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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
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Graphic by Melanie Viering
Source: Greater Alabama MLS
Home sales in the U.S. 280 corridor in north Shelby County climbed 13% in 2024, but that didn’t mean a strong year for everyone in the housing industry.
In fact, it was a difficult year for many as the inventory of homes for sale remained small, interest rates stayed high, lenders tightened credit requirements, and some real estate agents scrambled for customers.
“It was literally the worst year of my career,” said Jordan Hosey, the owner of HBH Realty. “There was uncertainty in the national economy. Consumer confidence was just really, really terrible. … I think a key driving factor of that was just the high mortgage rates.”
Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates hovered around 7% for much of the year, and more than half of borrowers had rates lower than 4%, according to Realtor.com.
“People just don’t want to come off their property,” Hosey said. “A lot of times, it doesn’t make sense for them to sell their house and buy a new one or upgrade because their mortgage, in some cases, will double, if not triple.”
Some people can manage that, but it’s difficult with the rising cost of living in other areas, she said.
Leigh Cound, a Realtor with Keller Williams who was one of the top 10 producers in the U.S. 280 north Shelby corridor, said that in the last few months of 2024, “it was almost like somebody turned the spigot off.” As rates crept up, “a lot of buyers that had been actively seeking in the market really pulled back.”
That always happens in an election year, but last year was more intense, Cound said.
But 2025 is shaping up to be much better, Hosey and Cound said. They’re already seeing signs of renewed interest, such as a rise in mortgage applications, stronger consumer confidence and more listings by sellers, they said.
“We’ve been busier the first two months of 2025 than probably we’ve been in the past two years,” Cound said.
She has seen a lot of first-time homebuyers who are tired of rising rental rates and understand the value of using their payments as an investment instead of paying $2,400 a month in rent and having nothing to show for it, she said. Of course, she recommends buyers consult with lenders or financial planners before jumping into the market.
The number of homes sold in the 35242 and 35043 ZIP codes in 2024 climbed from 1,269 in 2023 to 1,436 in 2024. That included an increase in new home sales from 321 to 428 (a 33% jump) and an increase in existing home sales from 948 to 1,008 (a 6% jump), according to statistics from the Greater Alabama Multiple Listing Service.
Of the new home sales, 103 were the Windsor Court townhomes in Hoover, while there were 62 new home sales in Chelsea Acres, 59 in Chelsea Park, 34 in Melrose Landing, 33 in Palmer Cove and 27 in Hillsong.
Popular spots for existing home sales were Liberty Park (96), Chelsea Park (70), Highland Lakes (56), Greystone (45), Eagle Point (27), Brook Highland (27), Meadow Brook (26) and Cotswolds (25).
Hosey said she noticed a trend of different generations of the same family consolidating two or more homes into one larger home in places like Greystone or Brook Highland to save money. She’s probably had a dozen cases in the past year, and not just with people who have elderly parents, she said.
