Julie Martin Realtor® Broker Mobile Alabama Real Estate

Mobilians Love Any Good Reason To Take To The Streets

Mardi Gras ended a week and a half ago, and the weather was so beautiful today. It was a perfect day for everyone to head back downtown to The American Cancer Society's Chili-Cookoff. Thousands of people attended, more than 100 teams participated and $248,000 was for the American Cancer Society.

The Chili Cook-Off was in Bienville Park, the Boat Show was at the convention center and the merchants in Downtown Mobile were enjoying the crowds.

Plenty of boats were on our rivers and in the bay with people enjoying the waterways. This is one of those days that reminds me why I live in Mobile.

What is unique about the town or city you live in? What were people doing on this beautiful day?

I have been working on a complete change over of my website www.PortCityRealty.com and while working on the community link page thought it might be some good information to post on localism.com. Also, if anyone that has time to look at the new site and make comments, either here or on the feed back form on the bottom of the site, I would appreciate comments. I am changing from homes.com to point2agent.com after about 10 years with homes.com. It's a major undertaking but I think I am going to like the new site much better, and I'm hoping the search engines can find it. They never could find the homes.com site.

We made another good "TOP" list! Mobile ranks #6! Not only that, but Alabama has 4 of the top 20 Metropolitan Areas With the Highest Rates of House Price Appriciation - according to the Federal Housing Finace Agency News Release. This is page 31 of the report. If someone can tell me how to upload a PDF to this blog I will upload the entire report for anyone that wants to see it.

*Top 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions With Highest Rates of

House Price Appreciation

Percent Change in House Prices with MSA Rankings

Period Ended September 30, 2008

(Estimates use all-transactions HPI which includes purchase and refinance mortgages

MSA National
Ranking**/1-Yr./Qtr./5-Yr.

Austin-Round Rock, TX 1 /5.62/ 1.69 /35.32

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 2 /5.48 /2.00/ 38.97

Rapid City, SD 3 /5.43 /0.74 /29.67

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 4 /5.18/ -1.64/ 43.28

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 5 /5.17/ 1.49 /27.10

Mobile, AL 6/ 4.97/ 2.49 /41.92

Grand Junction, CO 7/ 4.67/ 1.21/ 66.11

Logan, UT-ID 8 /4.55 /1.11/ 34.25

Greenville-Mouldin-Easley, SC 9/ 4.55 /-0.61 /22.63

Decatur, AL 10 /4.21 /-0.48 /22.97

Spartanburg, SC 11/ 4.12 / 2.20 /16.64

Huntsville, AL 12 /4.12 /0.51 /31.51

Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 13 /4.11 /0.80 /20.05

Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 14 /3.93 /0.69 /32.41

Raleigh-Cary, NC 15 /3.84 /0.41 /27.81

Florence, SC 16 /3.74 /-0.30 /22.86

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 17 /3.68 /1.87 /20.38

Macon, GA 18 /3.47 /3.64 /21.51

Lubbock, TX 19 /3.20 /0.62 /18.91

Tuscaloosa, AL 20 /3.14/ -0.14 /28.42

*For composition of metropolitan statistical areas and divisions see http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/20bulletins/fy2008/b08-01.pdf or see FHFA HPI FAQ #7 for more information.

**Note: Rankings based on annual percentage change for all MSAs containing at least 15,000 transactions over the last 10 years.

It's a fabulous party and everyone is invited. If you have never visited Mobile during Mardi Gras you really should come.

It's a really fun tradition. And when I say tradition it really has a lot of tradition involved every year that would not be obvious to visitors. From driving downtown along the same route, to parking in the same area each year to standing in the same spot.

I have friends who watch all the parades under the same oak tree every year, and have for years (I'm sure 20+) Now on Joe Cain Day (the Sunday before Mardi Gras), the Monday before Mardi Gras and on Mardi Gras Day they watch the parade in front of the motel that they stay in first. But then it's to the tree they go to watch the parade two more times (coming and going). You can always find them. They are always in the same place. My daughter texted me last night from the oak tree. There is now a second generation headed to the same oak tree each year.

I have other friends that begin each evening parade at the same bar and then watch the parade on the same corner outside the bar. Others meet in front of other hotels, at the parks, and in front of designated office buildings or parking lots. All around downtown, the crowds are so much more organized than they look like. The riders on the floats know where to look for their friends.

Other Mardi Gras traditions:

Mardi Gras hats! There are some very original Mardi Gras hats out there.

Decorating the motel room. - It's the first thing that is done when the regulars check into
their rooms. Many of the rooms are more decorated than anything you would do at home
for Christmas.

The annual poker game.

Roaming the streets between and after the parades

Visiting with friends that you only see once a year at parades and/or balls

Introducing a new child or grandchild to the festivities, that include corn dogs and moon pies
and Mardi Gras beads.

Actually eating the annual corn dog. Some people actually eat the moon pies.

For a lot of great Mardi Gras in the City of Mobile has great information
http://cityofmobile.org/mardigras.php.

I keep hearing that foreclosures are all an all time high. And some of it is because in the past few years more people than ever before were give the opportunity to own a home - even with no money down. We don't hear about all the people that were given that opportunity and are making their payments and are homeowners because of the opportunity they were given. We hear about the ones that didn't make their payments and are losing their homes.

The other morning on television they were talking about these poor people that lost their home to foreclosure. These details may be a little off, but it went something like this: They bought a house for $250,000, no money down. They refinanced it for $370,000. They got behind on their payments and were foreclosed on. They stripped the house & left it a mess. The anchors sounded like they felt sorry for these poor people that had lost their home. I couldn't help thinking these poor people pulled $120,000 out of their home and made more money than I did last year!

I wish we could get more stories about the people that were given an opportunity to buy homes, even with no money down, are making their payments and are now home owners. I guess that doesn't make a very interesting story on the morning news or in the newspaper.

I would challenge all of you to try to get your local real estate reporter to report on some of these success stories. We live in a great country with a lot of great stories. I think it would be wonderful if we could get that story told by the media. If you have had a buyers in the past few years that were able to buy a home using any low or no money down program, and are now successful home owners send their story to your local paper, call the local TV programs. Try to get a few together. As Paul Harvey would say, Let's see if we can get the media to show the "rest of the story."