Madison, AL Real Estate Update – November 2009

Welcome to the November 2009 www.MattCurtisRealEstate.com Blog Update!

The biggest update nationally and the Madison, AL Real Estate market is the extension and expansion of the first time home buyer’s tax credit. Contracts must be written by 4/30/10 and close by 7/1/10. First time home buyer’s can receive up to $8000, and existing home buyers can receive up to $6500 of tax free money. For more information, please visit: http://www.realtor.org/home_buyers_and_sellers/2009_first_time_home_buyer_tax_credit.

Another huge update for Madison, AL and for real estate in Madison, AL is the visit from Gov. Riley for a press conference that was held at Bob Jones High School to announce the awarding of a 36 million dollar interest free stimulus package loan to the city of Madison for the purpose of supporting the construction of a new high school. Madison already owns land off of County Line Road in Limestone County in which it plans to build the new Madison City High School on.

For additional information on Madison, AL Real Estate, please visit www.MattCurtisRealEstate.com.

Interest Rate Bottom?

Last month we discussed the possibility of a local housing market bottom. This month, we are unfortunately, going to explore an interest rate bottom.

Last week, the Fed announced at their Federal Open Market Committee meeting that there will be no additional buying of Mortgage Back Security’s, and that they will be rationing out the remaining commitment through the first quarter of 2010. There was some speculation that the Fed would be increasing this amount. Unfortunately, it turned out to be mere speculation.

I know what you’re asking, “What does this mean for interest rates?” Allow me to explain a bit further and then answer. The fed’s purchase of these Mortgage Backed Security Purchases increased the demand for this paper, thereby decreasing the interest rates in the overall market. This has created the historic low rates in the high 4’s over the last few weeks.

So going forward, interest rates are likely to increase. Some are predicting significant increases above 6%. This could result in a ~ $380/month difference on a $400K 30 year loan for an interest rate difference of 6.25% vs 4.75%.

If you’re looking to buy a home within the next year, you might consider contacting me sooner than later…..

P.S. I’ve attached a Short Sale opportunity in this e-mail. If you’re looking for a low maintenance life style or cash flow from an investment, you might consider this home. Call or e-mail me for information on a Short Sale. In short, a lot of investors and buyers consider short sales if they are looking for a great deal on an investment. They’re not for everyone, so call me for more information.

Matt Curtis

NHSP of Year – 2007 & 2008

Nominated as Top 50 Realtor Under Age 30 in US

Senior New Home Sales Professional – Woodland Homes

256.990.7564 (c)

Bottom of the Market???

Quick Story, and then some great information in September’s Real Estate update that you do not want to miss!

Bryce and I took our first football road trip together this weekend (sorry UA and AU fans – it was to Knoxville
http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Curtis/1172746660

During the trip, I ran into some old friends. They asked me where I was living, career, etc. When they found out I was in Real Estate, they asked, “Why don’t you move back to Knoxville? You can sell Real Estate anywhere.”

I went on to explain the benefits of living to Huntsville/Madison from the awards we’ve received to quality of life to the stable economy. You can read about some of these awards here: http://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/resources-matts-archives.asp. When some of the most conservative of economists are predicting depressions, yet are predicting growth for Huntsville, it’s a no brainer on why I have chosen to make Huntsville/Madison my family’s home and why I am investing in Huntsville/Madison.

With that being said, many of my clients tell me, “I know Huntsville/Madison is a great place to live and invest in real estate, but how do I know the best time to invest (i.e. when will we hit the bottom)?”

While no one can predict the exact bottom, we can look for SIGNALS. During the “Top of the Market,” we heard:
-Everyone is buying real estate
-Experts warn that a bubble has developed

Now, we’re seeing other SIGNALS:
-Builder’s Confidence Raises to Highest Level in 1 Year: http://www.cnbc.com/id/32448971
-Huntsville Realtors Association reports Median Sales Price Increase in July:
http://www.huntsvillerealtors.com/share/0709%20HAAR%20Press%20Release.pdf

National Economist Harry Dent has predicted increased migration and growth in southeastern markets. In particular, he is very bullish on North Alabama and Birmingham.

Other experts agree, Madison was recently ranked amongst the top 10 cities in the nation to grow up in:
http://www.usnews.com/listings/americas-10-best-places-to-grow-up/9

Business Week highlights Alabama as a state with projected growth over the next 4 years: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0618_house_worth_2012/2.htm

Housing Prices Up Again: http://www.cnbc.com/id/32550485

Could these be signs that now is the time to buy real estate in Madison, Alabama?
I am here to help you NOT MAKE A MISTAKE and to make good decisions during this economy. Call me today for your free real estate consultation.

Matt Curtis

NHSP of Year – 2007 & 2008

Nominated as Top 50 Realtor in US Under Age 30 – 2009

Senior New Home Sales Professional – Woodland Homes
256.990.7564 (c)

 

 

On the Job with Matt Curtis – Huntsville Times

I was honored to have the Huntsville Times interview me in their featured on the job interview in the Sunday Edition. View the attached photo for the article.

BRAC Update

The Huntsville Times recently reported an update on the progress of the BRAC transfer by interviewing Joe Ritch (Tn Valley BRAC Executive Committee Chairman).

Here’s the stats:

-4700 new positions added by the end of 2011

-700 of those positions were moved here in 2008

-Only ~ 240 BRAC posts are expected to be moved here in 2009.  Ritch commented on 2009 moves by saying, “They now have filled up any available space where they can put people on a temporary basis,” he said.  “The next thing is, we’ve got to have completed buildings in order to accomodate them.” In 2008, construction started on MDA’s 840,000 square foot addition to the Von Braun Complex. Construction also began on the 400,000 square foot Material Command headquarters, which will host ~ 1325 AMC positions and ~ 360 Security Assistance Command jobs.

-There’s been a total of ~ 1600 positions moved to Redstone since 2006.

-The majority of the positions are scheduled to be here in 2010 and 2011, with nearly 1900 positions in 2010 alone!

……Just another reason why 2009’s Buyer’s Market is the time to build your dream home, unless you like competing with 1900 other home buyers……

Matt Curtis

Senior New Home Sales Professional

NHSP of Year – 2007 & 2008

Woodland Homes

256.990.7564 (c)

256.721.9255 (f)

mcurtis@woodlandhomes.com

www.MattCurtisRealEstate.com

Buyer’s Market = Smart Buyers

Human emotion creates opportunities for individuals who can make purchasing and investing decision logically. It’s always amazed me that people in general are unafraid to make investments when the market is reaching its peak, and become fearful when the market is near its bottom. It’s a natural law to the universe. We as individuals have the opportunity to decide which side of the coin we want to invest our money on, when everyone else is competing against the same commodity (whether it be stocks or real estate), or when you can name your reasonable price. History shows us that those who go against the flow reap huge rewards.

To better serve my clients, I constantly read, listen to CDs, and attend seminars. One of the books I am reading now is called, “Shift” by Gary Keller. This book is written for real estate agents to help them make good business decisions during slow downs and to ultimately grown your business. There’s a section in the book on the irony of the buyer’s market. I want to share with you a couple of quotes from the book, that I think will be helpful in evaluating whether this is a good opportunity to invest in real estate.

-”It’s a buyer’s market. By its very name it means buyers should be doing one thing and one thing only – buying.”

-”With so many homes for sale, too many potential buyers buy into the biggest myth of a shift – they think that they can time the market. Believing in this myth results in a false sense that the buyer has all the time in the world. This fixation on finding ‘the greatest deal ever’ clouds their thinking and causes many to miss out on the great deals that are possible.”

-…”the only way to know a market has bottomed or topped out is after it has. In other words perfect timinig is luck.”

-”People who buy in a buyer’s market are the smart ones…..They know they can’t predict the end of a bust, but they can see when a market has fallen considerably.”

-”Has the market dropped enough now to make a sensible purchase? More often than not, when they’re asking this question they are already in the safe zone.”

Some wise words from one of the nations top real estate entrepreneurs. I’ve helped a lot of people (49 to be exact) go against the flow this year. If history repeats itself, they’ll be glad they did.

I helped an investor find a “steal” last week. Here’s what he had to say about the opportunity in the market: “Matt, this is exactly the type of investment we have been looking for. Outstanding job! Thank you for keeping an eye out for us and yes, we will definately provide you referrals.”

Alabama Home Sales Data for August 2008

The Alabama Center for Real Estate (of The University of Alabama) released it’s monthly housing report for August 2008. For the state, we saw a modest price increase of 3.34% from $163,119 to $168,572. However, sales slowed state wide including in the Huntsville area. There were 789 homes purchased in Huntsville in August 2008 versus 983 homes purchased a year ago. The average days on the market state wide increased 15 days from 116 to 131 days. The largest concern came from increased monthly supply from 7.7 months to 10.5 months.

The Huntsville market is seeing an increase in supply, particularly in the $400K + range. Future supply could decrease with continued economic expansion, BRAC transferees, and a decrease in the supply of builders in the area.

This is a great move up market. I am seeing a lot of individuals take advantage of this market. I personally helped 8 clients find new Woodland Homes last month in October. There were 4 new home owners in Walden Preserve and 4 new home owners in Foxfield, the two areas in which I am the on-site realtor. I attribute this activity to homes being priced below the market.  This is an incredible opportunity to take advantage of market conditions to find the home of your dreams for a price that one could only dream about months ago. Move up buyers can take advantage of this market by pricing their home competitively to gain a tremendous amount of equity in a larger home. My resell business is experiencing similiar results. Home owners who are serious about pricing their competitively are seeing quick sales. Over the last couple of months, I have had 3 homes sell for list price or above. This week, I had a listing bring in 3 offers in 1 day (2 of the offers were list price or above).

Favorable Prices + Favorable Interest Rates = A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to Purchase the Home of your Dreams. And if you’re not convinced on the tremendous affect that interest rates have on a home purchase, I have a homework assignment for you. Calculate the payments for a $400,000 home at 6% for 30 years. Now let’s assume, this home decreases in value 5% and rates go up .5% to 6.5%. Now decrease the home value to $360,000 and increase rates 1% to 7%. What is the monthly payment on 30 years for these 3 scenarios? I’ll give you a hint, they’re all within a few dollars (literally) of each other. Here’s a finance calculator for your convenience: http://www.mattcurtisrealestate.com/r_mortgage-calculator_loan.asp

Call me today to find out more information and to begin your dream home search: Matt Curtis 256.990.7564.

Madison County Parade of Homes – Fall 2008

It’s that time of the year again, the Madison County Parade of Homes – Fall 2008.

Here’s the map of the homes that are entered into this year’s parade: http://www.madisoncountyparadeofhomes.com/pages.php?page=04/09/02/6288125

The parade opens up Saturday October 11th and will remain open through Sunday October 19th. Most builders are only open on the weekends. Woodland Homes is open all work to better serve our clients.

Please visit me at the Foxfield Village – one of the highlighted communities in this year’s parade: http://www.madisoncountyparadeofhomes.com/pages.php?page=04/09/02/6271496#FOXFIELD. This community features basement home sites, a 20 Acre Nature Preserve, Resort Style Pool, Clubhouse, & Fitness Center from the $450’s. My builder, Woodland Homes has homes from the 150’s to over 1 Million, so we’re sure to have just what you’re looking for. I’ll see you there!

Please feel free to contact me in regards to your Parade of Homes Questions: 256.990.7564 – Matt Curtis.

Real Estate has become the “Psychological Equivalent of Gold”

We are in an information driven society. One of the ways I serve my clients is by providing the latest ideas and information to help them make informed decisions and investments in real estate.

Realty Times is considering one of the leading information providers in today’s real estate market, which is why I subscribe to this newsletter for my clients.

With today’s uncertainty in currency and the stock market, many investors are looking at tangible investments such as gold and real estate.  This month’s realty times sites the Milken Institute’s advise of investing in gold during economic times of uncertainty: http://realtytimes.com/nl/nlpages46/1homeowners.htm?open&ID=mattcurtis

As your trusted real estate advisor, I appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

Matt Curtis – Senior New Home Sales Professional & NHSP of Year – 2007

Is Real Estate a Good Hedge Against Inflation?

 

There’s a lot of talk and buzz in the market today about inflation. Market experts are concerned that government bailout plans will force the government into issuing new debt (printing more money), which would likely lead to high inflation. I read an article on CNBC that used the term “inflation holocaust:” http://www.cnbc.com/id/27097823.

My financial advisor from Raymond James (who just recently purchased a home from me) and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago about the risks of high inflation and what he recommended investing in during times of high inflation. One of the recommendations he made was real estate.

During my personal development time, I ran across the following article in the National Association of Realtor’s Magazine: inflation-10_082. This article got me even more excited about the personal investments that I am making in real estate during this time, and I hope it motivates you as well!

Please call me today if you’re looking for a trusted real estate advisor: 256.990.7564