New Construction in Fort Morgan, Alabama

2017 Housing Market

The Beach and Foley saw big jump from 2015 to 2016

Out with the old and in with the new.  Welcome to 2017 and the news of change is slim.  At least as it relates to the housing market, and that's great news here at the beach in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Nationwide, housing prices are forecast to increase around 4.6 per cent.  That number is lower than what we experienced in 2016, when actual numbers show an increase of just more than 7%.

Unemployment is at an 8 year low and interest rates are still low.  First-mortgage rates nationwide averaged around 4.3%.  Locally, first mortgage rates are in the 3's.  That's a good, very affordable rate.

But 2016 ended with the Federal reserve making a .25% rate hike in December.  A few more are forecast for 2017.  (Source: Corelogic) Every rate increase decreases the amount most of us can get financed for. Right now, a quarter point increase raises mortgage payments an average of $25 a month.  That's just a little more than that extra gig of data costs you when you go over your limit!

Here in South Baldwin County - Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Foley, past performance and the future outlook are better than the national outlook. Vacation rentals drive the beach market and 2016 was a banner year. Occupancy rates were higher, for more of the year.

In Foley, the OWA Theme Park Complex will open.  The tournament sports fields, an entertainment and sports complex, hotels, restaurants and a theme park featuring a giant roller coaster, will bring lots of new visitors....and workers ...and money! And that means even more demand for new construction and existing homes and condos.

Predictably, the housing market is fast growing.  Comparison of year end sales figures in South Baldwin County for reported MLS sales bears this out.  And the biggest jump is the amount of money spent in housing - 2016 total sales volume rose from 535.5 million to 737 million.  The number of units rose just 4.7%.  This shows that a lot less lower end units were sold and a lot more higher end homes and condos were sold.  Orange Beach saw a big jump in the number of condos sold between $400K and $750K.  The biggest condo market is usually $300-400K.  Days on Market, which is the time a home stays on the market until the sale is closed, saw basically no change.  These figures are for South Baldwin County, specifically the Foley, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores areas.

If you like real numbers and how they can help you make solid investment decisions, contact the author about your preferred price and location. Dave Harbour is a Realtor with Avast Realty at the Wharf and lives in Orange Beach.  He formerly practiced law in Mississippi and he now specializes in negotiating and closing great deals on real estate in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Foley.

Go to Dave's website to search for beach homes and condos
email Dave
call Dave on his Cell (251)233-3004