Dothan Real Estate Market Report - New Construction for 1st Quarter, 2008
April 10th, 2008 - Categories: Inside the numbers, New construction homes in Dothan
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.
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Dothan Real Estate Market - March Inventory Report
March 20th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
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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Dothan Real Estate Market Update - March 2008 Sales report
March 14th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
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.
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Dothan Real Estate Market Report - February New Construction
March 6th, 2008 - Categories: Inside the numbers, New construction homes in Dothan
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.
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Dothan Real Estate Market - February Inventory Report
February 21st, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
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!
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Dothan Real Estate Market Update - February 2008 Sales report
February 14th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
As I mentioned in last month?s update, we are now focusing the monthly Dothan real estate market update on numbers that are most relevant month-to-month, such as pendings and solds, inventory levels, and absorption rate. Other statistics, such as median price, days on market, and list-to-sale price ratio, can fluctuate significantly each month, so we will analyze those each quarter instead.
Inventory and absorption rates will be updated next week. Here are the sales and pending sales numbers.
Sales and Pending Sales
Real estate sales are seasonal. Activity slows here in the Dothan market during the winter months, and early spring and mid-summer are usually the busiest. So when looking at numbers for pendings and solds, we need to compare current data with the same months in previous years instead of only previous months, such as we do with inventory. Doing so gives us a better picture of what is really going on.
Pending sales in January jumped to their highest level since last August. Only time will tell if this is an anomaly or a trend. If I had to guess, I would say the former, because there are really no other signs that the market is on its way up yet.
Looking at the sales report from last month, we were wondering if the market was leveling off. Not so much. While pendings were up this month, homes sold were down to their lowest level since November, 2005.
The bottom line is that the real estate market here in Dothan, as well as all across the country, is unsteady right now. Month to month shifts are occurring, and what the market is doing just 30 days from now is unpredictable. One thing you can be sure of is that we will keep you updated.
Are you seeing the information that is important to you? Do you prefer a different format? Like the old updates better? Let us know by commenting below!
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Dothan Real Estate Market Report - February New Construction Update
February 7th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers, New construction homes in Dothan
By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS
http://www.judyspears.com
The number of new homes started in January was down from December, reflecting the continuing slowdown in housing starts here in Dothan. Here is the trend over the last twelve months.
As of this morning, there were 243 new construction homes listed in the Dothan area MLS, up slightly from December. There are currently 43 in pending status and a total of 13 new homes sold in January. These numbers are from the Dothan Multiple Listing Service and are deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
The new home market in Dothan is just ripe for buyers right now. No two ways about it.
If you have an interest in building or purchasing a new construction home, give me a call or email me at Judy(at)c21keyrealty.com. 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.
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Dwelling on the past
January 15th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
This will hopefully be our last post on the real estate market of 2007. I am a firm believer that once something is history, you learn what you can from it and move on to bigger and better things. We don?t lament about what might have been here at CENTURY 21 Key Realty, we embrace the challenge of this market and work hard for our clients every day.
Here are the final numbers for homes sold and median price for 2007, compared to previous years.
The number of homes sold in Dothan in 2007 (1292) was down 9.7% from 2006 (1431). However, 2007 had the third highest number of homes sold ever, behind 2006 and 2005.
Median price dropped from a high of $134,500 in 2006 to $133,000 in 2007, a decrease of just over 1%. The typical Dothan home has increased in value a full 34% since 2003.
If you missed our outlook for the 2008 Dothan real estate market, you can take a look by clicking here.
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Dothan foreclosure numbers going up?
January 14th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
As promised, here is the last eight weeks data on foreclosure notices published in the local newspaper.
I have only been tracking this information since November, even though before that I looked at the notices at least several times each week. I can say with a lot of certainty that I have never seen 12 notices in one day as we saw last Thursday. I can also say with relative confidence that the foreclosure numbers from this chart are not abnormally high for the Dothan area.
We’ll see how it plays out. As I stated in my predictions for the real estate market here in Dothan for 2008, I don’t think we can avoid an increase in foreclosures this year.
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Dothan Real Estate Market - January Inventory Report
January 11th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Continuing the theme from yesterday, here is the new and improved Dothan real estate market inventory report, covering the inventory numbers and absorption rate.
Inventory
You?ll notice a slight drop in December. Also notice the slight drop last January. This is a typical winter occurrence. Inventory is back up to 913 single-family residences this morning, and will likely continue to move upward in the coming weeks.
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 (Three month moving average).
The absorption rate for January is 10.1 months, up slightly from December.
Again, I am looking for some feedback on these reports. Are you seeing the information that is important to you? Do you prefer a different format? Like the old updates better? Let us know by commenting below!