at other buildings prior to the auction, he said.
"Everybody is looking for the best quality construction at the best price," Daily said.
"Cash is king, especially with the financial situation going on," said Robbie Jaeger of Meyer Real Estate in Gulf Shores. Most lenders require at least 25 percent down, he said. "The deals are definitely out there."
"We have to get the inventory off the shelf and as the supply is reduced, it will drive prices back up," said Steve Jones of Kaiser Realty in Gulf Shores. But the prices won't be back to the "unreal" high prices of 2005 and 2006, he said.
More families are coming back into the buying market - these are buyers who couldn't afford a unit when the market was hot and prices were high, according to Maynard. "There are still enough people who made wise decisions and can afford to buy."
/cut/3/cBILL STARLING/ Staff PhotographerCondominiums line the beach at Gulf Shores in June. As inventory is reduced, condo prices appear to be leveling off, local Realtors say.
Orange Beach approves design for Gulf-front resort hotel
Thursday, July 23, 2009 By RYAN DEZEMBER Staff Reporter
ORANGE BEACH - Developer K.C. Chiang's designs for a high-rise Gulf-front hotel and convention center won unanimous approval from the Orange Beach City Council, but now the panel must decide if it wants to grant the developer a tax abatement worth tens of millions of dollars to see the project come to fruition.
During a two-hour public hearing Tuesday night that preceded the council's vote on the designs, Chiang said that he and his partners - Chicago-based Centrum Properties and the Wyndham Hotel chain - need Orange Beach to share millions of dollars of revenue generated at the resort to secure their $160 million financing package.
Specifically, they are asking for half the sales and lodgings taxes for up to 30 years as well as the ability to levy additional taxes of up to 4 percent on the resort's rooms and at its restaurants and shops.
Chiang said he and Centrum have a pledge from Bank of America to loan them $110 million, but that arrangement is contingent on the developers raising $50 million in tax-free bonds. Those 30-year bonds, which would be issued through a special tax district set up on the property by the city, would be financed, in large part, by the resort's additional levies and the rebate tax.
The developers' lenders, Chiang said, "want to see more involvement from the city.
"This is something that is a new financial strategy that the financial world is requiring of us today. It's a different method of financing and I really don't have a lot of choice out there in order to make this happen."
Elected officials generally said Tuesday that they were willing to forgo for three decades half of the sales and lodgings tax generated there - estimated by the developer to be more than $30 million - in order to help Chiang realize his vision for the Wyndham & Winfield Resort Hotel and Convention Center.
"Unfortunately, the rules of the game have changed," said Mayor Tony Kennon. "In my research I believe this project can't get approved without abatements. It's just that simple."
Said Councilman Jeff Silvers: "None of us want to give away tax breaks, but what I want to do for our community is capture 50 percent of something instead of zero percent of nothing."
Plans for the Wyndham & Winfield call for nearly 500 hotel rooms housed in towers of 17 and 18 stories, convention seating for 1,200 and a theater that could double as a wedding chapel. There will also be a 20-lane computerized bowling alley to which Chiang said he will try to woo professional tournaments, a pair of restaurants, recreational features ranging from a roof-top tennis courts to a video game arcade and a 6,000-square-foot spa.
Should the council approve the revenue-sharing deal in the coming weeks, Chiang said he would start construction on the 9-acre tract in February. When construction starts Chiang will have to pay somewhere between $4.5 million and $5.5 million on sewer taps, building permits, impact fees and sales taxes on construction materials. The two-year project will create 800 construction jobs, and the resort will employ 300 once it opens, Chiang said.
Chiang, a Mobile businessman, said that all told the project could net Orange Beach more than $88 million in revenue over 30 years even after half of the sales and lodgings tax were refunded to finance the bonds. Chiang also told city officials that he would have financial incentive to repay the bonds, which will carry an interest rate nearly double the 4.76 rate on his $110 million loan, before they mature.
As such, he said he may only need the tax abatement for half the 30 years. City leaders, however, said they will base their decision on sharing revenue for the full 30 years.
New Listing - White Caps 703 - Gulf Front 3 Bedroom in Orange Beach, AL - $374k
We have a National Seashore, a wildlife refuge, hiking trails, gorgeous beaches, golf courses, great tennis, boating, shopping, sailing, jet skiing, snorkeling/diving, biking, theme parks, shelling, surfing, wildlife viewing, spas, museums, restaurants, parasailing, swimming, windsurfing, fishing...... and the list goes on and on. Join us! The Alabama Gulf Coast attracts the investor who is looking for all of this and more...
ORANGE BEACH - K.C. Chiang, a Mobile businessman, this week unveiled detailed plans for a four-star, Gulf-front hotel and convention center that would boast nearly 500 hotel rooms, a 20-lane bowling alley, convention seating for 1,200 and a theater that can double as a wedding chapel.
"The type of clientele we're bringing in are new blood, new revenue, a new kind of (visitor) we have not had," Chiang told the Orange Beach City Council on Tuesday.
On July 21, Chiang and his partners, Chicago-based Centrum Properties and the Wyndham Hotel chain, are scheduled to meet again with city officials to talk about the economic development incentives they believe will be needed to help finance construction.
City Administrator Ken Grimes said Thursday that in preliminary talks with municipal officials, Chiang and his team have said they want to create a special tax district on their 9.3 acres to allow them to collect special levies from customers and for Orange Beach to agree to share some of the sales and lodgings tax the resort generates.
Orange Beach agreed in 2004 to rebate to developers of The Wharf up to $25 million of the taxes generated at that mixed-use project.
City officials are willing to consider the developers' request, Grimes said, in an effort to help the project win financing from hesitant lenders.
"(Banks) are not getting behind projects like they once did," Grimes said. "They're looking for more public-private partnerships."
Proposed for what was once a cluster of 20 beach houses near the city's western edge, the Wyndham & Winfield Resort Hotel and Convention Center is the latest big vision for the property. In 2005, developers won approval to build a 30-story, 387-unit condo tower called Coral Reef.
That tower never came out of the ground and, like several unrealized condo projects along Baldwin County's beaches, has been redrawn as a hotel.
While high-rise hotels require the same type of multimillion-dollar construction loans to build as condo towers, their success is contingent not on luring hundreds of buyers but on finding companies to manage the hotels.
Chiang's project features two towers, one carrying the Wyndham Hotel flag and the other with his own Winfield Resorts brand.
Drawn up by architect Forrest Daniell, who has designed several high-profile projects in Orange Beach and Perdido Key, Fla. - including the Turquoise Place condominiums - the glassy towers share a curvy, three-story base.
Above two levels of parking are most of the resort's amenities and meeting space.
A pair of ballrooms will be able to be joined to create a single, 12,000-square-foot space big enough to hold more than a thousand people.
Beyond adjacent meeting rooms will be a theater to host dinners, performances or weddings. Two restaurants are planned - one fine dining; the other featuring a more casual atmosphere garnished with orchid gardens - as are a pair of retail outlets: a hotel gift shop and a bridal store.
Pools are proposed both indoors and out, and the designs call for rooftop courts for basketball and tennis. The Wyndham Hotel, rising a level above the 17-story Winfield tower, will be topped with a 6,000-square-foot spa.
But the grandest of all the recreational features is the computerized 20-lane bowling alley Chiang said he hopes he can use to lure professional tournaments to town.
The bowling alley, Chiang said, is a "driving force" behind the project, as much as the conference space. The lanes, he said, "will bring in a totally different breed of folks that are money spenders."
Pier into the future: After five years, new Gulf State Park Pier set for July 23 opening
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 By JEFF DUTE Outdoors Editor
Shortly after Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Gulf State Park Pier in September 2004, many fishermen began counting down the time until a new pier would be built.
On Tuesday, Alabama conservation department officials announced that the clock would officially reach 00:00 at 9 a.m. on July 23. That's when Gov. Bob Riley is expected to cut the ribbon to open the 1,520-foot-long pier after more than 18 months of construction and a bid cost of $16.2 million.
"As you know, good things come to those who wait. We had hoped to open the new Gulf State Park Pier this spring, but Mother Nature decided otherwise," state conservation commissioner Barnett Lawley said. "That said, the new pier will be the longest on the Gulf Coast and will reach more than 1,500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.
"This facility will provide unparalleled educational opportunities for students and teachers alike to view and experience first-hand the intricate ecosystem that thrives on Alabama's coast. It will also give Ala bamians and visitors unequaled access to great sightseeing along our beautiful beaches and shore line. The wait will be well worth it."
That also appears to be the sentiment among fishermen who regularly fished the old pier, said David Thornton, who spent 35 years learning to catch fish along its weathered rails. Thornton said he has kept in touch with many of the people who shared those rails with him.
"I think the consensus is that it's been worth the wait," Thornton said. "But it sure has been a long time - more than four years - and that time hasn't gone by quickly.
"The pier will be a very consistent, accessible place to fish and there's a lot of camaraderie that developed over time on the old pier, and it's that social aspect of fishing on the pier that we've been missing, too."
Thornton predicts the pier will open up opportunities to catch fish species that were out of reach for the old pier, which had an end octagon in about 12 feet of water. The new pier's end will be in 26 to 28 feet of water.
"There are a bunch of us who are eager to give a shot and get a taste of what we knew we were missing. The old pier was always a good inshore pier because of the shallow water and there were good pelagic (migratory) opportunities at certain times of the year," he said. "Now, it's like there are two piers out there. We'll still have the good inshore fishing, but we'll also have a whole new pier outside that second (sand) bar."
A "soft opening" is planned a few days before July 23, said the conservation department's chief engineer, Terry Boyd.
"We don't want the governor and a thousand people to be out there and the drink maker doesn't work," Boyd said.
Boyd said parks personnel will begin the process of stocking the concession areas, putting up signs and doing anything else necessary to get the pier ready for fishermen. He added that the state transportation department also must install a stoplight at the intersection of State Park Road and East Beach Boulevard.
"The contractor may still be on site after Friday tying up a few loose odds and ends, but the contractor is not going to be a problem with opening the pier," Boyd said.
Prices to fish the pier have increased across the board, but Gulf State Park assist ant superintendent Trey Myers said it is still a great value.
"The cost of living has had an impact, but the facility is triple what we had with the size of the pier and the amenities out there now," he said. "The cost has gone up on everything, but the pier is still a great value."
Based on the new daily rate of $8, Myers pointed out that the weekly rate of $40 gives the angler two days of free fishing, the monthly rate of $80 results in two weeks free, the $160 semi-annual rate gives four months free and the annual rate of $320 affords a full eight months of free fishing.
Myers said the pier will almost certainly have an impact on the demand for the park's campsites.
"The cabins and cottages stay booked through most of the year, but I'm sure it'll increase the demand on our 496 campsites," Myers said. "With the camp store, new nature center, boat docks and pool and pool house under construction all in the campground, the pier will help re-establish the park as a vacation destination place for people from all over the country."
A review of real estate market conditions and postings of general interest to buyers, sellers, investors and property owners along the Alabama Gulf Coast including Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan
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Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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