Click here to view or print the entire monthly report compliments of the ACRE Corporate Cabinet.

Sales: According to the Dothan Multiple Listing Service Inc., Dothan-area residential sales totaled 117 units during August, a decrease in sales of 4.9 percent from the same period last year. Year-to-date home sales through August are up 9 percent over last year. Another resource to review is the Annual Report.

For all of Dothan’s area real estate data, click here.

Forecast: Closed transactions in August were 10 units above the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE’s year-to-date sales forecast through August projected 776 closed transactions, while the actual sales were 925 units, a favorable difference of 19 percent.

Year-to-date home sales in Dothan through August are 9 percent higher than the same period during 2015.

Supply: The Dothan-area housing inventory in August was 1,122 units, a decrease of 9 percent from August 2015. August inventory decreased 6 percent from July. This direction is consistent with historical data indicating that August inventory on average (2011- 2015) decreases from July by 1.7 percent. There were 9.6 months of housing supply during August (approximately 6 months represents a balanced market during August) vs. 10 months of supply during the same period last year, representing a favorable 4.3 percent decrease.

Demand: Residential sales increased 6.4 percent from July. Historical data (2011-2015) indicate August sales typically increase 7 percent from July.

Pricing: The Dothan-area median sales price during August was $160,000, a 17.2 percent increase from last August and an 8.7 percent increase from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data, which indicate an increase of 2.1 percent in pricing is typically recorded from July to August. Differing sample sizes (number of residential sales of comparative months) can contribute to statistical volatility including pricing. ACRE highly recommends consulting with a local real estate professional to discuss pricing trends, as they will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Industry perspective: “Consumers have a fairly optimistic 12-month outlook on housing at the end of the summer home-buying season, supported by increased job confidence and more favorable expectations regarding their personal financial situations compared with this time last year,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “The return to a slight upward trend in the HPSI during the spring and summer is, thus far, in line with our forecast, which calls for 4 percent growth in home sales in 2016 to the best level since 2006 and continued improvement for 2017.” For the full report, click here.

Click here to generate more graphs from Dothan’s August Housing Report, including Total Sales, Average Sales Price, Days on the Market, Total Inventory and Months of Supply. 

The Dothan Residential Monthly Report was developed in conjunction with the Dothan Association of Realtors to better serve area consumers.