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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

We certainly welcome the rain this morning (It would be fine with me if it rained all day long). Since it will be difficult to get outside to have some fun today, we will turn to the Internet for our fun.

So you have considered buying a couple of investment properties? Try this game out to test whether you’ve got what it takes to succeed. Let me warn you, it is addictive! My best score so far has been what is probably a paltry 16+ years. See what you can do and post your best score by commenting below.

Here’s the link to Mansion Impossible

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

At the end of August, there were 885 single family properties listed for sale in the Dothan Multiple Listing Service. Inventory continues to rise, and we are fast approaching what would be an all-time high. In the last three months, close to 600 new listings have been brought to the market, while there have been only about half that many (335) sold. Of the 885 listed properties, over 200 are new construction homes. It certainly looks like there is at least one home for sale on every street in Dothan.

We have discussed in previous posts that it was too early to say whether a slowdown had hit the Dothan real estate market. When we last examined the overall market, in our Mid-year Dothan Real Estate Market Update, sales had slowed, but were still keeping pace with 2006.

Well, the numbers for July and August numbers?definitely show a slowdown, both in?homes sold and pending sales.?Compared to?the same time period in 2006, home sales are down 6.7% so far in 2007, while inventory is up 59% over August, 2006. ?Pending sales in July and August were down nearly 30% over the same two months in 2006.

How bad will the slowdown be? It is hard to say at this point. In our office, our sales are up nearly 10% over last year. Obviously, not every real estate office in Dothan can make that claim.

Stay tuned and we will keep you posted.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Each year the National Association of Realtors?designates September as REALTOR Safety Month. We all should be concerned about safety around our home, not just REALTORS. Here are a few timely reminders to help insure your safety around your home:

1.?? Consider investing in an alarm system. Be sure it has a panic button feature.?

2.?? Install deadbolts on all exterior doors. Most doors without deadbolts can be opened?in less than?ten seconds by a practiced thief.

3.?? Don?t hide keys in the mailbox, around planters, or under doormats. Be original in your hiding place.

4.?? Keep all medications and other valuables, such as jewelry, stored and out of sight. Sometimes its best not to tempt people.

5.?? Don’t open your door to strangers after dark. In fact, in today’s world, it?s probably not safe for you to open the door in daytime to strangers. Ask to see some picture identification. A legitimate solicitor will gladly produce ID. Don?t let strangers into your home, even a REALTOR, if they cannot produce good ID.?

This is only a few of the many suggestions?of the National Association of Realtors. The Dothan Police Department would be good source for more information, or if you feel you need help or suggestions on security for your home or property I will be glad to come and do a safety walk-thru of your property. If your property is currently ?on the market? ask your REALTOR to make suggestions how you can better secure your property.

If you have any good tips related to home security, please leave us a comment below.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

I will be sharing with you in the coming weeks and months some basic knowledge related to real estate here in the Dothan area. Some of this information you will already know, some you may not. The goal is to give you all the information you need to have a good working knowledge of real estate and the real estate transaction.

This particular post has to do with what we call the MLS, which is an acronym for Multiple Listing Service. Nearly all of the real estate companies in Dothan are members of the Dothan Multiple Listing Service, Inc., which basically is a central database of all the information on the homes listed for sale by each member company. Here is how it works. Each time a member of the MLS lists a house or other property for sale, with the seller’s permission, we list it in the MLS. In doing so, we are offering compensation to other MLS members in the hopes that they will bring a buyer for the listed property. Every real estate agent that works with a company that is a member of the MLS has access to information on all the property listed in the MLS, no matter which company has it listed.

This is a great benefit to the seller, because they get exposure to buyers not only through the efforts of the company they list their property with, but every other MLS member company and their agents. This is also a huge benefit to buyers, because they can work with one real estate agent to see basically any property that is listed for sale in Dothan. Buyers don’t have to call the company whose sign is in the yard every time the see a house they want more information on. They can work with one agent to see any property they have an interest in.

If there is a real estate topic that you would like addressed in the Dothan Real Estate 101 series, leave us a comment below. We will be happy to answer any question you may have, and chances are there will be many other readers with that same question.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

We as real estate professionals are asked all the time about the relationship between what is called the?Federal Funds?Rate (fed rate for short), and mortgage rates. The most common?question is “I heard on the news that the government lowered the fed rate, so will mortgage rates come down?” To answer that question, we first need to look at how and by whom each of these rates is determined.

The?Federal Runds?Rate is the interest rate the Federal Reserve Banks charge depository institutions on overnight loans.?The fed rate?is an administered rate, set by the Federal Reserve Banks, rather than a market rate of interest. The fed rate acts as the gas pedal for?our economy. Lowering?this rate?is like hitting the gas, giving the economy a boost by putting more money in. Raising the fed rate is akin to pressing the brakes on the economy; doing so tightens the supply of money making it harder to borrow.

Mortgage rates?are a market-determined interest rate for long-term residential mortgage loans. Mortgage rates are competive rates, set individually by mortgage lenders, and are based on the demand for mortgage-backed securities.?Because there are so many factors that can effect mortgage rates, such as unemployment, the stock market, inflation, etc., the public perception of the economy can be the leading cause of a change in rates. As a general rule, watch the various economic data. If the data shows hesitancy and confusion, mortgage rates may fall. Conversely, if the data shows strength and low unemployment, rates may rise.

Since?they?are governed by market forces and not controlled by the government like the fed rate, is there anything we can?watch to guage where mortgage rates will go? Yes, in fact there is. Watching the movement of the 10-year Treasury bond is a great way to get an idea of where mortgage rates are heading. Historically, mortgage rates have followed the movement of these treasury bonds.

What’s the bottom line? A change in a short-term interest rate such as the fed rate may not affect rates on long-term interest rates such as mortgages directly. However, along with many other economic factors, the fed rate does play some small role in determining what interest rate you will get when you buy your new home in Dothan.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Here are a few of the happenings around the area this weekend and the coming week. Enjoy your weekend!

Thunder on Tholocco ? Multi-class Outboard Drag Boat Race Event on Lake Tholocco, West?Beach,?Fort Rucker, this Saturday, September 8. Gates open at 9:00 am, racing starts at Noon. Admission $5 for military, $7 non military, children 12 and under admitted free.

Save-a-Pet Yard Sale will be Saturday, September 8^th, at Oncology Supply, 2801 Horace Shepard Dr. in Dothan. Save-A-Pet is accepting donations for the sale; all proceeds will benefit Save-A-Pet.

Holiday Inn South presents the 1st Annual “Cook 4 Kids.” They will be having a cook-off to raise money for the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and the Give Kids the World Organization to help children in need. The day will consist of a cooking contest, silent auction, blood drive, and live music by The Barry Fish Band. Plenty of fun for the whole family starts at 11 am.
For more information, call 334-794-8711 or visit www.hidothan.com.

?Low Country Boil? and Auction at Landmark Park will be held on Thursday, September 20th at 6:00 pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling the park at 334?794?3452. Entertainment will be Circle City Rambles performing tunes from the 80?s plus classic rock-n-roll.

Understudy Dinner Theatre presents ?Doctor! Doctor!? September 18^th ? 22^nd. For a prescription of comic medicine and and reservation, call 334?792?1268. Presented at the Dothan Dance Club. Cash bar, dinner starts at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7:30 pm, tickets are $35.

If you know of any other activities around Dothan and the Wiregrass area this weekend, please leave us a comment below with all relevant information.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

I have been trying to find a better way to convey to our audience how the?Dothan real estate market has changed in the past 18-24 months. I have mentioned in several previous posts about how inventory has doubled during that time span, and what effect that has had on market time. I have found another way to present this information to you, our readers, and it has to do with something called absorption rate. Simply put, the absorption rate is the amount of time it would take to sell every home on the market today, if no more homes were listed. This figure is calculated by taking the number of homes on the market and dividing it by the average number of homes sold each month. Since the number of homes sold each month can vary significantly, we will use a three month average to calculate our absorption rate.

Let’s flash back to the last quarter of 2005. During this time period, there were 227 homes sold through the Dothan MLS, or about 76 per month. The number of active listings during these three months averaged around 440 homes. Divide 440 by 76, and you have 5.79 months of inventory, or a 5.79 months?absorption rate. Fast forward to the second quarter of 2007, and the rate only increases by about a month, to 6.78 months. Click on the chart below?for a graph showing the absorption rate over the past two years.

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By: Charles Woodall


http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Tidbits of information related to Dothan and the surrounding area. Most of the time real estate related, but not always.

From The Dothan Eagle - Ross Clark Circle improvements back on track

From The Mobile Press-Register - An update on coastal condo projects

Alabama Economic Outlook for 3rd Quarter (PDF) from the Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research at The University of Alabama.

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