Mobile, AL Housing Market 2019: Home Prices, Trends & Forecasts

Mobile AL Real Estate Market 2019 Statistics

If you are looking at buying a house in Mobile, AL as a potential investment opportunity, you must read till the end. Home prices in the Mobile housing market are expected to rise by 4.5% in this year. The Gulf Coast is growing so quickly that it is now called the Third Coast of the U.S. Hot markets on the Gulf Coast include Houston and St. Petersburg. However, smaller cities along the Gulf of Mexico share many of the same, desirable traits without yet having become “hot” markets. And one of these is Mobile, Alabama. Let’s take a look at this city in general before discussing the points in favor of the Mobile AL real estate market.

Mobile, Alabama is home to around 200,000 people. It is the third largest city in Alabama. It is the largest city between New Orleans and St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast. It is the only salt water port in the state. However, the Mobile housing market is larger than this; including the suburbs, the area is home to around four hundred thousand people. Factor in the towns of Daphne and Fairhope, and the Mobile AL real estate market includes well over half a million people and is the second largest metro area in the state of Alabama. Let us now discuss the latest Mobile AL housing market trends and forecasts for 2019 & 2020 and find out why you should invest in this hot market.

Mobile AL Real Estate Market Forecasts 2019 & 2020

The median home value in Mobile is $121,100 on Zillow. Mobile home values have gone up 8.4% over the past year and Zillow’s Mobile AL real estate market prediction is that the prices will rise 4.5% in 2020. The median list price per square foot in Mobile is $99, which is higher than the Mobile Metro average of $99. The median price of homes currently listed in Mobile is $163,000. The median rent price in Mobile is $895, which is lower than the Mobile Metro median of $900.

Mobile AL Real Estate Market Trends

Mobile AL real estate market trends indicate an increase of $2,000 (1%) in median home sales and a 6% rise in median rent per month over the past year. The average price per square foot for this same period fell to $87, down from $94. Trulia has 631 resale and new homes for sale in Mobile, AL, including open houses, and homes in the pre-foreclosure, auction, or bank-owned stages of the foreclosure process.

The median sales price for homes in Mobile for Jan 11 to Apr 10 was $142,000 based on 509 home sales. Average price per square foot for Mobile was $87, a decrease of -7% compared to the same period last year. The median rent per month for apartments in Mobile for Mar 16 to Apr 16 was $950.

Mobile AL Housing Market Statistics

• Average Listing Price: $142,000 (On Trulia)
• Median Rent Per Month: $87
• Median Household Income: $950
• Home Owners: 61%
• Single Residents: 35%
• Median Age: 37
• College Educated: 26%
• Transportation: 99% people commute by car

There are 1,504 homes for sale, ranging from $1.5K to $10M on Realtor.com. Mobile has affordable multi-families. 91 of which were newly listed within the last week. Additionally, there are 235 Mobile AL rental homes, with a range of $395 to $3K per month. The median list price of homes in Mobile, AL was $140.2K in February 2019, trending down -3.3% year-over-year. The median listing price per square foot was $86.

Mobile AL Single Family And Multi-Family Homes

Following the housing market decline in 2007, single family rental properties became favorable options for investors, saving in construction or refurbishment prices. The quick turnaround for an owner to rent out their property means cash flow is almost immediate. Single family rental homes have grown up to 30% within the last three years. Almost all the housing demand in the US in recent years has been filled by single family rental units

As per the data from the real estate company called Neigborhoodscout.com, the median house price in Mobile, AL is $139,251, which indicates that home prices in Mobile, AL are well below the national average for all cities and towns.

Single family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Mobile, accounting for 67.90% of the city’s housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Mobile include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments ( 21.72%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 7.50%), and a few mobile homes or trailers ( 1.53%).

The most prevalent building size and type in Mobile are three and four bedroom dwellings, chiefly found in single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 53.28% owning and 46.72% renting. Currently, there are 1,348 single family homes for sale in Mobile, AL on Zillow. These include upcoming potential listings. Additionally, there are 165 single family homes for rent in Mobile, AL.

Mobile, AL Foreclosures And Bank Owned Homes

The percent of delinquent mortgages in Mobile is 1.1%, which is higher than the national value of 1.1%. With U.S. home values having fallen by more than 20% nationally from their peak in 2007 until their trough in late 2011, many homeowners are now underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than their home is worth. The percent of Mobile homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 16.1%, which is higher than Mobile Metro at 13.5%.

• Homes for Sale in Mobile = 889 (RealtyTrac)
• Recently Sold = 85
• Median List Price = $139,900 (0% ⇑ vs Feb 2018)

There are several properties in Mobile County, AL that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 889. In March 2019, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in Mobile County, AL was 8% higher than the previous month and 40% lower than the same time last year.

Home sales for February 2019 were up 0% compared with the previous month, and down 100% compared with a year ago. The median sales price of a non-distressed home in Mobile, AL was $0. The median sales price of a foreclosure home in Mobile, AL was $0, or 0% higher than non-distressed home sales.

Mobile AL Home Prices And Real Estate Appreciation

Homes have actually lost value in Mobile over the last then years, as home values have seen a decline of 5.65% during the ten year period. In the latest quarter, the real estate appreciation rate data shows Mobile home appreciation rates at 2.16%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 8.92%.

During the latest twelve months, Mobile’s real estate appreciation rate, at 6.55%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Mobile’s real estate appreciation rate has been 2.16%, which annualizes to a rate of 8.92%.

The above statistics on real estate appreciation in Mobile, AL were taken from NeighborhoodScout.com. You can visit their page for more information. Relative to Alabama, their data shows that Mobile’s latest annual real estate appreciation rate is higher than 80% of the other cities and towns in Alabama.

10 Best Neighborhoods In Mobile For Real Estate Investment

There are 165 schools in Mobile, AL. There are 54 elementary schools, 29 middle schools, 26 high schools and 56 private & charter schools. There are 115 neighborhoods in Mobile. Parkhill has a median listing price of $328.2K, making it the most expensive neighborhood. Malibar Heights is the most affordable neighborhood in Mobile, AL, with a median listing price of $115,100.

These are the 10 best neighborhoods in Mobile to invest in real estate because they have the highest real estate appreciation rates (List by Neigborhoodscout.com).

1. N Joachim St / Beauregard St
2. U of South Alabama / Old Shell Rd
3. Country Club Village
4. Crichton
5. Texas St / S Cedar St
6. Howells Ferry Rd / Overlook Rd
7. Magazine
8. Old Shell Rd / N Sage Ave
9. Dauphin St / S Catherine St
10. Old Shell Rd / N Lafayette St

Should You Invest In The Mobile AL Real Estate In 2019?

Investing in real estate is touted as a great way to become wealthy. Is Mobile, AL rental property good for investment? Planning to invest in the Mobile, AL real estate market? Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying a property in Mobile, AL is a good investment? You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for the year ahead.

We have already discussed the Mobile, AL housing market 2019 forecast for answers on why to put resources into this sizzling market. The home prices in the Mobile, AL housing market will be on an upswing all through 2019. The Mobile, AL home prices are expected to rise by 4.5% in 2020. Here are ten real reasons to invest in the Mobile, AL real estate in 2019.

1. The Diverse Economy

Mobile is home to the twelfth largest port in the U.S. It has seen a renaissance of ship building since 2000. There’s an active shipyard on Pinto Island. There are several military contractors at the Mobile Aeroplex; that facility covers 1650 acres and is home to more than seventy companies. As a large metropolitan area, it is home to several hospitals employing more than a thousand people.

This gives Mobile an unemployment rate of around 5%. This is slightly higher than areas like Shelby County but far better than Selma and Prichard. A side benefit of the diverse economy is that the job market doesn’t see booms and busts like cities dependent on tourism or oil.

2. The Large Student Market

The University of South Alabama employs more than five thousand people. Around fifteen thousand students attend the school. Spring Hill College has around 1500 students. The University of Mobile is of similar size. Little schools like Fortis and Remington College dot the area. This creates a large, permanent class of renters for Mobile AL rental properties.

3. The Proportioned Military Market

The military keeps its people on the move, and that leaves most of them to rent instead of buy their homes. The nearly 1000 Coast Guard and other military members at the Aviation Training Center in Mobile create significant demand for Mobile AL rental properties in the area. After all, those coming for aviation training aren’t even going to stay in the area on a two or three year assignment.

4. The Affordable Real Estate

The Mobile AL real estate market is incredibly affordable. The average home value is $120,000. That number includes a lot of older homes. If you include new homes that are a large share of properties for sale, the median home price is around $160,000. You can find high end beachfront properties for sale for less than half a million dollars, almost none of which have a price tag over a million dollars.

5. The Better than Average ROI

The return on investment in the Mobile housing market is better than the state average. The median Alabama rent is less than $800, while the median rent in the city of Mobile is around $900. Note that you’d receive more for a single family detached home than a one or two bedroom apartment. Yet the median home price in the Mobile AL real estate market is 7% less than the state average. This means you’ll see higher ROI from Mobile AL rental properties than rentals elsewhere in the state.

6. The Positive Appreciation Trends

A point in favor of the Mobile housing market is the strong appreciation trend. Their real estate is affordable, but it is going up in value. Appreciation was between 7% and 8% in 2018, and the forecasted appreciation rate for 2019 is around 6%. And the rents demanded for Mobile AL rental properties are expected to go up 6% over the next year, as well.

7. The Complex Economics of the Area

Mobile offers a wide variety of jobs, but the housing market isn’t bid up by a large number of high-paying oil field jobs or high tech firms. This explains why the household income is around $40,000, 13% lower than the state average. This puts the median home price of $120,000 out of range for many residents. The home to price income ratio is greater than 3.1.

This in turn explains why only 55% of residents own their homes; the rental rate in the Mobile AL real estate market is well below the two thirds average for the U.S. This creates significant demand for Mobile AL rental properties that won’t be solved any time soon.

8. The Landlord Friendliness

Alabama like many Southern states is landlord friendly. What is noteworthy is that the state has considered becoming even more so. For example, in 2018, they considered a bill that would make it easier to evict someone who is problematic from a rental unit though they aren’t doing something totally illegal like manufacturing meth in their unit.

State law previously said they could only have 4 curable breaches of the lease in a year, while the proposed rules would have lowered it to just 2 such breaches or else they’d have to move out. Alabama already allows you evict someone in as little as 19 days.

9. The Option to Profit from Short Term Rentals

Mobile, Alabama is a beautiful, beachside community. What makes it unusual is that several Mobile, Alabama suburbs have come to agreements with AirBnB regarding taxes. This means you can rent out Mobile AL rental properties on the beach via short term rentals without worrying about the local government cracking down on you.

10. The Low Taxes

It isn’t what you earn in the Mobile housing market that matters, it is what you keep. Fortunately, taxes are low in the Mobile AL real estate market. Property taxes on owner occupied properties are less than half a percent of assessed value. Without the owner occupied exemption, the property tax rate on Mobile AL rental properties averages 0.77%. The average state and local property tax bill combined is less than a thousand dollars. The state does have a state income tax, but that is lower than the American average, too.

Mobile Alabama Real Estate Investment

Maybe you have done a bit of real estate investing in Mobile, AL but want to take things further and make it into more than a hobby on the side. It’s only wise to think about how you can and should be investing your money. If you invest wisely, you could secure your future. If you are a beginner in the business of cash flow real estate investing, it very important to read good books on real estate.

Most investors naturally gravitate to residential property investment. When looking for the best real estate investments, you should focus on markets with relatively high population and employment growth. Both of them translate into high demand for housing. If housing supply meets housing demand, real estate investors should not miss the opportunity since entry prices of homes remain affordable.

You must also collaborate and learn from savvy real estate investors who have retired early on in their lives by investing in some of the best real estate markets like Mobile, AL. The Mobile housing market combines low property taxes and ongoing carrying costs, good long-term fundamentals, and a favorable market for real estate owners. And this is why you should consider investing in the Mobile, Alabama real estate market.

Buying an investment property is different from buying an owner-occupied home. Investment properties are designed to make money as rentals, which means you must look at it solely as an income producing entity just like any other business.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro you probably realize the most important factor that will determine your success as a Real Estate Investor is your ability to find great real estate investments.

According to real estate experts, buying in a market with increasing prices, low interest, and low availability requires a different approach than buying in a cooler market.

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Best Places In Alabama To Invest In Real Estate

Apart from the Mobile, AL real estate market, you can also invest in the housing market of Birmingham, AL. Birmingham AL real estate market remains among the most affordable markets in the nation, which bodes well for homeowners, investors and renters alike. The median home in Birmingham, Alabama is around $60,000. Compare this to a median home price in Dallas, Texas for around $150,000.

This means real estate investors could by two to three properties in Birmingham for the price of a home in Dallas, sometimes considered one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. You could buy several rental homes in Birmingham for the price of a single property in an expensive market in California.

The next one is the Huntsville real estate market located in the Madison County of Alabama. Huntsville has a population several years younger than average, and a disproportionate number of households here have children. Given the area’s strong economy, they’re seeing people move in for work and their children staying. That alone bolsters the Huntsville Al real estate market long-term.

One perk of the Huntsville Al real estate market is how landlord friendly the area is. The return on your investment in the Huntsville Al housing market suffers if tenants don’t pay the rent for months and you face a costly battle to evict them. Security deposits are limited to one month rent, but if they have pets, there is no limit on the add-on security deposit for pet damage.

A university is a goldmine for real estate investors, since students always rent. There are twelve colleges within fifty miles of Huntsville, Alabama. Alabama A&M, J F Drake State Technical College, and University of Alabama at Huntsville are located in Huntsville proper. The University of Alabama at Huntsville campus alone puts several thousand renters in the Huntsville Al real estate market.

Let us know which real estate markets you consider best for real estate investing! If you need an expert investment advise, you may fill up the form given here. 

One of our investment specialists will get in touch with you to discuss all facets of searching for, buying, and owning a turnkey investment property.

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*Remember, caveat emptor still applies when buying a property anywhere. The information contained in this article was pulled from third party sites mentioned under references. Although the information is believed to be reliable, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or implied, as to whether the information presented is accurate, reliable, or current. All information presented should be independently verified through the references given below. As a general policy, the Norada Real Estate Investments makes no claims or assertions about the future housing market conditions across the US.

References:

About Mobile
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile,_Alabama

Economy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile,_Alabama#Major_industry
https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.al_mobile_msa.htm
http://www2.labor.alabama.gov

Student market
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-south-alabama-1057

Short term rentals
https://www.al.com/news/2018/10/airbnbs_largest_alabama_market.html
https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges-near/alabama/mobile

Landlord friendly
http://www.cloudwillis.com/tag/alabama-evictions-lawyers https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2018/03/post_141.html?__vfz=rtw_top_pages%3D2480300011984

Affordable real estate
https://www.zillow.com/mobile-al/home-values

Good ROI
https://www.zillow.com/mobile-al/home-values
https://www.areavibes.com/mobile-al/real-estate

Military market                                                                                                              http://www.hcdmag.com/military-bases-alabama

Complex economics
https://www.areavibes.com/mobile-al/real-estate

Low taxes
https://taxfoundation.org/state/alabama
https://wallethub.com/edu/t/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416
https://smartasset.com/taxes/alabama-tax-calculator

Appreciation
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Mobile-Alabama                                      https://www.fortunebuilders.com/mobile-al-real-estate-market-trends-analysis-2018

Market Data, Trends and Statistics                                                                                    https://www.zillow.com/mobile-al/home-values                                            https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Mobile-Alabama                                https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Mobile_AL/overview https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/al/mobile/real-estate        https://www.realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/al/mobile-county