About Baldwin County, AL

SouthAlabamaLiving Team's Welcome to the Neighborhood Party in Aspen Creek

Agent Nancy Sebastian helped this family of four find their perfect home in Aspen Creek subdivision in Foley, AL. The SouthAlabamaLiving Real Estate Team welcomes the Whittenborn family to the home “they’ve always belonged in” here in southern Alabama. The Whittenborn’s instantly liked Aspen Creek, because of its central location, being minutes from the beach and it’s quiet setting off of the highway. This Paracel Homes subdivision offers coastal living with hurricane protection; each home is crafted with G0-Bolt rod construction system bringing peace of mind to the homeowner. The Whittenborn’s were drawn to the open floor plan, vaulted ceilings and overall community based setting that Aspen Creek offers.

Search Aspen Creek Subdivision Homes For Sale in Foley, AL

Family, friends and neighbors came to socialize as the Whittenborn’s welcomed them to their new home. The Whittenborn’s two children had neighborhood friends that joined in on the fun. Staycations catered the party, offering barbecue sliders, hors’douvers and an array of cookies. Local vendors joined in on the fun, including loan officer Rob Smith and wife Renee, who contributed to the party and Household Termite and Pest control, offered a special door prize! The winner of the door prize just happened to be a new neighbor of the Whittenborn’s and past client of the SouthAlabamaLiving Team! Fun was had by all and most importantly the Whittenborn’s got to know some of their neighbor’s! The Whittenborn’s truly feel that Aspen Creek is where they belong and would recommend the subdivision to anyone looking to live in Foley, AL.

Do the builders know something we don’t?

When they stick their collective fingers in the air to judge which way the wind blows do they sense economic fair weather ahead or just more of the same?

Judging by what’s happening with the market, national and regional builders are betting that better times are immediately ahead by listing some 68 new homes in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope since January 1.

Sure, some of the homes are not built, but drive through the subdivisions and you will see an outlay of cash for engineering work and utilities. These homes are going to be built.

About 19 percent of the 881 homes for sale on the Eastern Shores of the Mobile, Alabama metro area are new construction. It’s a $40 million bet that things are improving because that’s the value of the new home inventory.

The likely reasons:

n Pent-up demand for new construction after a virtual vacuum of new homes during the height of the Great Recession

n Price: The builders – many of them new – have retooled their price point and the buyers can’t help but notice that you can get a new home that’s cheaper than existing construction. (For example, a custom home with all the bells and whistles under $110/square foot.)

Currently, about 8 percent of the homes for sale are foreclosures or short sales, while in February these distressed properties accounted for almost a quarter of the sales.

In general, February was a solid month for sales, with 77 closings, little changed from the 74 sales this time last year, but up from 63 sales in January.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore:

Total houses for sale: 881

Homes for sale in Spanish Fort AL: 144

Homes for sale in Daphne AL: 283

Homes for sale in Fairhope AL: 454

Pending sales:

Total: 172

Spanish Fort: 22

Daphne: 79

Fairhope: 71

Closed sales for February 2012

Total: 77

Average sale price: $257,094, way up from $175,694 in January and $176,013 in December.

Median sales price: $172,900, again up from $150,000 in January and $160,000 in December.

List to sale percentage: 96.17%, a slight improvement over 96.02% in January and a big improvement over 94.66% in December

Spanish Fort: 9

Daphne: 42

Fairhope: 26

Fairhope homebuyers will be hard pressed to find a better buy, in Fairfield Place or the City of Fairhope for that matter, than 8921 Lakeview Drive! There are several factors that make this a unique listing, the first is the size of lot, which is huge. The new owners could install a swimming pool and still have an incredibly spacious backyard for children to run and play. Second, I think this home has one of nicest, newly remodeled kitchens in town, with huge slabs of vibrant granite, contemporary white cabinetry and sleek stainless steal appliances. The sellers designed the kitchen so that it would be a true congregation point for family and friends. The spacious countertops, create a very long bar top, which is ideal for socializing and there is ample room for a large piece of island furniture, which you will notice in the photographs.

Search Fairfield Place Homes For Sale in Fairhope, AL

Fairhope homebuyers looking for a modest and friendly neighborhood community, will immediately fall in love with Fairfield Place. The subdivision is very easy to navigate and the location is ideal for buyers looking for a nice country setting, yet the convenience of in-town living. Residents are close to schools, shopping, and dining. There are also two entrances to the subdivision, which comes in very handy during the public school year. Fairfield Place is a must see for prospective Fairhope homebuyers, looking for quality custom built homes and a convenient location!

For a private tour of the Fairope homes that match your particular search criteria, please contact the Lead Buyer Specialist for the SouthAlabamaLiving Team, Diana Will, at 251-583-9728.

Intimate Interview with the Sellers of 8921 Lakeview Drive

Okay, most agents probably know about this scam, so this is not really for you. For those who aren't tuned in and especially if you use Craigslist to market your properties, you may need to know that your listing information may be hijacked (photos & description) and posted as a rental property. In my recent occurrence, they also provided a Yahoo email address that included the actual name of the homeowners, which they obviously got from the tax records. That seemed the most disturbing to me.

What they are doing is attempting to collect rent deposits, signing fake leases via electronic means, sending keys through the mail and then the 'renter' shows up at said property ready to move in only to find they have been scammed. Not a happy day if everything you own is in the moving truck in front of the house.

A couple of noteworthy things to mention. The monthly rental amount seems to be less than the market would actually warrant, which is a bit of a giveaway. Of course the 'renter' should be more cautious about sending large amounts of money to a strangers on mere trust, just because they seem legit.

Obviously the most harm are to those people looking for a place to live, but my seller was rather upset when a gentleman showed up at her door because he saw the rental ad and was interested. She felt a little victimized.

I have been told that the FBI has been involved in some of these cases, but I cannot confirm that. It is just another day in the life of being on this planet. I did my part and reported it, but perhaps I will disclose this to future sellers up front just in case. I do like to use Craigslist and I get showings from it and I like to post my open houses there.

January 2012 home sales were typically down from December 2011 sales, but pending sales are improved over last month and January of last year.

Homes going under contract in Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope stood at 170, while only 140 were under contract after the first week in December and only 146 this time last year.

Who are these buyers? My experience is that it’s a good mix of tranferees and renters who have been sitting on the fence for quite some time.

The average sales price remained largely unchanged. All good news for the real estate market on the Eastern Shore of the Mobile, Alabama metro area.

Here are the stats for the Eastern Shore:

Total houses for sale: 861

Homes for sale in Spanish Fort AL: 143

Homes for sale in Daphne AL: 281

Homes for sale in Fairhope AL: 437

Pending sales:

Total: 170

Spanish Fort: 22

Daphne: 90

Fairhope: 58

Closed sales for January 2012

Total: 63

Average sale price, $175,694, down from $176,013 in December, and $196,791 in November and $197,251 in October

Median sales price: $150,000 down from $160,000 in December, $163,100 in November.

List to sale percentage: 96.02% in January, an improvement over 94.66% in December

Spanish Fort: 8

Daphne: 35

Fairhope: 20