Elizabeth Ramsey Cooper-Golden

The art of pricing your home to sell is SO IMPORTANT. While I understand your thoughts on overpricing your home, I'm here to tell you, you are making a HUGE mistake. Go ahead and load the gun in preparation for shooting yourself in the foot.

The days of putting a price on your home because you "need or want that price" are gone. Buyers are much too savvy. After the recent nationwide meltdown of the Real Estate market, buyers are skittish. Rightly so. A good majority of our buyers here in Huntsville are Engineers and Scientists. They make up approximately 80% of my business. Without our stable Engineers, our Real Estate market could be in the tank with so many other cities. Slow and steady growth has seen us through the tough times. Yes, our market is down a bit, but compare us to other areas and we are doing very well.

I work with buyers and hear what they have to say. With a large inventory of homes for sale in Huntsville, it's easy to understand why a buyer would not want to waste their time making offers. Buying and selling is psychological.

Buyers look at dozens of homes and typically can know the market value better than a seller does. Why? They see them all! By the time my buyers make an offer, they are well educated on our Huntsville Real Estate market, from data I have gathered for them from recent sales and by seeing for themselves. Neighborhood comparables are an indicator of market value. It is nearly impossible to convince today's cost-conscious, consumer-savvy buyers to pay more than the housing market says it is worth. Would you? As a Huntsville Buyers Agent, it is the agents job to ensure buyers have all of the data necessary before making their offer, so they can make an educated decision.

Overpricing your home will not only cause it to linger on the market, but will also raise red flags as to why it hasn't sold, when it has been reduced over time to the correct market price.

Let me walk you through some of their thoughts and how overpricing can and will be the loaded gun.

Buyers Point of View

The sellers must be hard to deal with because their home is so overpriced.

They found a similar home that meets their criteria that is priced at market value. Why fight with an unrealistic seller?

The buyers do not want to offend the sellers.

Afraid of being told "NO" by the seller. They can't risk the rejection, or won't.

Afraid of overpaying. What if the housing market continues to decline?

Something is wrong with this house. Look how long it's been on the market!

Oh yeah! Here is a real desperate seller! Look how long it has been on the market and how many times it has been listed. If they just reduced it that much, they'll take this much! (I can smell blood, so prepare yourself for a LOW offer...below market more than likely!)

Realtors Point of View

I am not interested in showing over priced listings to my clients. I do not want to risk losing credibility by taking my buyers to see an over-priced property. If I DO show a clearly overpriced home, it is usually in an attempt to show them how well THE OTHER home is priced.

From a Realtor's point of view, why do I want to fight with the agent that clearly thinks his listing is priced at market, when the numbers prove otherwise. My buyers have "X" amount of time to buy a home. Collectively, we have no time to waste here. If the transaction begins on a negative note, it can more than likely end on one as well. I'll pass.

Sellers: Do your homework

Price your home correctly. Listen to your agent. Listen to our Real Estate Market in Huntsville Alabama. The longer your home lingers, statistically you will sell it for less. The first 30 days are the most important time when listing your home! If you can't list you home for the price you have in mind in today's market, consider waiting.

By ALL means, avoid shooting yourself in the foot by making sure you are working with a qualified Realtor that will price and market your home to get you top dollar, in a timely fashion! Choosing a Huntsville listing agent is the most important step. A good agent may not always tell you want you want to hear. They will tell you what you need to hear!

I love breakfast. A GOOD breakfast. It has always been my favorite meal of the day. I've been searching for another local "non chainy" place to call home when I have a breakfast craving. I don't consider IHOP or Denny's "good". I want atmosphere. I want great service and by golly, I want good food! I have found it. Another Broken Egg Cafe.

Another Broken Egg Cafe is located in Jones Valley in Huntsville, Alabama. The franchise began in Mandeville, Louisiana in 1996. They have slowly spread their wings and I'm SO darn glad they perched here in Huntsville. Much thanks to Buddy and Lori Buckner for opening in our area!

My husband Tim and I headed to Another Broken Egg Cafe last weekend, on a mission to fix my craving for great grits. Upon entering, I fell in love with the charm of the French Country decor. Color splashed walls, colorful tables and great music. The atmosphere was casual enough to "hang out" on a lazy Saturday morning, but formal enough to impress. (If that makes sense).

We chose to sit outside in the courtyard. Our service was spot on, from the moment we walked in the door. Again, so impressive. Be sure to ask for C.C. (otherwise known as Cecelia). Our service was outstanding!

I ordered the Ham and Cheese omelet. It came with country potatoes, but I chose to substitute cheese grits. (no surprise there). My breakfast also came with an English Muffin. Delicious, delicious, delicious! My omelet was very large and more than enough for me.

My bowl of cheese grits was also more than I could finish.

On my next trip, I am trying their Blackberry Grits. Oh yum!

Tim is a bit more adventuresome than I am and he ordered the Southwest Scramble. His plate came with the Country potatoes (that were yummy, I might add). His scramble consisted of chorizo, onions, green chilies and tomatoes, smothered with melted jack and cheddar cheese. It was served with a warm tortilla, guacamole and delicious homemade salsa. Again, large portions and more than enough to fill him up! He thought it was wonderful.

We had the pleasure of meeting a fantastic group of "kids" (anyone under 30 is a kid to me), sitting at the table behind us. They discovered Another Broken Egg Cafe last month and raved about the service and food, consistently being top notch. Lucky for me, they allowed me to photograph their food, lol. From Biscuits and Gravy to Pancakes, again, they give the food a thumbs up! Meet Dee, Samantha, Jeremy and Adam. Three are also actors in a local theatre group here in Huntsville. No wonder they had such outstanding personalities, all 4 did! ;)

Another Broken Egg Cafeis now my favorite breakfast spot. I can't wait to take my clients when I'm showinghomes in Jones Valleyarea. Knowing they will get great food AND great service makes it a no brainer, doesn't it?

They have a wide variety of choices here on their menu. Another Broken Egg Cafe is now serving lunch and dinner as well. I hope you enjoy your experience as much as we did!

According to RealtyTrac's latest foreclosure report for the first quarter of 2009, foreclosures in Madison County have seen a dramatic increase when compared to the same quarter of 2008. The company reported that foreclosure activity in the area increased a whopping 80% quarter over quarter and up 21% from the 4th quarter of 2008.

RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said in a news release regarding the nationwide foreclosure activity spike that occurred during the quarter:

"Since much of this activity was in new foreclosure actions, it suggests that many lenders were holding off on executing foreclosures due to industry moratorium and legislative delays."

When looking at some of the detailed Madison county charts provided via our RealtyTrac membership it lends credence to the theory espoused by Mr Saccacio. Note the almost 200% increase in foreclosure activity in March 2009 compared with the last 12 months on average.

Madison County Foreclosures vs Interest Rates

It is even more interesting to dig a little deeper into the report and get a sense of what market segments are being most affected. Note within the following chart that the market segment that is being the most adversely effected are homes valued at $200k or less, with most of this activity centered within the Huntsville Real Estate metro area.

Madison County Foreclosures vs Market Value

How this will effect home prices in the Huntsville area is yet to be seen, however some due diligence, especially across various price ranges is certainly something we are looking at putting together in the very near future.

To search for homes in Huntsville and all of Madison County, be sure to visit my web site, www.NorthernAlabamaHomes.com I think you will find it to be the best search tool around!

Ashley Estates in Madison Alabama is one of our hidden gems.  Charm. Character. Mountain views.  Green space.  Neighborhood park. Nature.  Minutes from Research Park, Redstone and Bridge Street Town Centre. Sound perfect?  It is! 

Ashley Estates has charming older homes,  larger wooded lots and views to die for!  Homes for sale in Ashley Estates are few and far between.  Many have been updated, while others are waiting for the perfect buyer that wants to create their own masterpiece.

Walk to the neighborhood park.  The kids will love the playground while you sit on the park benches and enjoy the green space. 

Homes don't last long in Ashley Estates and typically the inventory is low. Once you drive through, you will soon discover why.  I took a few photos of some of my favorites for you to enjoy.

Bob Jones High School and Horizon Elementary are just a mere stones throw!  Come see for yourself why Ashley Estates is Madison's hidden gem. 

The average square footage of homes in Ashley Estates ranges from just below 2000 square feet, to near 4000 square feet.  There truly is a home to fit every one's lifestyle!

If you are searching for homes in Madison Alabama, be sure to put Ashley Estates on your tour!  Conveniently located between Slaughter Road and Hughes, off of Eastview Drive.

While the Madison Alabama housing market has been better than most, we did not manage to skate through the housing crisis unscathed. I found the following statistics to be very interesting:

As you will notice, the average days on market for homes in Madison Alabama has nearly doubled, year over year since 2007 and the average list to sale price has dropped slightly. The GREAT news is that our home prices continue to INCREASE. This is very good news for all of us in the Madison area. While are sales are down, our home prices are on the up swing.

February 2007: There were 68 sales, with an average sale price of $245,076. List to sale price average was 98.77 and the average days on market was a mere 59. On February 15, 2007, there were 414 homes available, making our inventory levels at a 6.08 month supply.

February 2008: There were 46 home sales in Madison Alabama, obviously down from previous year. The average sale price was $265,054 with an average list to sale price of 100.06%. The average days on market was 86. On February 15, 2008, there were 395 homes available, making our inventory levels at a 8.59 month supply.

February 2009: There were 35 sales, one up from 2008. The average sale price was $272,504 with an average list to sale price of 95.90%, a 4% drop over 2008. Average days on market was 150. OUCH. On February 15, 2009 there were 363 homes for sale in Madison, making our inventory levels at a 10.37 month supply.

Category - Residential / PropType: Single Family Detached / Area: 05 - MAD CITY LIMITS

Yes, our days on market are up, list to sale price is down but the exciting thing is: OUR HOME PRICES ARE UP! This is great news for our market. So, if you are planning on selling, patience and pricing right are the strategy here. If you are buying, there are plenty of choices right now.