Birmingham, Ala. was hit hard during the 2008 real estate crash, losing over 50,000 jobs. A city that once had the headquarters of 30 publicly traded companies stationed there now has 12. But, according to The Wall Street Journal,Birmingham is on the comeback trail.
With this comeback comes a rise in the desire for luxury real estate within the city, leading to bidding wars, long searches through tight inventory, and rising home values. Many families looking for homes near the downtown area are finding out the hard way making an offer at or below the asking price is a good way to assure being outbid. As is the case in other hot real estate markets around the country, buyers need to be prepared to get into bidding wars that can end up far above a home's original asking price. The average sale price for homes $800,000 and up was just over $1.1 million in 2015.
Because of these bidding wars, in addition to the fact that the tastes of many young families are trending away from large, extravagant living, many homes in the Birmingham area listed at $2 million and up are spending a long time on the market.
With such a tight inventory, many families have been unable to find the turnkey home they desire, and instead are having to go through lengthy remodeling and renovation processes to get the house they want.