Dothan Real Estate Market Update, December 2007

The market numbers for the Dothan real estate market in November are pretty good, all things considered. While there was a year-to-year decrease in the number of homes sold, median price, and list-to-sell price ratio, the overall stats were better than the previous month. (Chart of figures below) (All statistics are taken from the Dothan Multiple Listing Service and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed)

Here are the highlights and trends from this month’s report:

• The number of pending sales was up and the number of new listings was down this month compared to November, 2006. Again, positive signs.
• List-to-sell price ratio was down to the lowest level since February. This is the percentage of the list price that the home actually sold for, and it doesn’t take into consideration any price reductions. With all the price reductions we have seen, this percentage is probably actually a little lower than 95.5%
• Days on market was up over four months again in November for the fourth time this year. This is typical when inventory is increasing or at a high level
• Don’t pay any attention to the drop in current inventory this month. There is almost always a downward adjustment in the number of homes on the market in November and December.

Dothan Real Estate Market Outlook - Look for the number of homes on the market in Dothan to hold around 925 for the next few months. I do expect another rise this spring. How much is hard to say. Sales for the next few months will likely be comparable to 2004 or 2005 levels, which were very good years. I think we will see a little more pressure on median price and a continued downward trend in list-to-sell price ratio. There is no way around this until the number of homes for sale in Dothan falls to a more manageable level, say around 700 - 750.