280 Living
• A1 September September 2013 | Volume2013 7 | Issue 1
280Living.com
neighborly news & entertainment
Is this thing on?
Sense of urgency
Sellers regaining leverage in 280 residential real estate market
As work on U.S. 280 intersections kicked into high gear, area residents offered their opinions on ALDOT’s plan.
Opinion page A21
Summer fun
The freedom of summer may have been lost to fall routines, but take one grand look back with our Summer Fun Photo Contest. See the winners inside.
Community page B4
INSIDE Sponsors .......... A4 280 News ......... A6 Business ........... A10 Faith .................. A17 School House ... A18
Mitch Carbonie, Highland Lakes resident and owner of Carbonie Allstate Agency, searched for a buyer for his home for 11 months. He finally found relief in August. Recently, the market has shown a significant upturn, and many others are selling their homes as well. Experts in the area say it may not be long before the U.S. 280 corridor returns to a seller’s market. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
By JEFF THOMPSON
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
Home sales up
22%
– James Harwell Agent, RealtySouth
Opinion ............. A22 Community ...... B7 Sports ............... B15 Calendar ........... B20
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U.S. 280 real estate
‘Houses aren’t returning to the market, and a lot are finally leaving. Time is suddenly of the essence.’
The sour housing market was suffocating Mitch and Brandi Carbonie. A year ago, the couple decided they wanted to build a home more suited to their family’s needs, so they listed their Highland Lakes residence. It’s a beautiful multistory property that features a wooded lot and the distinction of being one of the first houses in the neighborhood. And it just sat there. In 11 months they went through several real estate agents. They were a buyer’s second choice 10 times or more. They even held off on building their dream home
Sale price up
9%
Homes for sale
751
Aug. 15 data compares January through July 2012 to the same period in 2013 and is specific to U.S. 280 markets. Provided by Ginny Willis, president of the Birmingham Association of Realtors and an associate broker with RE/MAX First Choice.
because they had doubts the property would sell at a competitive rate. “When you have a similar property right down the street on a fire sale, why would you pay what we were asking?” Mitch said. It made for a home life marred by the unknown and spent on the floor of a showroom. “It’s horrible,” Brandi said. “We had to have the house show-ready 24/7. Someone would call every night during dinner and ask us to step outside. I hated every second of being in that limbo. I never got used to it.” Unfortunately, it’s been a common refrain. Following the housing market crash, property values on the U.S. 280 corridor fell, and the number of available homes on the
market steadily climbed. It resulted in a wash of inventory and gave buyers ultimate power at the closing table. But this year, things have changed. On the U.S. 280 corridor, the theme of the summer was “sense of urgency.” According to James Harwell, an agent with RealtySouth and vice president of the Birmingham Association of Realtors (BAR), buyers are finding it more difficult to snatch up dream homes at dream rates. “Houses aren’t returning to the market, and a lot are finally leaving,” he said. “Time is suddenly of the essence.”
See REAL ESTATE | page A20