Blog Entries

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle on FOX Business

pshoop@gmail.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle appeared on Fox Business Tuesday morning, where he was interviewed about Huntsville's "bulletproof" economy. The appearance was spurred by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranking Huntsville's No. 1 in its "10 Best Cities for 2009" based largely on solid job opportunities. In the appearance, Battle touted Red [...]

County home sales off 16%

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

2009 lags first half of 2008; totals up for last 2 months

Madison County home sales for the first half of the year were down 16 percent from the same period in 2008, local Realtors reported Tuesday. But home sales have increased for two straight months.

From January through June, 2,083 homes sold in Madison County, compared with 2,488 for the same period last year, according to the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors.

Sales increased 4.2 percent from May [...]

Madison is their kind of town in CNN/Money Top 100 survey

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

The city of Madison may be considered a small town by some standards, but it recently made a big name for itself after being ranked No. 49 in CNN/Money magazine's list of the Top 100 small cities in the United States.

CNN/Money selected the towns, ranging from 8,500 to 50,000 in population, on the basis of their "great schools, affordable homes, low crime" and general appeal.

Mayor Paul Finley said he is "thrilled" and "excited" to have [...]

Huntsville home prices up over year ago

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

For the second straight month, Huntsville home prices have increased, according to newly released data from First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price Index.

Prices here increased 0.84 percent in May compared to a year ago and in April, Huntsville showed an increase of 1.03 percent compared to one year prior, according to First American CoreLogic.

On average, housing prices in Alabama fell 4.51 percent in May and national housing prices dropped [...]

Huntsville Voted #1 2009 best cities by Kiplinger.com

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Talk about a bulletproof economy. This northern Alabama city represents critical mass for the nation's missile-defense and aerospace industries. The medical and life-sciences industries are thriving, too. Thousands of new jobs are pouring into town. With a few exceptions, business in Huntsville is so healthy that Mayor Tommy Battle has a pleasant problem: &q [...]

BRAC funds OK'd by House

pshoop@gmail.com — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:00:00 +0100

The U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday that includes more than $8.7 billion to continue implementing the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision.

That's a $667 million increase from 2008, according to U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville.

In the BRAC plan, the Army Materiel Command, Security Assistance Command will move to Redstone Arsenal from Fort Belvoir, Va. They, along with the bulk of the Missile Defense Agency, the 2nd Recruiting Brigade and increasing helicopter work, ar [...]

Ignore Annual Housing Data -- It's the Monthly Data That Matters to Home Buyers

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:00:00 +0100

For the third straight month, at least 15 of the nation's 20 largest real estate markets showed relative monthly improvement in May 2008, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. I use "relative monthly improvement" as another way of saying that markets are "less worse than they were" and that's good for the housing market (although you wouldn't know it by looking at the headlines).

Instead of pulling the positives out from the data, [...]

Homeowner Tax Rescue Bill

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Opportunity of a Lifetime for first- time home buyers. This one time only chance only lasts until 7-1-09.

First-time homeowner tax credit

The law will extend a tax credit of up to $7,500 to first-time homebuyers. A first-time homebuyer is defined as someone who hasn't owned a home in three years.

The tax credit is for 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,500, but phases out for higher-income homeowners. Homeowners are eligible for the tax c [...]

Inspiration on Green Mountain

pshoop@gmail.com — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Huntsville's First Green Development Reveals Concerns of Green Home Buyers and Developers

The staff at the Huntsville Development, Inspiration on Green Mountain, take the time to detail the primary concerns of buyers and builders [...]

Billion Dollar development Announced for the City of Madison

pshoop@gmail.com — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Madison City Council members approved the re-zoning request last night for Wann Springs.

It's the first step toward completion of the 450-acre development off County Line Road.

This is the first time madison's council has ap [...]

NASA Beefs up Next-Generation Moon Rocket

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00:00 +0100

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - NASA unveiled a beefed-up redesign of a proposed moon rocket Wednesday, saying the Ares V spacecraft that is to carry astronauts to the lunar surface in 12 years will be around 38 stories tall and carry a heftier load than originally planned.

The rocket is to be about 20 feet longer than a previous design and have six main engines at its b [...]

BRAC job moves are ahead of schedule

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON - An official with the U.S. Army Materiel Command headquarters said Monday the move of about 1,000 jobs to Redstone Arsenal over the next few years is "a big deal" for both the command and for Huntsville.

The number of AMC personnel in Huntsville resulting from the latest Base Realignment and Closure relocations has grown from 10 at the first of the year to 23 today, said Ronald Davis Jr., the deputy chief of staff for business transformation, AMC headquarters. "We'll add 23 [...]

Transformation of U.S. Army draws top speakers

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Competitiveness, space exploration, energy innovation and BRAC highlight event

On May 28-29, U.S. Representative Bud Cramer (D-AL) will be convening in Huntsville a top array of national leaders in Huntsville, including Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Bob Corker (R-TN), other members of Congress including Corridor founding Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN) and several of the top U.S. Army officials most important to the national security investments in North Alabama.

Complete infor [...]

Alabama home sales rise in March from previous Month

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Alabama home sales rise in March from previous month, UA real estate center says.

Home sales across Alabama rose 10 percent in March from the previous month, according to the University of Alabama's Center for Real Estate.

The center said 3,951 homes across Alabama sold last month, compared to 3,593 in February. The figure trails by 27 percent last March's, when 5,405 homes were sold statewide.

The number of days an Alabama home that sold in March was on [...]

Realtors, home builders say local market is good

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Despite the national trend,area is strong and growing

Seeking to calm fears about the housing market locally and to highlight the favorable job growth trends, area Realtors and home builders presented their case at a press conference Wednesday.

Among the items highlighted were rising median sale prices in 2008, sellers getting prices near their asking price and a local economy expected to add an estimated 16,000 high-paying jobs in the next five years.

John Allen, preside [...]

Defense industry looks to future

pshoop@gmail.com — Wed, 21 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

AMCOM chiefwants to createlocal engineers

As more military work moves to Huntsville, the defense industry should invest in higher education and not rely totally on the federal government to finance university education programs, a senior leader of Redstone Arsenal said Tuesday.

Creating home-grown engineers and keeping an eye on future needs are two of the most important forward-looking programs local defense leaders can begin today before the 2005 BRAC decisions bring almost 5, [...]

Hudson-led institute promises 900 jobs for city

pshoop@gmail.com — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Huntsville will be the home of a major new biotechnology research institute, led by industry pioneer Jim Hudson and backed by $80 million in private contributions and a $50 million state investment.

At a luncheon today, Gov. Bob Riley, who has called for biotech development in Alabama since he first ran for governor, will announce the establishment of the nonprofit Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.

"With a $50 million commitment from the state, we're gaining [...]

If You're Visiting Rocket City...

pshoop@gmail.com — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Though its name is officially Huntsville, Ala., to those who care about the U.S. Space program, it has long been "Rocket City."

That's because, since 1948, the major research and development programs for U.S. satellites and rockets have been housed at the Redstone Arsenal Army Base there.

Today, at the center of Hunts [...]

No Slow Down Here.

pshoop@gmail.com — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:00:00 +0100

Affordability gives city, state an edge as U.S. market lags

Despite reports of a deflating nationwide housing market, Huntsville and most of Alabama are ticking right along, according to a University of Alabama study.

After declining in July, the Alabama housing market rose 8.2 percent in August, to 5,790 sales from 5,350, the Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center reported this week. Sales of existing homes were still lower than the state's all-time high of 6 [...]

Huntsville and the B.R.A.C. committee

pshoop@gmail.com — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 06:00:00 +0100

Redstone Arsenal could gain more than 1,655 jobs in the Pentagon's 2005 round of base realignments and closures, part of the state's net gain of 2,664 jobs.

Fort Rucker and Anniston Army Depot would gain more than 1,000 jobs each, but Maxwell Air Force Base would lose about 1,251 jobs in the realignment. No major Alabama bases are recommended for closure. The recommendations now go to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which will forward a recommendation to the president [...]