Montgomery Beats The Housing Slump

Montgomery Housing Market Not In A Slump

The Montgomery Advisor writes, "While Montgomery is showing some signs of slowing, by and large the market here remains strong and homes continue to sell. The reason: Montgomery wasn't on the bubble. According to some estimates, home prices here were as much as 10 percent undervalued at the start of the year."

We didn't get to participate in the run-up, and we are definitely not going to have to participate in the fall-off. Take a look at the July figures for Midtown.

The number of sold single family homes in Midtown Montgomery for July is up 14 percent compared to July 2005. The number of pending listings, which is a leading indicator of the future of the market, has also increased by 27 percent. Market times are relatively unchanged for the same time period.



This is all great news for Montgomery buyers and sellers, but the best news is the increase in the average sales price from $136,105 to $176, 540 or 30 percent.

Information is provided by the Montgomery Area Association of Realtors and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

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Montgomery Public Schools Open

Montgomery Children Are Back to School This Week

With the opening of Montgomery Public Schools this week, we thought we would share convenient links to the public school sites, safety and anything else we can find that is school related.


Montgomery Public Schools - find school calendars, lunch menus, link to individual schools, Board of Education, job openings and more.

Alabama Schools Online - links to all Alabama public schools and institutions of higher learning.

Montgomery Private Schools - list of private schools in Montgomery

Back To School Safety Checklist - by the U.S. consumer Product Safety Commission.

Homework Alabama - Alabama's free live online homework help center.

Alabama Public Library Service - news for Alabama's public library system.

Alabama Public Library Live Homework Help - free live online homework help.

Kids Health - dealing with back to school jitters.

Alabama Homeschooling - comprehensive guide to homeschooling in alabama.

Tags: Montgomery schools open, Montgomery public schools, Montgomery private schools, Alabama homeschooling, Alabama public library offers live homework help,, Alabam homework help center

Mortgage Closing Costs - How High Is Too High?

Closing costs. We all hate them and think it is money down the drain when we are buying a home, but if we are financing our home purchase with a bank loan they are unavoidable.

A closing cost survey comparing costs from 10 lenders in all 50 states was conducted by BankRate.com. The survey ranks Alabama as the 10th most expensive state to obtain a loan. This is up from the number 12 position in 2005.

Lender, title and settlement fees totaled an average of $3,o24. Alabama's costs are #3,189.
The number one position goes to New York with costs totalling $3,887 and Missouri comes in last with $2,713 in costs.

If you in the market for a home contact us so we can counsel you on how to get the lowest closing costs possible!
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Buying or selling a home in Montgomery? Visit our website to view all real estate listings, get the current market value of your home, free reports and more!

Tags: closing costs, mortgage, loan, Bankrate.com, Alabama, New York, Montgomery, buy, sell, home, real estate, listings, Hat Team

Where The High Tech Jobs Are

When looking for high tech jobs, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and New York immediately come to mind. But you might want to consider Montgomery, AL!

Paul Maidment's latest article in Forbes.com sings Montgomery's praises with jobs 'aplenty' and much lower costs of living than the big guys. "A programmer earning $100,000 per year in San Jose, Calif., for example, would only need to earn $61,515 in Montgomery, according to data from ACCRA, a nonprofit that compiles cost-of-living data."

Where are the jobs you ask? Maxwell Air Force base is the computing hub for the Department of Defense and the 754th Electronic Systems Group. Oracle and Dell have offices in Montgomery to support these operations.

"For IT, this is the center of mass for change," says Greg Garcia, director of the 754th. He just moved there a year ago from Tucson, Ariz., and says he loves the schools for his two daughters, the southern hospitality and, of course, how much further his dollars go.

"It's great," he says. "For the price of a house in Boston, you'd get three in Montgomery."

When considering an IT job in Montgomery, visit our website to view all real estate listings, learn about our community and the best real estate Team in town!

Tags: Forbes, Forbes.com, ITMontgomery, Alabama, Maxwell Air Force base, Oracle, Dell, jobs, real estate, relocate, listings, homes for sale, Sandra Nickel, Hat Team