dothanhomesearch.com

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

The number of homes for sale in and around Dothan fell back last month from the all-time high in May. As of July 1, there were 954 single family homes on the market. However, if you read yesterday’s real estate market update, you know that we are back up over 970 this week.

Inventory

We seem to be stuck, at least for the time being, at between 950 and 975 homes on the market, which again means we are in a strong buyers market. It is hard to imagine much fluctuation in these numbers in the near future.

Absorption rate

The absorption rate for July is down again to 8.59 months of inventory. What this means is that it would take about eight and a half months to sell every home currently for sale in Dothan at the current rate of sales, if no new listings came on the market. The downward trend is continuing, and that is a good sign that the Dothan real estate market is healthy.

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!

Tags: absorption+rate, Dothan, real+estate+market

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By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

There is nothing else to say about the new home market here in Dothan other than it is flat. New home starts continue to be low and the number of new construction homes on the market is at an all-time high. There were 21 new residential construction permits issued in June, down from 23 in May and June of 2007.

Here is the trend over the last twelve months.

Inventory of new construction homes on the market remains steady. There are currently 221 listed in the Dothan area MLS, up slightly from last month. The median price of these listed homes is $199,900, over $60,000 more than the overall market median which is around $135,000. Average days on the market is 196 days.

Is the long-term trend any better? Maybe. The new home market in Dothan hopefully bottomed out around the first of this year.

What does all this information mean to you? If you are in the market for a new home, then you have a lot of choices and some bargaining power, especially in higher price ranges.

If you have an interest in building or purchasing a new construction home, give me a call or use the contact form. As a Certified New Homes Specialist (CNHS), I have extensive training in the new home market and would be happy to consult with you on your real estate needs.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently 1 Comment »

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Inventory is still inching upward. We are up to 975 homes on the market as of the first of June (the number is down a bit today). There has never been a time in the Dothan area where buyers have had more to choose from than they do right now.

Inventory

The number of homes for sale in the Dothan area is knocking on 1000. A good neutral market would be around 600. We got as low as 450 in 2005. It is amazing to see how this market has turned in under three years. I don’t expect us to hit the 1000 homes mark, but it could happen. As I posted last week, sales have remained steady, so inventory should do the same.

Absorption rate

The absorption rate for June is down again to 8.97 months, which is the lowest since last summer. For those of you just joining us, this means that there is about a nine month supply of homes on the market, based on current inventory and sales figures from the past three months. The trend is definitely downward, and that is a good sign that the Dothan real estate market is healthy.

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!

Tags: absorption+rate, Dothan, real+estate+market

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By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

Well, the jump in new home starts here in the Dothan real estate market was short lived. Last month we had a big increase. This month the number was right back down again. There were 23 new residential construction permits issued in May, down from 37 in April.

Here is the trend over the last twelve months.

Inventory of new construction homes on the market remains steady. There are currently 224 listed in the Dothan area MLS, the same number as last month.

What will next month hold?

If you have an interest in building or purchasing a new construction home, give me a call or use the contact form. As a Certified New Homes Specialist (CNHS), I have extensive training in the new home market and would be happy to consult with you on your real estate needs.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently 2 Comments »

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

At the end of each quarter, we look at some Dothan real estate market statistics that don’t fit well into one of our monthly reports. That is not to diminish their importance however.

Median Price

Median price can vary significantly from month-to-month, so we compare quarters to help smooth out the bumps. Median price is used instead of average price because it reflects the midpoint, or the price where half the homes sold at a higher price and the other half sold at a lower price.

The median price from the Dothan MLS for the first quarter was just over $134,000, up from around $128,000 in the 4th quarter of 2007. From a peak in the third quarter of 2006, the median price of homes sold in Dothan is down 8.6%.

Absorption Rate

Absorption rate is a measure of how well the market is clearing, or absorbing, inventory (listings). The absorption rate for March was just over 10 months, down from nearly 12 months in January. In other words, if no more listings came on the market, it would take about 10 months to sell everything that is currently listed.

All signs recently seem to suggest that the Dothan real estate market is sound and active. Spring is typically a busy time, so hopefully these latest developments will continue move the market forward.

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By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

New home starts were up again in March, compared to the past few months. Spring typically means an increase, but as you can see from the graph, that wasn?t the case this time last year. If we see another good couple of months in April and May, we might be able to say the bottom of the new construction market in Dothan, Alabama has been reached. The three-year graph below seems to support this idea.

Here is the trend over the last twelve months.

Here is the trend over a longer period of time; the last three years.

As of this morning, there were 217 new construction homes listed in the Dothan area MLS, down about 5.5% from last month. Another positive sign that things might be turning about for Dothan area homebuilders.

If you have an interest in building or purchasing a new construction home, give me a call or use the contact form. As a Certified New Homes Specialist (CNHS), I have extensive training in the new home market and would be happy to consult with you on your real estate needs.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently No Comments »

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

February brought a nice upturn after a couple of months of slow activity. As we discussed last week, sales were strong and pending sales are good. How about inventory? I?m glad you asked.

Inventory

Inventory was down in February, with 928 single family units on the market for sale. Looking at the graph, inventory has remained fairly steady since fall. We could stand to shed 100 or so listings, but as long as the number doesn?t start going back up again, the market will be ok.

Absorption rate

The absorption rate for March is up to 12.16 months. Because we use a three month rolling average of sales to figure absorption rate, the lower number of homes on the market last month had little effect. Using a three month average helps smooth out the ups and downs of the market, and gives a more accurate picture of what is happening.

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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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

The number of homes sold in Dothan took a huge jump last month, climbing 55% over January numbers. In fact, the 95 houses sold in February was second highest monthly total since August.

Sales and Pending Sales

Pending sales through January and February have remained near 2007 levels. Pendings are a good sign of activity to come over the next 30 ? 60 days, and one would expect these numbers to fall if the market were slowing. Next month, when the first quarter numbers are in, we?ll be able to look at a longer time line and maybe confirm this trend.

The number of homes sold continues to trend at or near 2007 levels. Again, we would expect to see a fall off of those numbers if the market was slowing, but that just doesn?t seem to be the case.

I have commented in recent market reports that the real estate market here in Dothan, like almost everywhere else, is unsteady at the moment. I think the evidence this month is that the market is not as unsteady as I thought.

Are you wondering if now is the time to buy a home? Do you have questions about how these statistics play into your decision? Help is just a phone call or email away! And that help is free and doesn?t obligate you to anything. Just give us a call or contact us and we?ll make every effort to answer your questions professionally and thoughfully, and always tell you exactly what you NEED to hear, not necessarily what you WANT to hear.

Posted by Charles Woodall | Currently 1 Comment »

By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS

http://www.judyspears.com

The number of new homes started in February was up from January. Keep in mind that the 19 homes started will not be completed for at least three or four months, so they are not typically included in the inventory numbers you see posted here.

Here is the trend over the last twelve months.

There are currently 230 new construction homes listed in the Dothan area MLS (broken down by price range below). This number is down from the past two months, which hopefully means that some old inventory is starting to move.

• under $135,000 ? 43 listings
• $135,000 to $200,000 ? 80 listings
• $200,000 to $300,000 ? 57 listings
• over $300,000 ? 50 listings

If you have an interest in building or purchasing a new construction home, give me a call or use the contact form. As a Certified New Homes Specialist (CNHS), I have extensive training in the new home market and would be happy to consult with you on your real estate needs.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently No Comments »

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

January is usually our slowest month. Looking at the sales numbers from last week bares that out. When sales slow, inventory typically rises.

Inventory

As predicted, inventory is back up this month, almost to the peak reached last October. Look for some fluctuation in the number of homes on the market, but we expect the level to remain around where it is now for the immediate future.

Absorption rate

The absorption rate for February is up to 11.76 months. In other words, if no more homes where added to the market, it would take nearly a year to sell everything currently listed, based on current sales rates.

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!

Posted by Charles Woodall | Currently No Comments »