Mortgage Rates surge as jobs report exceeds expectations, inventory grows in HSV market

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate jumped an incredible 27 basis points Friday morning, following the release of a Labor Department report.  The report showed that the U.S. economy added many more jobs in the month of September, 2024 than had been anticipated, with unemployment falling to 4.1%.  This report is expected to convince […]

Matt Curtis Real Estate welcomes back top agent Melissa Hotz

Matt Curtis Real Estate has announced the return of Melissa Hotz, a seasoned real estate agent with nearly a decade of experience in the North Alabama market. Hotz has successfully sold over 500 homes during her career with the firm. “We’re excited to welcome Melissa back to the Matt Curtis Real Estate team,” said Matt […]

Rent control debate heats up: Why economists warn it could worsen housing crisis

It’s an election year, so there’s a lot of ideas and promises floating around to garner votes and win an election.  This election cycle includes the highly refuted idea of rent control. On one hand, if you’re a renter, rent (and the price of everything) is out of control.  Back before the Fed got involved […]

Alabama real estate market sees cooling trend as mortgage rates drop, report shows

The Alabama Association of Realtors has released their Alabama Economic and Real eState Report for the month of September 2024.  The report summarizes the state of the Alabama real estate market -the average of the entire state, not merely our own Huntsville/Madison County market – as ‘cooling, but robust.’  “As the traditional summer home-buying season […]

Real estate update: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates

In a long-awaited move, the Federal Reserve announced that it has cut the federal funds rate by fifty basis points. The new federal funds rate, which acts as a benchmark for borrowing rates across the economy, is now reduced to 4.8%, the lowest rate since March of 2023. This is the first rate cut since […]

Real Estate market adjusts in anticipation of Fed Reserve cuts 

Interest rates remained flat during the first week of September, slowing down a multi-week decrease that experts attribute to the market preparing for the much-anticipated Federal Reserve cuts expected to be announced at the Fed’s next meeting, on September 18.  “I do believe in anticipation of this cut, most of the reduction has been built […]

How the $418 million NAR settlement will change Real Estate transactions in the Tennessee Valley

As part of the proposed $418M settlement to the NAR lawsuit, there’s going to be a few changes for both buyers and sellers in the TN Valley.  The first big change is that buyer agreements are now required before viewing a home. It’s always been a requirement to go over a RECAD disclosure (even though […]

Real Estate Update: Market primed as interest rates begin to drop

Real estate markets across the United States have begun responding to lowering interest rates.  In the first week of August, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 6.73%. As a result, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications jumped 6.9% over that week, while refinance applications rose 16% over that […]

Details emerge in class action lawsuit against Eclipse Apartments

In March, news broke of a class action lawsuit filed against Huntsville’s Eclipse apartment complex by several tenants. The lawsuit targets the developers and owners of the building, RCP Companies and Willow Bridge Inc., and alleges issues with false fire alarms and flooding at the apartment complex located at 401 Williams Avenue SW. The companies […]

Navigating housing solutions: Huntsville considers Accessory Dwelling Units amid surplus concerns

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), have been a hot topic to help solve the national housing supply crisis of approximately 6 million homes. Housing supply is not easily fixed as it would likely take at least a decade to bridge the gap, assuming we were building at the right pace, which we are not. So with […]