Flood Insurance Affordability Act

~~On March 13, 2014, the United States Senate voted 72-22 to approve the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370). The Senate acted quickly to pass the bill as amended by the House to avoid the need for a conference committee to reconcile any differences. The new bill further reins in and holds the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accountable for the Biggert-Waters implementation issues.

As passed, the bill repeals FEMA’s authority to increase premium rates at time of sale or new flood map, and refunds the excessive premium to those who bought a property before FEMA warned them of the rate increase. The bill limits premium increases to 18% annually on newer properties and 25% for some older ones. Additionally, the bill adds a small assessment on policies until everyone is paying full cost for flood insurance. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law when it arrives at the White House. NAR had urged a swift vote in the Senate

MARKET UPDATE

Market Report

Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope

Pending or Under contract from 3-3-14 to 3-11-14

  • 41      Residential Properties
  • Ave      price $226,314
  • Average      Days 102
  • Average      Price/Sqft. $100

Just Fairhope

Pending or Under contract from 3-3-14 to 3-11-14

  • 13      Residential Properties
  • Average      Price $228,000
  • Average      Days 83
  • Average      Price/Sqft. $110

Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope

Sold from 3-3-14 to 3-11-14

  • 25      Residential Properties
  • Average      Price $426,827( 2 homes sold $1,990,000 and $2,566,000)
  • Average      days on the market 187
  • Average      price/Sqft $125

 

Fairhope

Sold from 3-3-14 to 3-11-14

  • 11      Residential Properties
  • Average      Price $427,000
  • Average      days on the market 145
  • Average      price/sqft $261

 

The market is picking up but it’s an excellent time to buy!

 

Active Spanish Fort Daphne Fairhope Average
Total:  763 115 282 366
Price Per SqFt $116.72 $112.20 $184.00 $147.32
Days on Market 121 121 204 161
Average List Price $364,897 $302,538 $479,597
Pending/UC Spanish Fort Daphne Fairhope Average
Total:  172 23 80 69
Price Per SqFt $109.43 $87.70 $121.08 $103.99
Days on Market 183 172 208 188
Closed since 1/1/13 Spanish Fort Daphne Fairhope Average
Total:  1,516 225 664 627
Price Per SqFt $97.84 $90.25 $117.56 $102.67
List Price % 96.95% 97.53% 95.84% 96.74%
Days on Market 151 142 177 158
Average List Price $274,997 $215,803 $298,033
Average Sale Price $266,611 $208,958 $283,222
Market Update for January 2014