What are the most active zip codes for Shelby County home sales?
As an appraiser it’s interesting to look at where people are buying homes and what the price trends are. Today I’m going to share with you what has been happening with Shelby County home sales. We’ll take a look at the number of sales and the average sale price for homes in these areas.
The most active area
It’s not surprising that the most active area for Shelby County home sales is in zip code 35242, which had 777 sales, because it encompasses such a large area. In the Birmingham MLS system this area is classified as “North Shelby/Hoover”. It includes the areas of Inverness, Indian Springs, Greystone, Shoal Creek, among others and a large area along Highway 119. The area does not include just one municipality but many areas of Shelby County.
This location has many large custom built homes and this is reflected in the average sale price of $369,979. The most expensive home sale occurred in Greystone and sold for $1,757,200. This area will most likely continue to outsell the other areas due to it’s popularity and variety of home prices as well as good school system.
Pelham, Helena, and Alabaster coming on strong
The number of home sales within the Pelham, Helena, and Alabaster area trailed behind the top area. They were very close to each other with each one selling for 404, 393, and 391 respectively. Pelham was at the head of the pack though when it comes to average price, which was at $239,000, then Helena at $210,000, and lastly Alabaster with an average price sale of $173,225.
The small community of Maylene is adjacent to Alabaster and they are zoned for the Alabaster school system. Maylene had 97 sales with an average sale price of $185,000. If you combine Maylenes numbers with Alabaster since they share the same school system and are adjacent to one another the total sales for this area would be 488 with an average price of $179,000.
All of these communities are situated approximately 30 minutes south of the central business district of downtown Birmingham, in north Shelby County. Alabaster started their new city school system approximately 2 years ago, with Pelham voting to have their own school system this year. Helena is still a part of the Shelby County school system.
Calera and Montevallo- The most affordable areas
Calera and Montevallo (zip codes 35040 and 35115) are the southern most cities included in this study of Shelby County home sales most active zip codes. Typically the areas further away from popular work centers, which are to the north, are the lowest priced and most affordable. The average price levels for Calera and Montevallo are $147,000 and $145,000.
Hoover/Riverchase area
The second runner up for highest average sales price is the MLS area of Hoover/Riverchase and zip code 35244. Total sales were at 198 with an average sale price of $322,000. Two of the most active neighborhoods in this area include Riverchase and Trace Crossings. These areas typically have larger custom built homes which is reflected in the higher average prices.
Chelsea and Columbiana areas
Chelsea and Columbiana, at zip codes 35043 and 35051, are located in the same area of Shelby County and are more rural in nature. Of the two areas Chelsea has the most new construction activity and a higher average sale price. The Columbiana area has an older housing inventory with a high number of farm homes on acreage tracts.
Conclusion
As I stated previously those areas in close proximity to popular work centers usually sell for more. This holds true for the Shelby County home sales that are located on the north side of the county, closer to downtown Birmingham as well as the Hoover area.
These areas are diverse in price range and home values vary by area. If you are selling your home and need to find out what to list it at a prelisting appraisal can help you price it at a level that will make it competitive among the other homes that are for sale. If I can answer any questions for you about this type of appraisal just contact me and we can talk.
Question
Do you have any other questions about Shelby County home sales? If so let me know by leaving a comment, or if you have anything to add please share that as well. Thanks for reading.
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Interesting to see these real estate statistics on the fastest growing county in Alabama (Shelby County) from Alabama’s top appraiser.
Thanks Gary. You are correct, Shelby County is hoppin. 😉
Nice job, Tom. It’s always interesting to hear about your market. Some zip codes sure do have more sales than others.
Thanks Ryan. There are definitely some areas that are more popular, and as I said they are typically closer to the larger metropolitan areas.