Daphne, AL

From 1 - 4 this afternoon you will have the pleasure of touring this perfectly spectacular home. It was custom built and has so many additional surprise features, that you really must see them for yourself. Located in Historic Malbis, it is convenient to the Eastern Shore Mall, and Interstate 10, between Mobile and Pensacola for easy commuting. Come see.

May home sales increased 22 percent over April on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile Metro area.

This typical seasonal bump of 77 homes sold was still some 15 percent lower than sales in May 2008 when 91 houses closed. However, it was better than April's 53 sales in Spanish Fort, Daphne/Lake Forest and Fairhope/Point Clear.

Pending sales have declined slightly with 136 homes under contract, compared to 143 under contract this time last month.

Average sales price and median sales price both rose significantly. But this reflects the type of home selling, not that home prices are increasing across the board. In fact, May marks a milestone: The first and only home over $1 million to close on the Eastern Shore this entire year closed in May.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore in May, 2009:

Total houses for sale: 1,240

Spanish Fort: 141

Daphne: 372

Fairhope: 596

Lake Forest: 137

Pending sales

Total: 136

Spanish Fort: 26

Daphne: 61

Fairhope: 34

Lake Forest: 15

Closed sales for May 2009

Total: 77

Average sales price: $265,549, up from $217,849 in April.

Median sales price: $225,000, up from $206,563 in April

List to sale percentage: 95.89%

Spanish Fort: 18

Daphne: 22

Fairhope: 26

Lake Forest: 8

(Data from the Baldwin County Multiple Listing Service)

Pending home sales increased in the last half of April on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile Metro area.

Overall, home sales declined in April to 53 homes sold in Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope and Point Clear, showing that the housing market is still bobbing through choppy waters. To demonstrate the crests and troughs in sold stats:

January: 40

February: 54

March: 60

Expect better stats in May, with 143 homes under contract in this area, up from the 108 homes that were pending the first part of April. Still, there is a 22-month supply of homes at the current selling rate.

Only 35% of the homes under contract are more than $250,000, while this price range makes up 58% of the homes on the market on the Eastern Shore.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore in April, 2009:

Total houses for sale: 1,210

Spanish Fort: 138

Daphne: 358

Fairhope: 578

Lake Forest: 136

Pending sales

Total: 143

Spanish Fort: 35

Daphne: 57

Fairhope: 34

Lake Forest: 17

Closed sales for March 2009

Total: 53

Average sales price: $217,849, down again from $234,084 in March.

Median sales price: $187,000, down from $206,563 in March

List to sale percentage: 95.49%

Spanish Fort: 9

Daphne: 18

Fairhope: 20

Lake Forest: 6

(Data from the Baldwin County Multiple Listing Service)

We have to look at what we have, not what we had.

That's the advice of Suze Orman, personal financial guru.

What we have are glimmers of better days ahead. The stock market had a bit of a rebound. Nationally, existing home sales in February rose 5.1 percent. And with low interest rates and tax incentives for buyers who haven't owned a home in the last 3 years, it's a super time to make an offer.

Locally, buyer activity has picked up, with more people looking at homes, though that has not yet translated into homes going under contract. Buyers seem to be waiting until it suits their move schedule and they find the best house at the lowest price.

Home sale volume in Spanish Fort, Daphne/Montrose, Lake Forest and Fairhope/Point Clear was little changed in the first quarter of the year. There were 157 sales vs. 162 sales in the last quarter of 2008 and 171 sales in the first quarter of 2008..

Pricing remains soft. Average sales price was $223,575 in the 1^st quarter, compared with $260,838 in the 4^th quarter of 2008. Average sales price was $277,677 in the 1^st quarter of 2008.

The recent average sales price reflects the lack of activity in the $300,000+ range. There are more than 500 homes listed in that price range, but only 31 sold in the 1^st quarter.

Obviously this affects the average sales price, but it also has resulted in depreciation in this price range as an unsettling number of builders lose inventory to foreclosure, and corporate relocation companies dump properties to get them off their books.

You may have read that home prices in 20 major cities fell 19 percent compared to January 2008, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index.

Locally, it appears that prices have dropped 10 percent to 15 percent depending upon the location, age and condition of the house during this recession. Foreclosures aside, distress sales (divorce, estates, etc.), corporate relocation sales and equity heavy sales have set a benchmark in appraisals.

This means as much as you would like to sell your house for a 2005-2007 price, it probably won't appraise for it. And if it doesn't appraise, then the buyer cannot get his loan.

So this is our new reality. This is what we have, as Suze says.

Here's one more look at 1^st quarter numbers:

Fairhope: 59 homes sold with an average price of $242,771, compared with 61 sales with an average price of $312,432 during the same time last year. Homeowners took on average 6% off their list price to sell. Average time to sell: 236 days. Homes on market: 549

Daphne: 47 homes sold with an average price of $305,254. In the first quarter of 2008, 67 homes sold with an average price of $258,690. List-to-sale percentage: 95.37%. Average days on market: 128. There are 367 homes for sale.

Lake Forest: 24 homes sold with an average price of $140,756, compared with 20 sales with an average price of $161,194 the same time last year. Homeowners here only took 3% on average off their list price. Days on market: 147. Homes on market: 132.

Spanish Fort: 27 homes sold with an average price of $231,161. In the first quarter of 2008, 23 homes sold with an average price of $282,572. Days on market: 157 days. There are 132 homes for sale.

(Sales figures are from the Baldwin County Multiple Listing Service.)

March homes sales on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay rose again to 60 homes sold in Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope and Point Clear in January, compared to 54 in February and 40 in January.

Buyers are looking, but that's not materializing into a strong increase in pending sales. As of April 7, 108 homes are under contract, compared to 92 last month and 102 in January.

As the reality of the housing market correction sinks in, over 590 price adjustments -- a few up but most down -- were made in March. Inventory increased to 1,190 homes for sale, up from 1,129 in February.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore in March, 2009:

Total houses for sale: 1,190

Spanish Fort: 134

Daphne: 364

Fairhope: 561

Lake Forest: 131

Pending sales

Total: 108

Spanish Fort: 26

Daphne: 43

Fairhope: 28

Lake Forest: 11

Closed sales for March 2009

Total: 60

Average sales price: $234,084, a healthy increase from $208,019 in February, but much lower than the average in March of last year of $290

Median sales price: $206, 563, another increase from February's $179,950, but again down from March ‘08's $231,750

List to sale percentage: 94.44%

Spanish Fort: 9

Daphne: 18

Fairhope: 24

Lake Forest: 9

(Data from the Baldwin County Multiple Listing Service)