Posts Tagged ‘Huntsville’

"Art is a BLAST!" This is the theme of the 28th Annual Panoply Festival in Huntsville, AL. A tradition for the Huntsville area this festival is held every year in the last full weekend of April. Starting at 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 24th, the festival kicks off with an array of exciting activities.

Big Spring International Park in downtown Huntsville is the setting for the weekend extravaganza that includes competitions in photography, visual art, playwright competitions and fiddling as well as Alabama's own local talent. This festival is a favorite of the young and young at heart alike. The wide assemblance of talent and activities is what makes the draw of the crowd well over 100,000 every year.

Artists abound whether it is of the typical type or weaving, pottery sculpture or airbrushing. The artist create masterpieces on site while you watch. "Arts in Action" is a huge draw every year for the crowd that enjoys watching the artists at work. They will be happy to explain their chosen field and answer any questions for the aspiring artists in the crowd. Who knows? You may find your next masterpiece here.

The Arts Central Tent is open for viewing the array of art available all year through the Huntsville Arts Council. They will have brochures listing the year's upcoming shows and special events. Don't forget to enter the drawings for artwork, tickets and other great items.

This is a family fun weekend with kid friendly shows and their own "make-n-take" activities. The wide array of food available will tickle the palate. There are even fun competitions for the food vendors with a "Taste of Panoply". Of course, you know the real winners are the festival goers who get to eat the food. 

Mountain Valley Songwriters Competition will be joining the festival for the 9th year in a row. The competition will be on Saturday and is judged only on the music and lyrics; not the singer's voice. So you may win even if you cannot carry a tune. However, if you want you can have someone else to sing your song for the competition.  Another great feature of the festival is the 10 minute playwright competition. This allows anyone to submit their script for consideration of being produced by a panel of judges. You may be a novice or an established playwright. The theme is determined every year and the winners enjoy their play being produced plus a $50 stipend. 

The Panoply Arts Festival is just what the name implies - a magnificent array of the best in the Huntsville, AL real estate area when it comes to art of all kinds. From face painting for the kids to the different cultures represented, this is one of the most diverse events in the area. The top off every night of the festival are the fireworks which light up the sky with a bevy of colors. Nightly at 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and closing night at 8:00 p.m. this is one of the much anticipated parts of the evening.

It is hard to choose a favorite part of the festival as the whole experience is so much fun. The one thing you will like about the Panoply Festival is it is good wholesome fun for the entire family. So whether you are a new visitor, yearly returning arts fanatic, or a Huntsville, AL home owner, come and enjoy the art, enjoy the food and best of all enjoy yourself!

Making an offer that a seller either just can't refuse or will laugh in your face at the thought sometimes can be a fine line, and you can be assured that your Huntsville Realtor won't want to name that price for you either!  However, you can utilize your Realtor's experience to determine the best price to offer when buying your next Huntsville real estate home.

Here are some thoughts that you may want to take into consideration before making your next offer:

• Is it hot or cold?  the market that is - if you are in the midst of a buyers market (which is pretty much the whole of the United States currently), then you will have less competition and sellers will be more open to your offer since there are less buyers.  However, if you are in a seller's market then the offer needs to usually be no less than list price you may be in a bidding war.  
• Previous Price Tag.  It is very beneficial to find out what the seller bought their Huntsville real estate for originally - in doing so you may be able to adjust what you are willing to pay for their home today due to any appreciation, depreciation or remodeling completed.
• Market trend report.  It would behoove you not to discuss what other homes have sold for in the past six months to see if the home you are considering purchasing is priced right and the sales price that you are about to offer is valid.  An analysis of list price to sales price ratio may be in order.  *Note - you can check out my previous posts that document the Huntsville real estate market trends over the past months.
• History and days on market.  There is a little trick to the trade where realtors sometimes take listings off the market and then resubmit them as a new listing.  This can play with the days on market numbers and make a property look like it's newer on the market that it truly is.  This is important because if the seller has had their home listed many months, they may be more interested in selling their homes and more willing to negotiate with you.

A final note.  Never become emotionally attached to a home before buying it.  In doing so you may find yourself in an "eBay War":  Over-bidding due to Over-excitement! 

For more information on home buying tips, please check back often or bookmark this page for future reference.  You may also visit my website to view all Huntsville real estate than is currently available within the Huntsville and Madison areas.

The Huntsville AL Real Estate market has seen another encouraging month in July 2008, seeing another increase in activity over the previous month per the Northern Alabama Multiple Listing Service (NALMLS).  892 existing single family homes were reported sold by NALMLS within the month of July 2008, versus 870 in June 2008.  The difference between the sale price and the list price was 97.41% versus 97.21% a month earlier (which is very marginal).  The average days on market (DOM) dropped from 102 in June to 101 in July, proving a continuing trend in the reduction in the period of time homes are on the market over the course of the last quarter period of 2008.

Here is a breakdown of various statistics for the past month within Huntsville, AL Real Estate:

If you are interested in learning more about the Huntsville, AL Real Estate market, or are interested in selling your home at the best price possible, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  You can also visit my website for more information and to view all the homes currently for sale.

Steve A. Thomas
Realtor, Associate Broker, ABR
RE/MAX Huntsville/Madison
Cellular: (256) 694-HOME (4663)
Toll Free: (800) 239-4749 Ext. 4945
Fax: (256) 533-1555
E-mail: mail@SteveAThomas.com    
Web sites: http://HuntsvilleHomeSales.com
http://HuntsvilleHomeInfo.com

What a great city we live in!  Today I found out that we are rocking the "WOWW" world!  What's WOWW?!  Wipe Out Wireless Waste, of course!

Since last year, there has been an ongoing competition in conjunction with Keep America Beautiful, where each city, categorized on population numbers, compete to see how many cell phones can be recycled and generate proceeds to local community improvement and revitalization projects.  Huntsville real estate owners, residents and city officials chose the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life as their project recipient.

As of June 30, 2008, Operation Green Team (that's Huntsville's team name) has taken the lead in two categories:  "Most Phones Received" and "Most Based on City Population"!   The contest deadline is November 30, 2008.

So exactly happens to all these wireless phones?  Each phone is shipped to Keep America Beautiful's recycling partner, ReCellular. Those that are still functioning, are refurbished and reused, making it a cheaper way for people both in the U.S. and other countries around the world to have access to a cellular phone.  Non-functional phones are dismantled and recycled and then used within other products such as replacement cell phone parts, automotive bumpers, road barriers, faucets or pipes, jewelry, and aftermarket rechargeable battery packs.

Contact the Green Team at 256-532-CLEAN to find out how you can keep Huntsville’s lead and raise funds for The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

This Huntsville, AL real estate featured area is located in the north-central region of the Huntsville area and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur combined statistical area by the US Census Bureau.  The Meridianville community has a total area of 15.7 square miles, all of which is land.

The most recent Census, being conducted in 2000, showed that there were 4,117 people, 1,492 households, and 1,250 families living within this Huntsville, AL real estate area.  Of the 1,492 households, 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, and 72.8% of them had married couples living together.  The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was just over 3.

The median income for a household in this Huntsville, AL real estate community was $54,766, and the median income for a family was $61,367. Male residents had a median income of $42,274 versus $29,241 for female residents.

Meridianville is an incorporated community within Madison County, Alabama.  Below is the demographic information for this area:

Meridianville, Alabama
Location in Madison County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 34°52′9″N 86°34′42″W / 34.86917, -86.57833
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Madison
Area
- Total	15.7 sq mi (40.5 km²)
- Land	15.7 sq mi (40.5 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	791 ft (241 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	4,117
- Density	262.2/sq mi (101.7/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

More recent Meridianville real estate news, includes 13 single family homes selling in the month of June 2008 with the average listing price of $200,346 and an average selling price of $199,722.  This gives the difference in listing price versus selling price of less than a half of a percent.  The average days on market for each of these homes was 96 days.

For more information on Meridianville, or any other community with the Huntsville, AL real estate area, please contact me any time.  I would be happy to share more detailed information on the highlights of this great area with you.   You can also visit my website to view all the Huntsville, AL homes currently available within Meridianville.   There are also other blogs written about additional Huntsville, AL real estate communities that you can view within my website too (including Hazel Green).

Steve A. Thomas
Realtor, Associate Broker, ABR
RE/MAX Huntsville/Madison
Cellular: (256) 694-HOME (4663)
Toll Free: (800) 239-4749 Ext. 4945
Fax: (256) 533-1555
Email: mail@SteveAThomas.com  
Web sites: http://HuntsvilleAreaHomes.com
http://HuntsvilleHomeSales.com
http://HuntsvilleHomeInfo.com

Hazel Green was named by United States President, Andrew Jackson, after the hazel bushes found alongside the road that were a vibrant green color.  Within Hazel Green there were 1,340 households, as of the 2000 census statistics, of which 46.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, and 19.4% were non-families.  The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.18.  The median age was 33 years, and the median income for a household in the community was $40,263, with the median income for a family being $45,174.

Some of the neighboring towns include Meridianville, New Market, Huntsville, and Tony, AL.  Public schools within Hazel Green are Hazel Green Elementary School (K-5), Meridianville Middle School (6-8) and Hazel Green High School (9-12).

Hazel Green is an incorporated community within Madison County, Alabama.  Below is the demographic information for this area:

Hazel Green, Alabama
Location in Madison County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 34°55′25″N 86°34′1″W / 34.92361, -86.56694
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Madison
Area
- Total	10 sq mi (26 km²)
- Land	10 sq mi (26 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	794 ft (242 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,805
- Density	380.5/sq mi (146.3/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	35750
Area code(s)	256
FIPS code	01-33808
GNIS feature ID	0155094

If you are considering purchasing a home within Hazel Green, AL, here are some statistics on homes within this area (recorded for the period 01/06 - 11/06).

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you'd like some more information surrounding Hazel Green or any area within the Huntsville, Alabama real estate market.