Finally the Alabama Gulf Coast Real Estate Market is Stabilizing. I had a very interesting conversation yesterday with a man who has been a real estate appraiser on the Alabama Gulf Coast for more than 25 years. We were talking about the “bubble” of over-inflated property values in 2005/2006 /2007 and agreed that most buyers who purchased a home during that time are underwater with their loan unless they had a significant down payment. The reality of the whole “bubble” bursting anomaly is the sobering truth that we will never see those peak values again. And honestly we should not want to experience that pretentious quick rise in “value” because we know ultimately that it means a pretty hard crash is coming.
The question that my buyer’s agents and I get asked most frequently is, “Is our market still declining?” That’s a great question and one that keeps prospective buyers “on the fence” and unsure about committing to make an offer. So they look and look and look and never take action until the property that they have had their eye on is gobbled up by someone else and they are left with a sense of regret.
How DO you know the perfect time to buy? Watch the market and look at the numbers closely because they are not subjective. For the Alabama Gulf Coast area, particularly Baldwin County, the numbers are telling us that our market is stabilizing.
· We sold more condos in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in 2011 than we did in 2005.
· Active residential listings in Baldwin County are decreasing
· Residential sales have increased year over year since 2010
· Days On Market are steadily decreasing
My appraiser friend confirmed this by saying, “We’ve seen some stabilization. I’ve seen a little bit of recovery in some categories. I think the smaller, newer homes between 1500 to 1800 square-feet will be the first to recover. People are being more efficient with their money.”
The low prices and low interest rates have allowed out market activity to remain active thus decreasing our inventory and increasing consumer confidence. The last four to five months he has put a check mark in the “stabilized market” box and in the last month he put a check mark next to “increasing value” instead of “declining value” on his appraisal reports.
My broker summed it all up in a nutshell, “Based on an analysis of key areas of the market for single family homes and condos, our market has reached stability. What that means for a buyer is that prices will NOT continue to drop. Stability does not last long because the real estate market is a living thing. Now is the best time to buy. Every month more and more properties are being sold at a faster rate.” So there is proof the Alabama Gulf Coast Real Estate Market is Stabilizing.
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