By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – New home construction and a growing variety of municipal facilities are forces in Chelsea’s healthy housing market, according to Birmingham Association of Realtors representatives.

BAR 2016 president Dot Mash and Chief Executive Officer Cliff Long spoke to the Chelsea Business Alliance at a March 9 meeting about the state of the city’s real estate market and factors influencing home sales and construction.

“From a realtor’s viewpoint, the homes are appreciating,” Mash said. “The new homes built are holding their value and increasing.”

Mash said Chelsea is “doing great numbers wise,” and provided statistics in the housing market from the last five years.

The number of foreclosures has dropped 50 percent, and 52 percent of home sales have been new construction. Also, the average sale price of $216,000 had increased to $247,000 in 2015, she said.

Mash compared the average home sale price in Chelsea to that of the following nearby cities: Pelham, $215,000; Hoover, $316,000; Vestavia, $381,000; Westover, $202,000; and Helena, $218,000.

In addition to reputable public schools, Chelsea has multiple parks and athletic fields, along with a multi-faceted sports complex being built off Shelby County 11 and a new community center.

“If you have athletic complexes, families will come, and families equate to houses,” Mash said, noting building youth fields in areas where the city wants to develop housing likely will draw builders.

Mash suggested the city make a list of positives, such as Chelsea’s lack of property tax, to post online for prospective residents to peruse.

“People are trading quantity of space for quality of space,” Mash said. Other attributes buyers are looking for include a main level master bedroom, a powder room for entertaining guests, a landing that can serve as sitting area, covered parking, a basement or secure room for storms, a kitchen area open to the den or great room and a natural gas fireplace.

Long said multi-million dollar commercial sales are happening in and around Chelsea, which boosts the housing market.

“These are very strong sales,” Long said. “The properties are holding value. This is a great community.”