Dothan Real Estate Market Trends - 1st Quarter 2008
April 22nd, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Inside the numbers, Real Estate News
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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Weekend Links
April 19th, 2008 - Categories: General Commentary, Real Estate News
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Here’s some light reading to get your through the weekend. Read each article carefully as there will be a test on Monday.
Corp of Engineers proposed new water sharing plan for southeast - New York Times
Alabama House looks to lower speed limits across the state - Birmingham News via AL.com
The taxpayers of Alabama will have to deal with possible Birmingham bankruptcy - Mobile Press Register via AL.com
Tuscaloosa City Council moves to ban front yard parking - Tuscaloosa News
Alabama moves to fifth among auto making states - Birmingham News via AL.com
State tax on groceries going away? - Birmingham News via AL.com
Ready…Discuss.
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April Dothan Planning Commission Meeting
April 18th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Hidden Lake, New construction homes in Dothan, Real Estate News
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.
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Not satisfied, even after 25 years
April 7th, 2008 - Categories: Real Estate News, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Last week at a closing, one of our sellers got a not-so-pleasant surprise. Here is their story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Mr. Seller took out a $10,000 home improvement loan with a national department store back in the early 80’s. Not realizing it at the time, said store placed a second mortgage on this home as collateral. Mr. Seller made his improvements, repaid the loan early, and continued to enjoy his home.
Fast forward 25 or so years, and the seller discovers, at the closing table mind you, that said national department store never recorded a satisfaction of the loan. In other words, they never publicly recorded that the loan had been paid in full. When properly recorded, a subsequent search of the title of a property, such as when the home is sold, will reveal the recorded satisfaction. But what happens in this case? Now obviously the loan was paid off, or Mr. Seller would have long ago ran into trouble with the store, right? Regardless, the title company is now obligated to hold $15,000 of this seller’s money until such time as the seller can prove he paid off the loan.
Think about that for a minute. If you were in this situation, how easy would it be to prove? Do you keep your home financial records for 25 years? Do you check your records at the county courthouse regularly to make sure everything is as it should be? Maybe you should, because you just never know when you will run into a problem.
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Days on market redux and the listing agent show
April 7th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Real Estate News, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
A couple of things that are on my mind as we start the week.
Jim Duncan had lunch with Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of The National Association of REALTORS, one day last week. Dr. Yun had some interesting comments on a lot of things, including the days on market statistic. Take a quick read of Jim’s post, paying particular attention to the part on this subject.
Jim and I agree on the irrelevance of days on market as a statistic, although for different reasons. Withdrawing and re-listing a property (Jim’s beef) to reset days on market to zero skews the data. I have been guilty of doing this, as have most REALTORS, reasoning that sometimes a listing needs a fresh start. Yes, that is gaming the system and shouldn’t be allowed. However, if you read my earlier post on this subject, I have come to feel that days on market should not be relevant to a buyer anyway, regardless of whether it is accurate or not.
Dr. Yun gives the impression he isn’t too keen on using DOM as a meaningful measure either.
Phil Hoover is another real estate blogger that I like. Phil blogs about the Boise, Idaho real estate market and posted this gem last week about listing agents auditioning for sellers.
Phil couldn’t be more right. Too many sellers think they are hiring the best agent when they hire one that will tell them what they want to hear. Look, you need to know exactly what is going on in the market if you want to have any chance at a sale. Are they telling you the real estate market in Dothan is down over 24% so far this year compared to last? Are they telling you what you need to do to get your home sold when competition for buyers’ attention is tougher than it has been in years? If they are, then you’ve likely snagged a good one. If they aren’t, you might want to look elsewhere.
Ok, now on with the week!
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March Dothan Foreclosures update
March 27th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Real Estate News
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Foreclosures are trending up. We all know that because we hear about it in the media every day. Foreclosures in the Dothan area are up too, but seem to have leveled off in the past few weeks. There is no way anyone could conclude from these numbers that the Dothan real estate market is suffering because of a greater number of foreclosures on the market.
The average number of notices so far this year has been about 23 per week. The last couple of months of 2007 the average was around 16. Large jump percentage wise, but in overall numbers, not so much.
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Land deal done for Country Crossing
March 14th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area information, Real Estate News
By: Judy Spears
Broker Associate, CRS, ABR, GRI, CNHS
http://www.judyspears.com
According to WTVY and The Dothan Eagle, a deal has been signed for the purchase of 779 acres located about eight miles south of Dothan for the new Country Crossing development. The deal reported involved over a dozen parcels of land and about six or seven owners.
Details are still emerging, but you can see an approximate location of the development below. Developer Ronnie Gilley stated that the company overseeing the project, Apogee Attractions, would be here next week to start the design phase, and that construction should begin within 90 days.
Read more on Country Crossing here and here.
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REALTOR Alphabet Soup
March 1st, 2008 - Categories: Basics of Dothan Real Estate, Real Estate News
By: Dick Henk
Broker Associate, SRES, GRI, E-Pro
http://www.dkhenk.com
I’m sure you’ve seen them; the alphabet soup of letters that some real estate agents have after their names. The National Association of REALTORS encourages agents to pursue further education opportunities to better their real estate careers, and for taking these advanced classes we are awarded what is called a designation, which is the letters you see after the name. Successful agents must keep current on industry related issues, evolving technology, changing legalities, and new marketing ideas.
Although other designations exist, only 20 are official NAR designations and certifications. Here is a brief explanation of a few that you will see most often.
GRI stands for Graduate, REALTOR Institute - This one requires a minimum of 90 hours of education covering real estate related topics such as business planning, fair housing, and contracts. If the real estate pre-license class were the equivalent of high school, the GRI designation could be said to be a college degree.
ABR stands for Accredited Buyer Representative - Prepares REALTORS for working with buyer clients in real estate transactions and provide the quality of service and degree of fidelity to buyers that sellers have customarily enjoyed.
CRS stands for Certified Residential Specialist - Content for this designation is centered on high content training in the systems and strategies of residential real estate. Also, a higher level of real estate experience is required to receive this designation.
SRES stands for Senior Real Estate Specialist - Designation for REALTORS that have chosen to earn a greater understanding of the distinct real estate goals, concerns, and needs of seniors.
There are other designations outside of these offered through the National Association of REALTORS, including one I received this last month. The CPS designation, which stands for Competitive Pricing Specialist and is awarded to experienced REALTORS that use the unique comparative market analysis system sold and promoted by XpertCMA.com. Unique because it compares properties on the market today rather than from months ago.
You usually can’t go wrong by seeking out REALTORS that promote this alphabet soup of letters after their name, because they have made a committment to their profession and to furthering their knowledge to better serve buyer and seller clients.
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February Dothan Foreclosures Update
February 28th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area Real Estate Market information, Real Estate News
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
As mentioned before, I have only been keeping hard records of this information since November. That is probably not enough of a time frame to establish any kind of trend, so take this for what it is. It is an accounting of the number of foreclosure notices listed in the legal section of The Dothan Eagle each week.
Keep in mind that foreclosure notices are printed in the newspaper for three consecutive weeks, so when you see over 30 during the week of January 21, that is likely not 30 newly foreclosed properties.
Not much indication of any direction in this. We?ll keep an eye on it. If you would like a list of foreclosed properties, give us a call or contact us by email.
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More on Country Crossing development
February 27th, 2008 - Categories: Dothan area information, Real Estate News
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
Judy had a great post yesterday about the new Country Crossing development to be located here in Houston County. I have read through some of the documents related to the project, especially the economic impact study, and here are some interesting nuggets.
- The master plan is being completed by Apogee Attractions and Michael Lee Design. Apogee has designed numerous other projects, including Epcot Center, Disneyland Resort, and Universal Studios. I don’t think this will be a couple of metal buildings with a rock driveway.
- Out of the estimated one million visitors forecast to visit Country Crossing once all the venues are completed, only an estimated 15-20% will be local. That is 800,000 visitors coming into our area every year. You think traffic is bad now.
- Eight to ten venues are expected to be open by the second quarter of 2009. That is only about 16 months from now. The commercial district, with retail, commercial, and some lodging, will be the last phase completed, sometime around year six.
- Projections are for over five millions dollars in annual tax revenue generated for Houston County by its fifth year of operation, and over $24 million by year ten. Houston County?s total revenues for 2006 was just over $34.6 million. If the projections work out, this project will effectively double the tax base of Houston County.
- The development is expected to employ between 1,500 and 2,000 people in years one through four, and upwards of 2,500 beyond that, making it the largest employer in Houston County. Southeast Alabama Medical Center is currently the largest employer, with over 2,000 employees.
To give you an idea of the size of this project, I have a map below showing how big about 500 acres is in relation to downtown Dothan. It comes close to one square mile of real estate.
Anyway you look at it, Country Crossing is going to have a huge impact on our area.
What are your thoughts on this project? What are the drawbacks you see? Let us know by commenting below!
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