dothanhomesearch.com

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

http://www.judyspears.com

The agenda for this month’s Dothan Planning Commission was relatively short, with only a couple of items causing much discussion. The development of the next phase of Hidden Lake Subdivision was far and away the hottest topic of the day.

This development was originally brought to the Planning Commission in October, 2006, and was approved. Plans presented at that time included much green space, walking trails, and several small parks on the 167 acre site. The development never started because this was around the time the new construction market in Dothan softened.

Fast forward 18 months, and although the new home market is still soft, it is relatively steady. Because of the need to maximize their investment, the developers came back with new plans that eliminated 12 acres of open space and parks while adding 31 lots, bumping up the total number to 353. Residents living in the current Hidden Lakes feel they were mislead back in 2006. The new plans met all the requirements for approval, so the commission had little choice but to approve. The market wins.

Planning Department staff report on Hidden Lake development

There were several citizens attending concerned about a development in north Dothan that was on the agenda, only to be tabled. The area of the proposed subdivision is mostly rural, even though it is only a couple of miles outside of town. Developing a 71 acre parcel and putting over 200 houses on it, in an area that is predominately quiet and rural, will always bring a crowd. Should be an interesting meeting next month.

Planning Department staff report on proposed subdivision in north Dothan in the Headland Avenue, Woodham Road area.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently No Comments »

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

Dothan Home Search is proud to give you the latest weapon for finding your dream home. We have made it much easier to search for homes here, so take a look at our new home search tool by clicking on ?MLS Search? above or ?Search the MLS? over on your right, or do a ?Quick Home Search? by selecting a city and a price range in the middle column, just to your right on the screen.

Right away you?ll see a map of Dothan with up to 25 homes for sale in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range (default range), or whatever price range you have chosen. You can pan on the map and the listings populate automatically. You can change the price range or search for a specific number of bedrooms or bathrooms by changing that criteria at the bottom. Click on a marker to see more details on an individual property.

A couple of things to keep in mind. Map placement is completely dependent on Google translating the address to a Latitude/Longitude number. Homes in newer subdivisions, or listings where the agent enters some wrong information, may not show up in the right place on the map. Also, the information is updated daily, so check back often.

I mentioned in the first sentence above that we are giving you this information. I say give because we do not require any registration to use our property search. The only reason you might want to register is to save your searches or information on a specific property. Even then, I promise we don?t spam you and will keep your contact information confidential.

We are certainly interested in your feedback on this new tool, so let us know what you think by commenting below!

Posted by Charles Woodall | Currently No Comments »

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: 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.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently No Comments »

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

http://www.judyspears.com

From WTVY News

Notice this particular sentence in the story

“A spokesperson for Dixon says the housing market has put the company in hard times, saying the new housing start off has dropped by 45 percent since last year.”

As we mentioned earlier this month, new housing starts are particularly low right now. I have talked with a couple of builders over the last week or so that have indicated they are getting ready to start some houses very soon.

Maybe this will turn things around for the folks at Dixon Lumber, before the ripple effects continue.

Posted by Judy Spears | Currently No Comments »

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

http://www.judyspears.com

The number of new homes started in December was up from November, but considering that November had the fewest number of new homes started in at least five years, that isn?t much to get excited about.

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 239 new construction homes listed in the Dothan area MLS, up slightly from November. Again, the increasing number of homes listed means more and more unsold inventory is being added to the market.

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 »