In the past 12 months, Wakefield Subdivision has had 9 home sales according the MLS records within the Mobile Area Association of Realtors website. These 9 sales range in property value from $146,000 to $205,000 with most gross living area ranging from 2,084 square feet o 2,450 square feet. All of the homes are 4 bedrooms with 2 or 3 full bathrooms. The days on the market (dom) are mostly under 120 days over the past 12 months. Currently, there are 6 active MLS listings with asking prices ranging from $159,900 to $229,000 and square footage ranging from 2,074 to 2,607 with 3 to 5 bedrooms. Wakefield Subdivision is located off the south side of Airport Boulevard, just past Snow Road, in western Mobile. The Mobile Regional Airport is located only minutes east from this residential development. For appraisal reports, call appraiser Al Cheney at 251-533-2424.

By Albert Marshall Cheney, Alabama Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser
Post Office Box 8888, Mobile, Alabama 36689-0888
For appraisal report inquiry call (251) 533-2424 or email to Albert@CheneyAppraisalServices.com

Periodically, I add photographs from the Mobile Bay Metro Area which consists of the two counties which wrap around Mobile Bay, Baldwin County and Mobile County. These counties offer so much for the residents as well as our visitors. Come and take a journey through my photographs of local people, historical buildings, scenery, and other characteristics which make this Gulf Coast area an interesting place to live and visit!

MOBILE SUNSET FROM BAYWAY DOWNTOWN MOBILE ON 01/17/2013

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN MOBILE SUNSET DOWNTOWN MOBILE, ALABAMA

AUSTAL, DOWNTOWN MOBILE U. S. POSTAL OFFICE DOWNTOWN MOBILE

SEA OATS, DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL WATER TOWER, DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL

DAUPHIN ISLAND, AL BEACH, 08/08/2013 DAUPHIN ISLAND CONDOS, 08/08/2013

GULF SHORES, ALABAMA BEACH GULF SHORES COTTAGES ON THE WATER

Certified Residential Appraiser, Al Cheney, assists buyers and sellers by completing detailed, quality home appraisal reports for only $225 to $275 depending on complexity and location. Before buying or selling a home, call Al Cheney at (251) 533-2424 to find out more about the real estate appraisal process and the special appraisal fee requirements. Visit also http://www.CertifiedAppraiserNames.com/ to find other Certified Appraisers in other southeastern areas.

Coffee County, Alabama Official Website

Billy Cotter Appraisals
531 Boll Weevil Circle
Enterprise, AL 36330

Cities and Towns within Coffee County, Alabama
Elba,  Enterprise, Jack, Kinston, New Brockton

Cheney Appraisal Services, Al Cheney, Mobile, Alabama Real Estate Appraiser, (251) 533-2424, http://www.AlabamaRealEstateAppraisals.com/, provides this information to assist clients and visitors with their real estate appraisal assignments and questions.

“Sandy Oaks” is an older subdivision, about 14+ years, located along the east side of Celeste Road, just south of Radcliff Road, several miles west of U. S. Interstate Highway 65 and about 20-25 minutes northwest of Mobile, Alabama.

The majority of homes, about 70%, were built between 1997 and 2000. Around 25% of the homes were built between 2001 and 2006.

“Sandy Oaks” primarily has homes ranging from 1,800+- square feet to 3,187+- square feet as reported in the online tax records. Most homes, about 72%, will have gross living areas between 1,800 and 2,500 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. Homes with over 2,500 square feet represent around 23% within “Sandy Oaks” and considered over-built for its neighborhood.

As for Saraland’s home values, it appears that median sale prices for homes (sampling size is around 46+ sales) having 1,650 to 2,250 square feet dropped 17% over a 12-month time period.

Home listings are increasing. Twelve months ago, calculations indicate around 17 active listings compared to around 43 active listings today–two and a half times higher! Having this significant increase in active home listings has increased the housing supply time period from 4.4 months to 12.9 months. This time period represents the absorption rate or, how long it will take a homeowner to sell their home if reasonably priced to sell. It now takes three (3) times longer to sell your home based on the available online MLS (multiple listing service) information!

Sales for 1,650 to 2,250 square feet homes has dropped around 43.5% based on inventory analysis calculations. The information indicated 23 closed home sales twelve (12) months ago compared to 10 home sales in the past three (3) months.

For homeowners in the Saraland, Alabama, the bottom line is, hold tight if you can for a few years and the home market should stabilize and maybe increase some but, don’t expect it to be like it was in the past. If you have to sell, consult a Certified Residential Appraiser first so you will have better insight into the property values surrounding your home. Pricing your home correctly will save you so much time. Remember, you are now competing with many other homeowners who are very motivated as well as appealing “short sale” and “foreclosure” offerings.

Al Cheney is a “Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser” who has over 35 years real estate experience within the Mobile Bay Metro Area, Baldwin County and Mobile County of Alabama. You can write Al Cheney at Albert@CheneyAppraisalServices.com or visit http://www.AlabamaRealEstateAppraisals.com/, http://www.CheneyAppraisalServices.com/ or http://www.CertifiedAppraiserNames.com/.

Autauga County, Alabama Official website

Advanced Appraisal Services, LLC
3380 Main Street
Millbrook, AL 36054

Atlas Appraisal Service, Inc.
209 Doster Street
Prattville, AL 36067

KL Homes, Inc.
P. O. Box 681009
Prattville, AL 36068-1009

Southern Home Appraisal Services, Inc.
580 Wetumpka Street
Prattville, AL 36067

Wingard Appraisals
105 Holly Court
Prattville, AL 36066-4903

Cities and Towns within Autauga County, Alabama
Autaugaville, Billingsley, Booth, Millbrook, Prattville, Marbury

Cheney Appraisal Services, Al Cheney, Mobile, Alabama Real Estate Appraiser, (251) 533-2424, http://www.AlabamaRealEstateAppraisals.com/, provides this information to assist clients and visitors with their real estate appraisal assignments and questions.

Montgomery County, Alabama Information

Appraisal Services of Central Alabama
401 Arrowhead Drive
Montgomery, AL 36117-4109

Appraisals Now! Ray Rossell
P. O. Box 230864
Montgomery, AL 36123-0864

Ben Glass & Co., LLC
7111 Halcyon Park Drive, Suite F
Montgomery, AL 36117

Betts Appraisal Services
P. O. Box 11382
Montgomery, AL 36111

Brown Properties
563 George Todd Drive
Montgomery, AL 36117-2233

Chris Dixon & Associates, Inc.
101 Market Place, Suite 600
Montgomery, AL 36117

Community Real Estate Appraisal Services, LLC
35 Creek Court
Montgomery, AL 36117

Finlay & Company
P. O. Box 240764
Montgomery, AL 36124

Hassell Realty
1508 Mulberry Street
Montgomery, AL 36106-1520

Hixon & Associates, LLC
P. O. Box 241293
Montgomery, AL 36124-1293

Ken Green Appraisals
436 Arrowleaf Court
Montgomery, AL 36117

Metro Appraisal Services
P. O. Box 230654
Montgomery, AL 36123

Mike Noble Appraisals
P.O. Box 241014
Montgomery, AL 36124

Montgomery Appraisal Associates, LLC
P. O. Box 11233
Montgomery, AL 36111

Moore Appraisal Services, LLC
2016 Halston Boulevard
Montgomery, AL 36117

Nathan Stephen Appraisal Service
P. O. Box 242236
Montgomery, AL 36124

Phil Bernstein Appraisal Services
P. O. Box 11462
Montgomery, AL 36111

Real Estate Appraisers, LLC
4732 Woodmere Boulevard
Montgomery, AL 36106

River Region Appraisals, LLC
P. O. Box 211061
Montgomery, AL 36121

Shawn Murphy Appraisal Services LLC
8741 Lillington Circle
Montgomery, AL 36117

City of Montgomery, Alabama Information website

Montgomery County Sheriff Official website

Montgomery Public Records website

Cheney Appraisal Services, Al Cheney, Real Estate Appraiser, (251) 533-2424, provides this information to assist clients and visitors with their real estate appraisal assignments and questions.

Chilton County Information

Moore Appraisals
Post Office Box 722
Jemison, AL 35085

Jemison, Alabama Information

Cheney Appraisal Services, Al Cheney, Real Estate Appraiser, (251) 533-2424, provides this information to assist clients and visitors with their real estate appraisal assignments and questions.

Randy Mummert provides appraisal services in North Alabama for Colbert County, Franklin County, Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Madison County, Marshall County and Morgan County.

Randy provides FHA, USDA and Conventional loan services including manufactured housing for Buying or Selling a home, Divorce Settlement, Estate Planning, Primary and Secondary Mortgages and Refinancing, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Removal and Property Tax Issues.

Call (256) 466-9597 and ask Randy Mummert for a quote on your appraisal needs! You may also email Randy at info@getanappraisal.com.

The mailing address is Appraisal Services, Post Office Box 352, 304 4th Ave SE, Decatur, AL 35602. The website is http://www.GetAnAppraisal.com.

Al Cheney’s Comments and Opinions for 29 August 2010.

As a local, born and raised in the Mobile Bay Metro Area, I am sincerely happy that the bubbling crude has finally been capped after 90 days-after 90 days! It is worth repeating since this horrific ecological and environmental disaster should have never lasted this long if it wasn’t for the many faux pas by BP Oil and our own government. They say, the majority of the surface oil has dissipated and now can’t be found. Oh, really? The “on the surface” crude problem is only hiding in the depths of the sea-harming crustaceans, oysters and other seafood for years to come.

And, yes! I do realize that biological organisms will thrive on the raw crude and eventually remove it as a major threat but, this will take a very long time. The damage has already been done and its true damage is still hidden in the depths of the sea. Enormous amounts of crude, damaging dispersants, oil soaked wetlands and sea bottoms are here to stay for decades. A possible ecological disaster lurks beneath the sea and within the wetlands for years to come.

Furthermore, the inappropriate government overreach in shutting down oil rigs (overdramatic and very political), media sensationalism damaging our Gulf Coast tourism, and an already weaken real estate industry has created more negative affects upon Alabama and the other States along the Gulf Coast. Honestly, at this time, the affects of any significant real estate and tourism recoveries are unknown.

The fact is that, a fragile economy and a weakened real estate industry have been further exacerbated by the crude ecological and environmental disaster, and the crude politics of Washington. And, our tourism for this year has been damaged by irresponsible journalism by the media. Even so, the coastline of the Gulf States and its real estate will overcome this adversity and will eventually be less affected by the BP oil spill and the many missteps of Washington. The media needs to practice more responsible journalism and avoid the traps of sensationalism. Sensationalism is not journalism!

Well, our coastal properties along the beaches as well as other properties with gulf views and close to water tributaries will eventually improve over time. For now, the recent past spreading of crude through the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in a deeper real estate market slowdown affecting property values near and along the Gulf Coast. Whether legitimate, or not, many homes located well off water tributaries have also been affected to some degree. It is a real estate market slowdown caused by a fragile economy and the worse oil spill known in North America.

From my standpoint, the negative value affects for homes located off the beaches and the Gulf of Mexico should be negligible as time leads us into the future. When looking back in time, I believe, this catastrophe will reflect “a blip on the radar screen” when focusing only on the 90-day oil spill disaster. Then, there could be the possibility of a more normal level and slight positive return of property values; if a more normal level can be equated with a fragile economy under severe stress.

The fragile economy with high unemployment (9.5% but does not include the people who have given up) and uncertainty will be much more of a future problem for Gulf Coast property values than the BP oil spill. As time leads us into the end of 2010 and into the beginning of 2011, an even more fragile economy and real estate industry might be the result when continuing to implement recessive programs and tactics by the government while banks, entrepreneurs and small businesses mostly sit on the sidelines, “digging in their heels” or “going out of business” sales. Only deregulation and lowering taxes, the cessation of large government spending, small business incentives (get the oil riggers, shrimpers and other parts of the Gulf Coast seafood industry back to work) as well as “just plain honest positive talk” from the current Administration and our government representatives (most of them forget that they work for us) will improve the real estate industry– part of the backbone of America!