Birmingham-Hoover Real Estate

Next month, FHA financing will see a couple of major changes that will significantly impact buyer borrowers.  Effective April 5th (next month), the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) will increase from 1.75% to 2.25% which increases the loan amount, and as a result the monthly payment.  Add...

This week's mortgage market update, provided by Jimmy Kernan of Regions Mortgage, shows that rates were relatively unchanged, hovering near 5% for conventional 30 year loans.  Weaker than expected economic reports, which drive rates down, were offset on Friday by stronger than expected employment...

Preliminary Birmingham MLS market statistics through February, 2010 are disappointing at best for sellers and realtors but continue to support the notion that this is clearly still a buyer's market with great opportunities and bargains throughout the area.  As a qualifier, these MLS market statis...

The National Association of Realtors recently published its 10 Home Features Buyers Want.  I thought it was meaningful and helpful so I am including it here (not necessarily in order).  1.  Large kitchens with islands. 2.  Two-car garages with three-car garages even more desirable. 3.  Home offic...

Cristina McBreairty of RE / MAX Allied in Windham, ME wrote a great piece on home staging that I am reposting here for my local readers.  In this market, NOT staging isn't really an option with all the choices that buyers have with inventory levels high, especially above $300,000.  For my take o...

This week's Birmingham mortgage market update, provided by Jimmy Kernan of Regions Mortgage, reflects a week of surprising news that has yielded lower rates.  After several weeks of focus on Fed actions and events in foreign markets, domestic economic data was the primary influence on mortgage ma...

This week's Birmingham home sales and listings activity report shows the following (click on link to view properties) for the past week (2/19/2010 - 2/25/2010) for conventional single family residences:   Homes Listed - Jefferson County:      285 units Homes Listed - Shelby County:          107 u...

For purposes of this post, Birmingham luxury houses for sale is defined simply as any conventional single family residence priced above $300,000.  In light of an average price of $143,000 over the past 12 months in this area, homes above $300,000 are considered "premium" relative to the overall m...

This week's mortgage market update, provided by Jimmy Kernan, Vice President of Regions Mortgage here in Birmingham, AL, is for the week ended 2/12/2010.  Global events in China and Greece had a significant impact on US mortgage markets this week.  In addition, the market showed weak demand for 1...

This week's mortgage market update, provided by Jimmy Kernan, Vice President & Mortgage Banking Officer at Regions Mortgage, features economic data for the week ended 2/5/2010.  On Tuesday of next week, Jimmy will provide a mortgage market update for the week ended 2/12/2010.   Concerns about the...