Stationed at Fort Rucker? Live in Dothan!
August 27th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area information, Fort Rucker
By: Christy Manning
REALTOR® Associate
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
More and more Fort Rucker soldiers are choosing to live in Dothan, simply because Dothan offers more recreational opportunities, health care facilities, and school choices than any other community near the base. The restaurant choices and retail shopping opportunities in Dothan draw tens of thousands of people to Dothan each week as well.
U.S. Highway 84 is the main corridor from Dothan to the Fort Rucker post, and it is a quick 20 minute trip from the west side of town to the gate.
Dothan is home to many retired military folks that chose to either stay here upon retirement or moved back to Dothan because they liked it so much when they were stationed at Fort Rucker. They discovered the easy lifestyle, the reasonable cost of living, and all the other intangibles that enhance the quality of life here.
Getting in and out of southeast Alabama is easily accomplished through the Dothan Regional Airport. Whether it is travel for TDY, or back to Hometown, USA to visit family, a quick flight to Atlanta will connect you with any worldwide destination.
Here is a link to homes currently on the market around west Dothan which might be convenient for a Fort Rucker soldier.
Homes for sale in west Dothan area up to $125,000
Homes for sale in west Dothan area from $125,000 to $200,000
Homes for sale in west Dothan area over $200,000
Being an Army wife myself, I understand the needs of military and civilian personnel relocating to the Fort Rucker area. Give me a call and let me help you find that perfect place! 334–798–9067
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Dothan Real Estate Market - August Inventory Report
August 26th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
A decrease in the number of homes on the market is a pivotal first step to real estate market recovery. Yes, I have said that the Dothan real estate market is not really in need of recovery, but having fewer homes on the market will greatly help balance the market, and in turn likely create more sales.
The number of homes for sale in the Dothan area is down to around 934 from 985 at the end of July. Will the downward trend continue? It is likely it will, if for no other reason than we are finishing up the busy season for home sales. To what level inventory will fall remains to be seen.
Absorption rate
The absorption rate for August is down again to 7.72 months of inventory. Comparing this summer’s numbers to the summer of 2007, the rates are a little higher this year. However, inventory was below 900 at that time, so the variance is understandable.
Inventory and absorption rates can vary between different areas around Dothan. If you would like to see these numbers for a particular area, drop us an email or leave a comment below with your request!
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AMSTI works in Dothan schools
August 25th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan Area Schools
By: Michelle Beasley
REALTOR® Associate
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Carver Magnet School here in Dothan was recently featured on the front page of the Alabama School Journal, highlighting the school’s participation in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative. AMSTI for short, this program focuses on turning up the excitement level for the subjects of math, science, and technology by creating “hands-on” learning opportunities. Teachers receive everything they need to bring these subjects to life in a kit that they use for a semester. Everything from slides to toothpicks, projectors to calculators. One example of the hands on learning is the students being able to watch microscopic creatures LIVE on a television screen! This type of learning makes huge difference in comprehension levels, and the goal is to have AMSTI in all Alabama schools by 2010.
Carver Magnet School is currently the only magnet school for grades 6-8 here in Dothan. That will change next school year when Dothan City Schools will add another magnet middle school and magnet elementary school. These additions are part of a plan to create neighborhood schools. More on that concept to come in my next post.
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Monday Market Snapshot - August 25, 2008
August 25th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
| Homes on market | 934 | DOWN |
| Median price | $174,900 | UP |
| Avg $ per sq ft | $96.48 | DOWN |
| Avg days on market | 160 | SAME |
| Least expensive listing | $10,000 | UP |
| Most expensive listing | $2,500,000 | SAME |
| Pending sales | 149 | UP |
| Sales last 7 days | 7 | DOWN |
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Day trips from Dothan - Kolomoki Mounds
August 23rd, 2008 - Categories: Day Trips from Dothan
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
My wife and I love to occasionally load up the kids and take off to any interesting place we can find within a short drive of Dothan. Our area has an abundance of unique sights, some well known and some not so well known.
Kolomoki Mounds State Park
Location – Early County Georgia, just north of Blakely. Take Hwy 52 on the east side of town toward Columbia. Once in Georgia, just follow the signs.
Drive time from Dothan – about an hour or so
Cost – $3 to park, a few dollars to see the presentation at the Interpretive Center. Overall, we spent less than $20 for a family of five. Camping, etc. are extra.
Amenities – Camping, swimming pool, lots of picnic and play areas, fishing, hiking, Indian museum
Best advice – Appreciate the history of this area, and wear comfortable climbing shoes
Website – Georgia State Parks – Kolomoki Mounds
One of the most important and well preserved archaeological sites in our area, Kolomoki Mounds nearly 1300 acres feature seven earthern Indian mounds built by the Swift Creek and Weeden Indians somewhere between 250–950 A.D. The Temple Mound is by far the largest, and a walk up the steps to the top gives you a view of most of the park. The park was formed back in the late 1930’s, and in 1940 the Civilian Conservation Corp built a camp and a dam to form the 80 acre lake.
Archaeological excavations took place in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s lead by Dr. William Sears. The Museum and Interpretive Center are actually built around one of the burial mounds, so visitors can see first hand what the inside of one of the mounds looks like.
Realistically, you can see the sights and the museum in just a few hours. There are some great picnic areas and pavilions scattered throughout the park, so be sure to take a lunch and enjoy those. The kids will love the playgrounds!
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August Dothan Planning Commission meeting
August 22nd, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Dothan area information
By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS
http://www.judyspears.com
Not a whole lot on the agenda for this month’s meeting of the Dothan Planning Commission, continuing the trend.
A request for approval of development plans for the business/office section of Grove Park were tabled until September. In addition to the questions about traffic and parking, it seems the property in question was not platted correctly when the original subdivision was done.
The recommendation was made to rezone 10.63 acres near the intersection of East Main Street (U.S. Highway 84 East) and North Beverly Road. The parcel is actually part of a larger parcel already zoned for business. This area is experiencing a lot of commercial growth recently, as two new strip centers have been built in the last few years just up the road near Southeast Alabama Medical Center, and SAMC is working on plans to develop their large parcel of land across Main Street from this parcel.
The Planning Commission also recommended to the City Commission the creation of a special type of Office zoning. There has been a need for this change and it was brought to the forefront at the June meeting when a rezoning request was turned down for a property on Kent Drive.
While not on the Planning Commission schedule this month, expect to see development plans for a couple of new shopping centers near the intersection of West Main Street and John D. Odom Road in the near future. The Dothan Eagle has a few details of what may be in the works for this area.
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The Garden District - Dothan’s Unique Neighborhood
August 21st, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area information, Garden District
By: Margaret Patrick
REALTOR® Associate
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Dothan neighborhoods are as unique as the people who live in them. Each has a personality that becomes clear as your drive down each street.
One of the most popular Dothan neighborhoods is called the Garden District. Located in northwest Dothan, the Garden District is roughly bordered by West Main Street, North Park Avenue, Montgomery Highway, and Ross Clark Circle. Known far and wide for the annual Azalea Dogwood Trail in springtime, the beauty of this area is really unparalleled in Dothan. The explosion of color from the azaleas, dogwoods, and camellias, the unlimited shades of green on the lawns, and the elegance of the pastel colored antebellum gowns worn by the Trail Queen and her court set this neighborhood apart.
The Garden District is unique in that there are many architectural styles and home sizes within the neighborhood. Unlike many new subdivisions, where every house is in the traditional style and the vast majority have red brick exteriors, the Garden District offers homes of all shapes and sizes. Several homes on North Cherokee Avenue and Girard Avenue are quite large Colonial or Georgian style homes, while there are many cottage style smaller homes on North Orange Street and Choctaw Street on the eastern side of the neighborhood and even townhouses on Martha Avenue and North Roberta Avenue. You can see contemporary style homes, with their low roof lines and abstract facades, scattered throughout the area.
Many children who grew up in the Garden District enjoy moving back to the area to start their family. Solomon Park, where many played as children, is just a short stroll away. Girard Elementary and Middle Schools are also within walking distance, and many amenities, such as some of Dothan’s best restaurants and shopping, are a five or ten minute drive from the neighborhood.
If you think the Garden District area might be somewhere you would like to live, I would be happy to help you find a home in this popular area. Our office has several listings in the area right now, and here is a link to all the homes currently on the market in the Garden District area. Let me know if you see anything that peaks your interest!
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Dothan real estate market - August Sales report
August 20th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
The 127 homes sold in the Dothan area in July is the most since June of last year. July typically is a good month, and this past month didn’t disappoint. With 742 homes sold so far this year, we are on pace with 2004–2005 sales numbers. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, each of those were record years at the time.
Pending Sales
A new report format (or my paying closer attention) has brought to light the fact that I have been under reporting the number of pending sales. Since pending sales are measured at a specific point in time, I can’t go back and see what they were on any given day. So, we will have to track pending sales each week on the Monday Market Snapshot. Per the lastest snapshot, there are 133 homes listed in pending status in the Dothan MLS. Once enough data has built up, we’ll go back to comparing month-to-month.
Homes sold
Sales are now down just a little over 10% for the year, compared to 2007. In spite of all the horror stories the media feeds us on a daily basis, that is a healthy real estate market, no matter how you look at it.
If you are reading this and wondering if it is a good time to buy or sell a home in Dothan, then we need to talk. Pick up the phone and call me at the office, 334–793–6990, or on my cell, 334–596–0808. I’m not going to give you a hard sell or anything like that, we will just talk about your situation and try to figure out what is best for you right now. Sound fair?
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Down Payment Assistance - Is it really over?
August 19th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Down payment assistance programs are winding down. Beginning October 1, pretty much every homebuyer will need at least 3.5% as a down payment if they want to buy a home. As discussed a couple of weeks ago, the end of these programs will mean about 10% fewer buyers looking for homes here around Dothan. It also means what is already a tough market for sellers is going to get even tougher. There is really no other conclusion one can draw but to say that elimination of DPA programs is going to adversely effect the Dothan real estate market.
Legislation has been introduced that would bring back these programs. H.R. 6694 would regulate the programs instead of eliminating them. What can you do? Visit Rally for Home Ownership for information on contacting your legislators. Let them know you support down payment assistance and that right now is the wrong time to be eliminating something that means so much to our economy.
Here is a video that really brings to light the real reason for eliminating DPA’s. HUD wanted them gone.
h/t Jonathan Dalton of All Phoenix Real Estate and Jay Thompson, the Phoenix Real Estate Guy
Scariest sentence in the English language – “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
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Monday Market Snapshot - August 18, 2008
August 18th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
| Homes on market | 945 | DOWN |
| Median price | $172,900 | UP |
| Avg $ per sq ft | $96.49 | SAME |
| Avg days on market | 160 | UP |
| Least expensive listing | $9,900 | SAME |
| Most expensive listing | $2,500,000 | SAME |
| Pending sales | 133 | DOWN |
| Sales last 7 days | 19 | UP |
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