Key issues and candidates collide during District 5 debate

Five local organizations came together on Saturday, July 13 to host a Meet the Candidate Forum for Huntsville’s City Council District 5 contest. The meeting was held at St. Luke Christian Church on Sparkman Drive.  The National Coalition of 100 Black Women – Greater Huntsville Area Chapter, 100 Black Men of Greater Huntsville, the League […]

Real Estate Update: To Buy or Not to Buy?

The national real estate market has entered a period of cooling, as the combination of restricted inventory and high interest rates have driven down sales.  According to Redfin, which compiled a four-month report which concluded on June 30th, pending sales have declined an average of five percent over the four months.  Despite this decline in […]

From car wash confessions to legislative lessons: The case for regulating wholesaling in alabama

Recently, I took my car to get cleaned at a local car wash company in town.  The logo on my car sparked a conversation with a young kid checking me in. He wanted to tell me that he was a real estate investor and wholesaler and told me about his recent “deal.” He said unfortunately […]

Huntsville market defies post-pandemic regional bust cycle

The June Mortgage Monitor Report released by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) shows that many of the Southern real estate markets, which saw a boom during the Covid-19 Pandemic, have begun to bust as the pace of buying has slowed and surplus inventory reaches or even exceeds pre-pandemic levels.  Austin, Texas, for example, saw a 0.25% […]

Association of Realtors economic report shows fourth month of consecutive growth

The Alabama Association of Realtors released its Alabama Economic and Real Estate Report for the month of May 2024.  The report shows that home sales across the state have increased for the fourth month in a row, with 5,209 home sales for the month of May. However, this is still down 19.3% from May of […]

Matt Curtis Real Estate named #1 real estate team in Alabama for 5th consecutive year

Huntsville-based Matt Curtis Real Estate has retained its position as Alabama’s leading residential real estate team, earning the title of #1 Real Estate Team in the state for the fifth consecutive year. This recognition comes from the RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand ranking program, which highlights the nation’s top-performing brokerages, teams, and agents. In […]

Federal Reserve Declines to Cut Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve has opted to keep the Federal funds rate within the current range of 5.25 to 5.5%.  Inflation has stubbornly remained above the 2% annual rate that the Federal Reserve set as its target level. Interest rates were at 3.3% for the month of May, remaining virtually unchanged from April, when it stood […]

How large investors are ruining the housing market

The housing market is the least affordable it’s been in decades and politicians are looking for someone to blame. The latest target is large investors. While some large investors are negatively impacting our local Huntsville market, the problems go way beyond this. Lack of housing supply from tightening lending standards from the great recession, deficit […]

HAAR April monthly report indicates strong demand

The Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR) has released their monthly report for the month of April.  This report shows heightened market activity across the ValleyMLS region, which covers the North Alabama counties of Madison, Morgan, Lawrence, Limestone, DeKalb, Etowah, Cherokee, Jackson, and Marshall.  The most dramatic figures from the report centered around new listings, […]

National Association of Realtors updates Multiple Listing Service rules

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has announced that rule changes to Realtor-affiliated Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are to be implemented by August 17.  These rule changes are a part of a $418 million settlement, the final hearing of which is slated for November.  The NAR also updated its extensive FAQ page, in order to […]