Sometimes the stars align just right and you happen upon the home of your dreams. True, the American Dream of Home Ownership is realized differently for each and every one of us, however if you’re looking for an immaculate truly move-in ready home, on a super large lot, just minutes from the Huntsville City Limits. The bedroom community of Whitt Haven and in particular; 162 Whitfield Drive should definitely  be on your short list of must see homes.

Now I am many things, and yes being a Great Huntsville Realtor® is one of them, however I have had no real aspirations of ever being a Movie Star in any shape or form. Nevertheless , hubby and Michael have really been coaching me to get out there and start sharing some of the events of my everyday life. So what follows is truly just a simple minute or two of my normal daily activity, that can further serve as my personal introduction to this wonderful home:

View more photos and property detail:  MLS# 321206

Compare all Homes For Sale within the: Whitt Haven Subdivision

More Information About: Whitt Haven Neighborhood

It is with great pride and pleasure that I formally  introduce, to all of our readers, a new member of the @Homes team, Michael Bertoldi.

Michael has officially joined the company as the Director of Marketing. A graduate of the University of Alabama, he has a Bachelor of Science  degree in Advertising with a minor in Psychology.

His theory: combining traditional advertising and old school values with the technology of today is in perfect alignment with the ideals behind the @Homes Concept; thus please join me in officially welcoming Michael  on-board.

Not only has Michael gained valuable hands on experience within the advertising industry, he has also just completed his Alabama Real Estate Licensing requirements.

Some of you may already be following his transition into the Real Estate industry, since he is also a guest author on the widely read industry magazine; Agent Genius. In fact one of his first articles for the online magazine has quickly headed up the charts into top 10 most read territory.

-   Congratulations and  Welcome Aboard Michael!

To Good to be True?

Occasionally we run across a deal on a property that appears just too good to be true and honestly often it is.  Either the needed repairs more than make up for the discounted price or the home is in some sort of title dispute, etc.

Nonetheless we have quite a few bargain hunters that frequent our website and utilize our Deal Finder Search to sort out these types of opportunities and yes there are some circumstances surrounding the sale of this Huntsville Home.

MLS# 309974 Home For Sale

But Perhaps Worth a Look

This home is rather large close to 4900 square foot, 4 bedrooms, and 4 bathrooms. Listed at $303,985 one only has to do a little simple elementary school math to realize its listed under $65 a square foot. To top this off it is on 4 acres in a rural setting not far from Madison County Lake with some excellent schools like Riverton Elementary and Middle schools and Buckhorn High School.

If you’d like to schedule a detailed viewing of this home and learn more about this Huntsville Home why not give us a call 256-425-1659 or email to set it up.

- Elizabeth

Thanks for the Phone Call

We received a phone call the other evening from a website user in North Carolina. Their family had been in town over the weekend doing drive-bys and basically just checking out the Huntsville area in anticipation of a possible relocation. We actually had a pretty good time on the phone with lots of laughs, while we continued to cook diner on our end, and they told us how they loved our website, nevertheless they wish they could do this, or perhaps even that, etc, etc.

First of all let me assure you we truly appreciate such phone calls and we welcome suggestions, as well as critiques. While we don’t have a full time person working our websites and we do realize we still have a lot of work to do, we do take our websites rather seriously, and are very conscientiousness in fixing any short-comings and/or adding suggested functionality whenever it is possible.

Anyway, long story short, the basics of the suggestion was:

I want to search by specific builders and sort by subdivision!

Adams Homes,   Breland Homes,  Hunter Homes

Jeff Benton Homes,  Ken McDaniel Homes,  Woodland Homes

Well Here ya Go…

One of our website’s strengths is having a very strong search engine, underneath its presentation layer, that is capable of rapidly executing almost any imaginable  set of search criteria. In fact the capabilities are such that even a dynamically open and close sectional form would be just too cumbersome to realize any real use by the browsing public. You see, when we all surf the web; we want, what we want, and we want it with as few inputs and clicks as possible.

Filling out a form is just something most of us will simply pass-on when presented and from most of the input we have received; we also don’t like zooming in, zooming out, and panning around maps of picture-less icons just to end up getting a simple summary and thumbnail that a one click search can produce a list of.

Nonetheless we have put together a simple @Homes Search by Builder form where you can mix and match your favorite Huntsville Home Builders into segregated search results with optional maps every step of the way. We started with just a small number of specific builders but if you will comment on this post (without phone number or email) we will be happy to consider adding additional builders as well.

- Thanks  Tim

It’s Really a Rough Ride Down There

To follow-up on a couple of Huntsville Real Estate Market posts over the last couple of weeks, we wanted to give readers a brief example of the more volatile market conditions occurring underneath the seemingly calm sales and price averages previously reported in: Huntsville Home Sales and Huntsville Home Prices.

Generally using a year-over-year quarterly comparison broken out in the most popular price-ranges is helpful for this example, however November of 2009 was an aberration in the nominal market cycle due to the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit expiration, thus for this example we will use a comparative 2 month sample of the slowest time of the year December and January.

Even Though The Surface is Smooth Sailing

Utilizing the table above and looking at the %Change columns for the ALL price-range row, we see a -2.4% decline in home sales in the Huntsville Metro Market and 1.2% increase in home prices between the same period this year vs last year. Now that’s pretty smooth sailing by almost any market standard and these are the typical numbers you will see published in the main stream media and by various national and regional Realtor® associations.  …and why not, these are absolutely accurate statistics and answer precisely what the media is asking and wants to know.

Nevertheless if you are a real estate consumer, buyer or seller, the precise detailed information broken out in your price-range and location is absolutely imperative prior to listing your home, if selling, and prior to making an offer on a home, if buying. Yes the chart above is still way too general and this is one of the primary reasons why you should always have personal representation prior to entering any real estate contract negotiation.

If you’re a potential consumer in our market and would like additional details regarding your own price-range and favorite locations please don’t hesitate to give us a call 1-800-531-5907 or simply drop us an email to get the ball rolling.

- Tim

What:

@Homes Open House – Saturday March 6th

When:

Come on out and visit with us on Saturday March 6th from 1:oopm – 3:00pm, and take a close look at a stunning East Limestone County home.

Not a great time for you? Not a problem, just give me a call at 256-975-8402 or email to set up your own personal appointment.

This full brick ranch is in immaculate condition. Located in the small and secluded neighborhood of Cumberland Place between Madison and Athens only 2 miles away from highly regarded East Limestone High School.

View Full Listing Detail

Where:

• Street: 16754 Mulberry Lane
• City: Athens
• State: AL
• Zip: 35613
• Price: $233,900

• 16754 Mulberry Lane , Athens,  AL, 35613
• Directions: From 72w North On East Limestone Road, West On Nick Davis, South Into Cumberland Place, Left On Mulberry Lane

Mountain views, green space, a country feel and just minutes from Huntsville, all with a  convenient commute to Redstone Arsenal and Research Park.  That’s what you will find in the Bedroom Community of Whitt Haven, located between Merdianville and  Toney Alabama.

Whitt Haven Homes For Sale

Upon entering the Whitt Haven neighborhood , you will immediately notice the large lots, many of them wooded.  Towering trees are plentiful. Finally…room to “stretch” in your own yard!  Winding roads, brick mailboxes and a back to nature feel welcomes you home.  When you depart Whitt Haven, soak in the gorgeous mountain views that will surround you.

You can expect predominately brick homes ranging from approximately 2000 square feet to over 4000.  Lots on average range from 1/2 acre to well over 1 acre.  The average sale price in 2009 was $219,167.  Currently, there are several homes for sale in Whitt Haven ranging from $232,000 to $379,000 with an average price per square foot of $98.  Great prices for the Huntsville Real Estate market!

Schools currently zoned for Whitt Haven Neighborhood are Lynn Fanning Elementary serving grades K-5, Merdianville Middle School for grades 6-8  and Hazel Green High School for grades 9-12.

If you are considering relocating to the Huntsville Alabama area or currently live nearby, be  sure to take the time to drive through Whitt Haven.  You’ll be glad you did! If you would like a tour of the neighborhood or more information just give me a call 256-425-1659 or email me and I’ll be happy to assist.

- Elizabeth

This is a lovely home in the small cul-de-sac neighborhood of Mcculley Manor just 2 blocks from East Limestone Middle and High Schools and with an Athens Al address. Lots of hardwood flooring, smooth and trey ceilings with a separate eat-in kitchen and breakfast bar.

View full details -  Compare With Other Neighborhood Homes

Ready to sell and priced right full brick rancher with approximately 2250 square foot of heated living space offered at $191,900, side entry garage, lots of storage space, covered back porch and fenced yard.

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Drive by from Hwy 72 West, right at the Auto Auction, Mcculley Mill, sight on 2nd Camden Ct , the home is on the left. More information or to schedule a showing call me at 256-656-3504 or simply drop me an email.

- Camille

]]> http://athomeshuntsville.com/realestate/2010/03/02/athens-home-for-sale/feed/ 0 http://athomeshuntsville.com/realestate/2010/02/28/huntsville-housing-market-statistics/ http://athomeshuntsville.com/realestate/2010/02/28/huntsville-housing-market-statistics/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:20:45 +0000 Tim http://athomeshuntsville.com/realestate/?p=4539

We often get emails inquiring why our monthly market reports have different numbers than those published in the local media and other sources. Thus from time-to-time we need to remind readers and subscribers how we derive our data and why we take a different approach.

Our Data Set

Yes the housing market statistics we publish on a monthly basis are unique, in that we pull statistics only for Single Family Homes and only those homes within the Huntsville / Madison Metropolitan Area. We pull these statistics monthly, always using the same criteria, and we have several years’ worth of data on hand to generate custom charts and reports.

We do not include Townhomes, Condos, Multi-family units, Mobile Homes, or Homes with farms. Thus our sample set is smaller than those generally published in the media and by the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR) because their data set is generally larger including a wider area (e.g., entire Madison County area) as well as additional property types.

Why We Do This

We take a different approach for several reasons but primarily because this is the market segment that most of our readers are interested in. Also it is the area where our team does most of their business, we live and work in the Huntsville Metro Area thus it is the primary market we serve.

We also feel that given Madison county-wide and even North Alabama region-wide numbers are readily available in the main stream media; our approach actually adds valuable information that is not easily obtainable from other sources. Thus we are not re-publishing reports already distributed, but providing unique content for subscribers of our Huntsville Real Estate Blog. If you like what you read on these pages, why not subscribe now using your favorite reader or easier still via email.

Hope This Helps  – Tim

Four Year Summary

The following chart summarizes Huntsville Average Home Prices over the last four years; January 2006 through January 2010. We utilize average price per-square-foot in this analysis for various reasons, however the most important information to glean from this visualization is how the Huntsville Real Estate Market has weathered  the country’s National Housing Crisis which began in earnest in 2006 and continues to this day. Nationally housing prices peaked in 2005, started a serious decline in early 2007, and by December 30, 2008 the  Case-Shiller home price index had observed and reported the largest housing price drop in the history of the index.

The blue line in the chart above is a 12 month moving average of Huntsville Home Prices throughout this same period. A moving average statistic is helpful in smoothing out the month-to-month volatility that is very common in a seasonal industry such as real estate.  Note that while the Nation, as a whole, was experiencing historical price declines, our local market prices continued a gradual growth upward and in reality was experiencing record high home prices. In fact average prices didn’t peak in our market until the fall of 2008; then experienced moderate price declines in early 2009, and have been basically flat since then as typified in the chart above.

Huntsville Market Not Immune

However this does not mean that Huntsville has been immune from the effects of the Nation’s financial crisis, one only has to take a close look at Elizabeth’s post last week on Huntsville Home Sales to see that our market is much smaller today than when sales peaked in 2006; approximately 30% smaller when measuring the peak sales in 2006 with the peak sales of 2009. If you are a full time real estate professional deriving the majority of your income from this business you are either gaining market share or you are feeling this slump significantly, basically its survival time.

If you are a consumer in this market, things have changed for you as well, there is price volatility underneath this smooth looking and somewhat deceptive price average, in some price ranges there is an abundance of inventory while in others inventory is tight, market conditions change often from neighborhood to neighborhood, thus having up-to-date information and working with a qualified Realtor has never been more important. Many consumers are no longer simply using a Realtor based on a friend’s referal, many sellers and buyers alike are now interviewing multiple agents and making their own personal choices. If you are one of these savvy consumers, Yes we would like an opportunity to earn your business and would certainly welcome a call or email to setup an interview.

- Tim