This article was originally posted by Judy Spears on DothanHomeSearch.com
There were 13 permits issued in January for new homes to be built, which is coincidentally the lowest monthly figure since last January. Activity ramped up in February and March of 2008, so we will see if that happens again this year. Interestingly, there have been only a couple of permits issued where the valuation was over $300,000 in the past few months. Charles pointed out in last week’s Dothan real estate inventory report that this price range is basically dead in our area right now, new home market included.
There are currently 233 new construction homes listed for sale in the Dothan MLS, up over 7% from last month. Well over half of those listed are in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range. There were 12 sales of new construction homes in January, with an average price per square foot of $110.96 and average days on the market of 159 days.
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.
| Sold | Active | Absorption | |
| Area | November | 12/19/2008 | Rate (months) |
| Dothan (northwest) - Midland City | 8 | 168 | 21 |
| Dothan - Southwest | 12 | 297 | 24.75 |
| Dothan - Northeast | 3 | 38 | 12.67 |
| Dothan - Southeast | 5 | 110 | 22 |
| Headland | 2 | 52 | 26 |
| Rehobeth - Taylor | 0 | 5 | - |
| Wicksburg - Pinckard - Newton | 3 | 29 | 9.67 |
| Slocomb - Hartford - Geneva County | 1 | 35 | 35 |
| Abbeville - Newville | 2 | 27 | 13.5 |
| Ashford - Cottonwood - Gordon | 2 | 44 | 22 |
| Columbia - Webb - Kinsey | 3 | 28 | 9.33 |
This article was originally posted on DothanHomeSearch.com
My wife and I love to occasionally load up the kids and take off to any interesting place we can find within a short drive of Dothan. Our area has an abundance of unique sights, some well known and some not so well known.
Kolomoki Mounds State Park
Location – Early County Georgia, just north of Blakely. Take Hwy 52 on the east side of town toward Columbia. Once in Georgia, just follow the signs.
Drive time from Dothan – about an hour or so
Cost – $3 to park, a few dollars to see the presentation at the Interpretive Center. Overall, we spent less than $20 for a family of five. Camping, etc. are extra.
Amenities – Camping, swimming pool, lots of picnic and play areas, fishing, hiking, Indian museum
Best advice – Appreciate the history of this area, and wear comfortable climbing shoes
Website – Georgia State Parks – Kolomoki Mounds
One of the most important and well preserved archaeological sites in our area, Kolomoki Mounds nearly 1300 acres feature seven earthern Indian mounds built by the Swift Creek and Weeden Indians somewhere between 250–950 A.D. The Temple Mound is by far the largest, and a walk up the steps to the top gives you a view of most of the park. The park was formed back in the late 1930’s, and in 1940 the Civilian Conservation Corp built a camp and a dam to form the 80 acre lake.
Archaeological excavations took place in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s lead by Dr. William Sears. The Museum and Interpretive Center are actually built around one of the burial mounds, so visitors can see first hand what the inside of one of the mounds looks like.
Realistically, you can see the sights and the museum in just a few hours. There are some great picnic areas and pavilions scattered throughout the park, so be sure to take a lunch and enjoy those. The kids will love the playgrounds!
Down payment assistance programs are winding down. Beginning October 1, pretty much every homebuyer will need at least 3.5% as a down payment if they want to buy a home. As discussed a couple of weeks ago, the end of these programs will mean about 10% fewer buyers looking for homes here around Dothan. It also means what is already a tough market for sellers is going to get even tougher. There is really no other conclusion one can draw but to say that elimination of DPA programs is going to adversely effect the Dothan real estate market.
Legislation has been introduced that would bring back these programs. H.R. 6694 would regulate the programs instead of eliminating them. What can you do? Visit Rally for Home Ownership for information on contacting your legislators. Let them know you support down payment assistance and that right now is the wrong time to be eliminating something that means so much to our economy.
Here is a video that really brings to light the real reason for eliminating DPA’s. HUD wanted them gone.
h/t Jonathan Dalton of All Phoenix Real Estate and Jay Thompson, the Phoenix Real Estate Guy
Scariest sentence in the English language – “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
CENTURY 21 Key Realty is the premiere real estate brokerage serving the Dothan market and all of southeast Alabama, including Dale, Henry, Geneva, and Houston counties, as well as Fort Rucker.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
