The “H” family has successfully sold their midtown Montgomery, AL home in a historically slow market. They are in the driver’s seat now.  There are some good real estate deals to be had. They’ve got the dough.

Out of all options laid out before them, they chose a home in the Sturbridge neighborhood in East Montgomery.

I was just curious.  So I asked them.  Here’s why. . .

1) “Well, I hate to say this as my #1, but we got a really great deal on this house in Sturbridge. When you add up the square footage, the age of the home (built in the 1990’s, a lot newer than our mid town home was) – it was just a great buy.  It had been on the market for a long time – maybe other buyers couldn’t see past the dirty carpet.  It needed a little cleaning, but we were glad to do it for the price we paid!”

2)   “Sturbridge’s location: it is in East Montgomery, but it’s still close to the rest of Montgomery.  It’s so easy to hop in and out of the neighborhood.  I can get to Target, Publix, the dry cleaners, Jalapeno’s Mexican restaurant and I-85 in about 5 minutes.  We made the leap from ‘Midtown’ to ‘East Montgomery’ knowing that some things like church and school would be a little farther from the new home than the old home, but Sturbridge is still a really conveniently situated place.

3) “The location of our house within Sturbridge was a big deal.  It’s at the end of a cul-de-sac on a street that dead ends into the neighborhood playground.  We feel comfortable letting our kids play with neighbors up and down the street.  Because its a dead end street, there’s not much traffic, and like I said, at the end of our street is a playground, the neighborhood clubhouse and pool, plus a huge green space for the kids to play in.  Not a bad place to be.”

Thanks for sharing your story, H family!  Enjoy your new home and new part of town. Anyone else have a story to tell . . . . ?

If you’d like to know more about Sturbridge, or any East Montgomery neighborhood, give us a call.  We can show you any property in the Montgomery Area MLS, and we’d love to help you find your next home!
Click here for another family’s story about choosing a home in Sturbridge.

Did you see this article in the Montgomery Advertiser a few days ago?   Click on the following title to read the entire article:  Montgomery Area Home Sales Continue to Fall.

It reports that “home sales in Montgomery area declined for the 24th straight month in April, but the number of houses on the market dropped to one of the lowest levels in more than two years.”

So what’s that mean for us?  Well, we have to start beating prior year’s sales in order to have prices rise again.

I read a really good article on a Better Homes & Garden’s home blog about this subject. A guy named Nikolai Kolding studied sales from across the country, over a decade or so and concluded that rises or falls in average home prices were preceded by rises / falls in # of homes closed.

The number of sales was compared by seeing if, for example, April 09 beat April 08 in number of homes sold. That, to me, is a critical finding, and it is something that you can apply locally. So many of these macroeconomic statistics are hard to apply to the Montgomery area, but I am watching current year vs. prior year very closely.

Check back soon for the most recent Montgomery Area MLS “sold” statistics.  If you’d like more conversation about this topic, comment below or give me a call at the number at the top of the page. I’d love to talk about with you, and I’d love to help you with the home-buying process.

Here’s the video tour for a home we listed today in the Sturbridge Plantation neighborhood in east Montgomery, AL.  It was built in 2004, and is in the back of Sturbridge in “The Heritage” section.  Click here for the Google map.

Our favorite things about this house:

1) the huge, WOODED lot

2) the “friends” entrance on the side by the kitchen

3) the enlarged shaded back patio

4) the upgraded kitchen, and

5) the hardwood floors downstairs.

Another plus . . . if you’ll check out the proposed zoning maps for the new public schools -  Wilson Elementary and Carr Jr. High – you’ll see that Sturbridge is expected to fall within the new Wilson/Carr  school zone. (The final zoning maps have not been approved as of today, March 31, but a decision is expected in April.  All buyers should confirm their home’s zoning with the MPS office before completing the transaction.)

We’d love to show off this great home, so contact us or call us at the number above for more information and to set up a tour.

Mature trees and landscaping

Shady back yard.

Outdoor living space with brick patio.

Family room.

Kitchen has island and upgraded appliances.

Spacious master bedroom.