When I first read this I thought maybe the decimal point was in the wrong place. Maybe it should be 18.0 or 1.8%. I honestly was slightly surprised the number was so low. I suppose as homeowners in Mobile and Realtors in Mobile, we should be happy at this news albeit from Zillow. Sometimes I am a little wary of national sites on projecting local facts. You have to, at times, take their data with a grain of salt. But hey, with all the negative headlines today, let's take this as some really good news. Click the link below. This will take you to the Zillow site where you can check data on a number of municipalities nationwide.

Zillow Real Estate Market Reports

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Recently Mayor Sam Jones has directed the city's telecommunications and technology departments to explore the matter of offering free wireless internet service in Downtown Mobile.

"That's something we consider a priority," Jones said. "A lot of people are interested in having broadband access. ... It would be a selling point for Mobile."

Personally I think it's a great idea. We would probably see more people sitting in the parks working on laptops. It would be a great benefit to Realtors showing property downtown. We would have the ability to freely access the Mobile Multiple Listing Service without paying any internet service provider fees. This would be a luxury.

I'm sure there are a number of other benefits to this idea. I'm glad to see Mobile on the forefront. Of course, I am sure there are some negative aspects to offering free wireless service, but I can't think of one while sitting here writing this entry.

Related articles,

Free downtown Mobile wireless eyed

The City Wireless War | Videos on ZDNet

TIME Wireless: The City That Cut the Cord

Bytes From Lev: Renewed Hope for Wireless Cities

Understandably I really didn't think much about it at the time. But within a week an article in the Press-Register addressed this immediate issue. A number of policies are being cancelled or re-written without wind coverage by not only State Farm but other area insurance companies as well. According to an earlier news article "Allstate Insurance Group will cut wind coverage from the policies of up to 9,150 homeowners in Mobile and Baldwin counties by September 2009, the company has told state regulators."

Mobile has not had a major hurricane hit since Katrina in 2005. So why are insurance companies just now deciding to make such cuts? On the national news recently a segment focused on insurance company profits and how they are generating unheard of revenues similiar to those of the oil companies. And to whose expense?

At least the State of Alabama Insurance Commission is beginning to show some interest. Within the past few weeks, Commissioner Jim Ridling and State Senator Ben Brooks have or are meeting with local residents to discuss the problems first hand. According to a recent Press-Register article, "at least 27,000 homeowners' policies have been canceled or stripped of wind coverage in Mobile and Baldwin counties since Ivan." I would expect this number to increase significantly within the next 6-9 months unless the State and Federal government step in and impose stricter guidelines on the insurance industry as a whole.

Hopefully a solution can be agreed upon sooner than later. If not, all of us living along the Gulf Coast will have some difficult challenges to face in finding adequate coverage at a reasonable price.

Related articles;

Have a question for Alabama Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling?

Allstate to cut wind coverage from many area policies

Solution For Gulf Coast Insurance...

Insurance Help May Be On The Way...

The Online Office of Congressman Gene Taylor - State Farm abandons ...

Mobile should be our example

Mr. Skarritt talks about "We in Birmingham spend too much time and resources competing over how the pie will be sliced, rather than working to make the pie bigger. Whether it is suburbs luring car dealers away from Birmingham or Birmingham luring a hospital back, we are just moving the existing pieces around on the board. Mobile has been more successful at bringing in new players.

The city of Birmingham can and should be a leader in that cooperation, but success will require a lot more players to join the team. Folks in the suburbs will have to quit maligning Birmingham and start aligning with the city to promote regional initiatives. Jefferson County is caught up in its own debt crisis, but it still could be a partner in selling the region. Neighboring counties, too, should be involved in bringing jobs to the area.

Mobile has chosen international business as its particular target. "We look at the world as our market," Jones told The News earlier this year. "A lot of our recruitment efforts are international." We should be able to agree on some targets, too, and focus our collective efforts on those businesses.

Birmingham has the institutional intellect, the business muscle and the human capital to lead the state in economic growth. We just need the will to work together to make it happen."

I suppose this is something the city of Mobile should be proud of. But I found one quote Mr. Skarritt cited from Mayor Sam Jones that I disagree with to some extent. "The city's biggest economic development challenge, Mayor Sam Jones told us, is a shortage of downtown property. Everyone wants to be downtown, he said."

Now while I have seen an increased interest in people wanting to move downtown, I don't understand why the city and Mayor Jones haven't done more to make this happen. If he is referring to commercial development and lack of commercial property, then I disagree with his statement. There are plenty of empty commercial spaces in the Mobile Downtown area.

Unfortunately now with the economic downturn nationally, even local developers may have problems securing the necessary financing to purchase, renovate, and lease or resale any buildings in the downtown area. Downtown is slowly evolving. But it would be encouraging for the Mayor, city and county officials, to develop better incentives to bring more commercial and affordable residential spaces to the Downtown area sooner than later.

Then I truly believe Mobile could be an example even more so.

It will be interesting to see if these "solutions" do indeed provide the band aid to the foreclosure problem and whether or not they will help falling home prices. While foreclosures are a problem nationwide, here again, Mobile is in a better position than a lot of cities and the state of Alabama as a whole, is not faring too bad either.

According to Alabama Foreclosure News --

"Compared to last year, the number of Alabama properties that are up for foreclosure has gone down by more than 20%. While this is good news for the economy in general and home owners in particular, it does not bode well for homebuyers who will now find a lesser number of discount properties being put up for sale.

Only 1 property out of 3,251 in Alabama is a foreclosure. Simply put , it means that there are very few foreclosure properties in Alabama. Alabama, which ranked 31st in 2007 now ranks as the 43rd state when it comes to the number of homes being put up for foreclosures."

Obviously Alabama and Mobile will benefit from any assistance provided to halt foreclosures. And to decrease the number of foreclosures will only increase the value of homes again locally.

In closing, I think the future is bright for the Mobile and Alabama real estate markets as long as state and local officials can continue to bring in industries providing higher paying jobs, luring more people to move into the area, and increasing the demand for housing. Now that we have a new administration moving into Washington, I believe the turnaround in the market as a whole, may be sooner than many pundits lead us to believe.

Related articles ---

Fannie, Freddie to modify more mortgages

Citigroup joins FDIC and Morgan Stanley Chase to alleviate ...

Gov't launches sweeping new loan aid effort

The hottest U.S. markets at present are:

Biloxi, MS - 4.9% growth

Salem, OR - 4.7% growth

Bismarck, ND - 4.6% growth

Spokane, WA - 4.4% growth

Yakima, WA - 4.1% growth

Austin, TX - 4.0% growth

Grand Junction, Co - 4.0% growth

Fargo, ND - 4.0% growth

Mobile, AL - 3.9% growth

Albuquerque, NM - 3.5% growth

                          (Biloxi, Mississippi)

Texas

Michigan

Oregon

Alabama

Wisconsin

I really find this interesting data. I can somewhat understand Michigan. With the decline in the automotive industry and the loss of blue collar jobs, I can see where skilled laborers could transfer talent to the Mobile area. I don't really understand the others as much. Maybe snowbirds from Wisconsin are looking into beach property? But why Texas and Oregon? It would be interesting to know the reasons why they may be considering buying property in Mobile. How much money are they planning to spend, and whether it's for investment, commercial interest, or residential property; primary residence or vacation?

There are a number of issues to consider, obviously. As Obama stated in his acceptance speech last night, "the road is a long one". There will be no quick fixes. It will take sacrifices from citizens and focused leadership from a new regime. The blame game is over. It's time to move ahead, strategize and implement working initiatives that will bring change to the current predicaments of a number of american homeowners.

Maybe just the idea of change can bring hope and a brighter outlook and encourage people to loosen their purse strings, both on the real estate front and in the economy in general. The spirit and confidence of the American public has been so discouraged and any signs of hope and change may enlighten some to embrace the "yes, we can" attitude, have a more positive attitude, and push forward through the mire left behind by past political blunders.

On a lighter note, the housing market in the DC area will definitely show an upward trend in the short-term anyway, with a change in administration. It wouldn't surprise me if calls aren't already in process to begin the listing and selling, and also the buying of homes for the new representatives and staff members moving into town. Who knows this could even provide a spark to a number of other areas in the country.

So regardless of your political affiliations, you have to agree sometime change is good. And a motto like "yes, we can", brings encouragement and a sense of enlightenment to those who have been so discouraged for so long.

No so! Here are some interesting recent statistics for Mobile:

The total number of listings currently on the market in Mobile are 3436.

The average list price is $160,787.

The total residential sales since January 1 - 3331

The average sales per month - 370

Average time of house on the market - 88 days this year vs 60 days last year

Average sales price this year vs. last year - $157, 242 vs $140, 851

First I would like to commend the group on developing this futuristic plan for the stability of Mobile. While the plan may be useful in some developments for the future throughout Downtown, Midtown and other areas of the plan's focus, the reality is, the plan was a too broad brush response to community input.

The speakers yesterday did not address priorities, nor did they speak to costs and how these efforts will be paid for. I would have liked to have seen a more specific plan on the steps and timeline necessary to implement the recommendations.

I would have also preferred seeing a plan focused on a smaller area, less than the 10 mile area addressed, and layout doable projects. And furthermore, address the detailed actions and money necessary to achieve these goals. My own opinion is that the plan should have focused on Downtown Mobile, within the Canal, Broad Street, and MLK corridors.  Develop affordable living, green spaces, accessible parking, retail, entertainment and restaurants in that area first. Obviously have some plans for restrictions in place so that the other sections to follow the development process don't go to hell in a hand basket, but focus on one area first.

I honestly believe that as Downtown develops and becomes more viable, the other areas may take care of themselves as long as guidelines are in place to limit the types of developments, housing, and so forth.

For more information on the plan, see:

 Mobile presents plans for dinner cruises, medical research corridor, other ideas

City of Mobile: A Plan for Mobile's Future

 (photo from the NewMobilePlan website)