Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Image by Random Things Entering My Field of Vision via FlickrThese ‘secrets’ are also usually just as valid in Houston, Las Angeles, Miami, and Scranton as they are in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1. Be on the lookout for “REDUCED” or “PRICE REDUCED” signs.  In my 30 years experience in the Knoxville market I’ve found that if a seller will come down once, they will come down again and often more than than.
2. Look for “Fixer Uppers“. Watch for ad words like: “fixer-upper,” “potential,” “value in land,” “investment property,” “tender loving care,” “contractor’s special” and “as-is.”. These are often signs of a seller unwilling (or unable) to make an investment to fix up their property so it will sell faster. You can be their savior and take their problem off their hands; often at a greatly discounted price.
3. Look for homes that a seller has owned for 10 years or more. Why? Because in a longer time period a seller has typically built up a substantial amount of equity in a home and maybe even paid off their mortgage. A $10 or 20,000 price reduction to someone like this is much easier to swallow than someone who bought last year with a 100% loan (100% loans are another story for another posting).
4. Look for homes that a seller has owned for less than 2 years. Whoa, you just said in #3 above that 10 years was the magic number. That’s still true and it is. However, there have been lots of people that wanted to get in to the house “flipping” game in the past few years. Not all of them have been successful selling and are often willing to get that house payment off their hands at a good price for you.
5. Look for houses that have been on the market for 4 months or longer. This is something easily determined by merely looking at the bottom of each listing brief where DOM stands for “days on market“. Lots of DOM can mean big DOLLARS in savings for you. You also need to have your Realtor search the property histories for listings you’re interested in. One of the favorite tricks listings agents use is to either let a listing expire or withdraw it and put it right back in again as new to start the DOM counter all over at zero.

To help guide you through the ins and outs of home buying you need your own team on your side.The ‘quarterback’ of that team is your Realtor and ideally a Realtor who has earned the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The (ABR®) designation is the  benchmark of excellence in buyer representation. This coveted designation is awarded to real estate practitioners by the Real Estate BUYER’S AGENT Council (REBAC) of the National Association of REALTORS® who meet the specified educational and practical experience criteria.

As always, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the “go to” website for greater Knoxville area homes, condos, land, and multi-family homes.

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Image via WikipediaMost every fall we take one of the annual color cruises on nearby Norris Lake. Operated and narrated by a ranger from Norris Dam State Park, these cruises take you places you can only access by boat.

A local friends of the park group donated this nifty pontoon boat they use for the cruises.

the good ship Eleanor

This past Friday was a rainy, overcast, blustery fall day in east Tennessee but the fall colors were ready to view so off we went with our ranger/guide Lucinda and two other hardy souls from nearby Knoxville.

The colors were not at peak just yet but were very beautiful never the less. Some of the Maple trees were showing their usual spectacular red colors.

the Tennessee Valley Authority routinely drops the water levels of most all their lakes in the fall to make room for spring rains and flood control downstream. Norris lakes level routinely is dropped around 20 feet but since it is such a deep lake the average water depth is still around 75 feet.

Norris Dam was completed around 1936 and impounds the Powell and Clinch Rivers to form Norris Lake with almost 800 miles of shoreline. It’s a very popular attraction for visitors from all over.

On other cruises we have seen lots of wildlife from Bald Eagles, deer, ducks, and more, but this trip we only saw two mallards passing over and one lonely Belted Kingfisher on the bank.

It was very peaceful on the lake, we only saw one other boat with a lone fisherman trying his luck.

Now is a great time to be looking for a home in the greater Knoxville area so you can enjoy places like Norris Dam State Park and Knoxvilles many other family friendly attractions. Knoxville Home Center is a great place to look for that new home.

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeOne of the best ways to calculate a trend in Knoxville housing sales is the absorption rate for that area.

The absorption rates for a huge area such as Knoxville or Knox County is a pretty broad number. To forecast area trends more accurately you need to target a smaller area such as a specific section of the country or town, subdivision, or zip code.

And, since most sellers and buyers are interested in the price point their particular Knoxville house fits into, limiting it to that price point makes this tool even more useful.

Recently sold Farragut, TN home

As an example let’s take the price point from $375,000 to $425,000 in the Town of Farragut, a popular suburb in the west end of Knox County.

According the the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS) figures, there have been 32 houses sold & closed to date in the above price range in Farragut. There are currently 44 homes for sale in Farragut in that price point.

To calculate Farraguts absorption rate for that price point we first divide the number of months used, 10 in this case, into the number of sales, 32. The answer is an average of 3.2 homes sold per month.

Next you divide the sold homes average, 3.2 into the number for sale from the MLS, 44 and the answer is 13,75 which means there is currently a 13.75 months supply of homes for sale in Farragut (assuming no new listings come on the market). That makes Farragut right now a very strong buyers market.

Beautiful recently sold home in the Town of Farragut, TN

If you’re in the market for a great home in Farragut, now is an excellent time to buy.

If you’re a seller in the Farragut there’s good news for you too; Farragut homes area still selling. However you do need to be very aggressive in your pricing, have your home in tip top shape, and select a Realtor with a comprehensive marketing plan to expose it to the most potential buyers possible.

Visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com for some great buying and selling tips.

Image via WikipediaThe Knox Country Registrar of Deeds office recorded the following real estate transactions in Knox County this past week.

More than $1,000,000                  2

$1,000,000 to $500,000              6

$300,000 to $500,000                21

$200,000 to $300,000                39

$150,000 to $200,000                51

$100,000 to $150,000                73

$50,000 to $100,000                  46

Under $50,000                           33

Proof positive that Knoxville homes are still selling in spite of what you may hear or read in the national media. Truth be told, there is no such thing as “the national real estate market”. All real estate is local and sales along with prices, depend on what the local economy is doing. Mortgage interest rates are very attractive in the 6% range and if you have decent credit you CAN buy a new home if you want to.

This beautiful Farragut home sold for $1,426,000 last week.

 This spacious 2800 square foot Knox County home closed at $240,000

This attractive Knoxville home sold recently for $120,000

So as you can see by the number and quality of homes sold this past week in Knoxville and Knox County, area homes are still selling well and there are some great buys on beautiful homes.

To find a great buy on a beautiful home visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter to see what’s for sale today; no registration required.

Image via WikipediaIf you have had your Knoxville, Tennessee area house on the market for more than 6 months and it has not sold yet, YOU have a problem.

Based on my 30+ years of home selling experience in the Knoxville real estate market, 1 or more of the reasons below is why you still own your house and not a new, happy homeowner.

1. You got an offer something in the past and turned it down. Statistically I’ve found that the first offer you get is usually the best one you’re going to get based on current market conditions. Sure you could have gotten more 2 years ago and you may get more 2-4 years from now but since your house is for sale now I’m assuming you want to sell now.
2. It’s overpriced. Knoxville buyers read the news just like you do. Right now the stock market is in the tank, mortgage loans are tougher to get, and consumer confidence is lower than usual. Aggressive pricing is necessary to sell in the “right now” present market. Check your price and ask yourself if you would buy your house for your price today? If the answer is no then the solution is obvious, lower your price.
3. You’re not listening. To the market, to your Realtor, to buyers. Sometimes you have issues with your house that are cheap fixes. If your house needs painting, paint it. You get about a 5 to 1 return for every dollar spent on painting. If your carpet is worn and you can’t afford to replace it, call a carpet store, get an estimate, and offer to write a check at closing for new carpet. Buyers are willing to pay premium prices for houses in good repair.
4. You’ve been for sale too long. Knoxville houses, like all merchandise for sale, get stale after a time. Buyers that are shopping ask what’s wrong with a house that’s been on the market 6 months or longer. Better to price correctly up front and sell faster if even for a little less. Add up what continuing to own your house and have to put your moving plans on hold will cost. You’ll usually find you’re better off to go ahead and get it sold now so you and your family can move on with their lives.
5. Too much “stuff”. Your house is too cluttered with your stuff and furniture for potential buyers to imagine what their things would look like. Pack up trophys, family photos, collections, and excess furniture. Rent a storage building or POD if necessary but get it out of the house and out of a buyer’s sight so they can see the space. Some fresh towels in the baths, bare kitchen counters so buyers can see work space, and things like that go a long way to attracting buyers.
6. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes. Buyers are constantly bombarded by the media about declining home prices, foreclosures, stocks going down, gas prices going up, and other negative news. No wonder they’re nervous about becoming obligated to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt by buying your house. Make it better than the competition, offer some financial incentives for them, and make it irresistible to them.
7. Don’t expect buyers to fix your deferred maintenance and decorating items. One of the cold hard facts of home ownership in Knoxville, Tennessee as well as most everywhere else, is that there is ongoing maintenance and decorating that needs to be done periodically. Roofs have to be replaced, landscaping needs to be trimmed and maintained, dated decor needs freshening. While buyers are willing to pay a premium for a house that’s in “Move In” condition, they often demand a deep discount if they have to do a lot of things you should have been doing over the years.
8. What caused you to buy your house? Is it close to a popular Knox County school, shopping, in a great area. Whatever the reason most buyers will likely be attracted to the same things, make sure they know about them in your advertising.

If you’re thinking of spiffing up your Knoxville area house to make it sell faster, or if you’re a new Knoxville area homeowner I can give you a 10% off coupon from Lowe’s that is good for any one purchase up to a maximum of $10,000! That mean if you spend 10,000 bucks at Lowe’s you get $1,000 off, $1,000, you get $100 off. No cost and no obligation, just call me at (865) 693-3232 or email me for the free Lowe’s coupon.

 

This great, free 10% off coupon is ONLY available from Realtors that are participating in Lowe’s Realtor Benefits program.

My Lowe’s “Inside Out”, free monthly e-newsletter is full of great advice too. No cost, no obligation, just send an email and say “Sign me up Jim.”

• Monthly tips on selling, buying and moving
• Education about innovative products and projects around the home that yield the highest return
• Important home maintenance tips
• Periodic project starters that will include links to Lowe’s how-to videos and special savings at Lowe’s stores

Visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com and click “Sellers” for lots of good fix up tips to make your house more appealing to potential buyers and get it sold faster for a higher price.

Fall is great in east Tennessee with all the trees showing their spectacular yellows, reds, and orange colors. The air is cooler and more crisp, the smell of wood smoke and burning leaves is in the air. It’s also a perfect time for a little backpacking in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Park service photo from Bullhead Gap showing late October color and hoarfrost on the mountain in the background.

So this past weekend some of my fellow Realtors and a couple of other friends hiked into the backcountry along the Meig’s Mountain trail to campsite # 20. It’s about a 3 1/2 mile hike in from Elkmont, a popular front country campground.

Weather was perfect this past weekend; bright blue, clear fall skies, sunshine, and temperatures ranging from 40s at night into the mid 70s during the day.

Three campers went in Friday but I came in on Saturday morning. They were already set up and had a nice campfire going.

This is one of the benefits to living near the Smoky Mountains. That horizontal blue object in the background is my hammock; I spent lots of time both Saturday and Sunday in it.

We had a big surprise around noon Saturday. We heard some voices coming down the trail and discovered it was the Smoky Mountain Llama treks bringing in a group on one of their outings.

It seemed to me the Llama trek folks were much smarter than we were because they had their trusty Llamas carrying their packs. 😉

The trekkers unpacked at the adjacent campsite to us, set up their folding tables and chairs, and had a feast in the woods. They generously gave us their leftover shirimp cocktails, being good neighbors we took it.

In addition to the Llamas there was lots of native wildlife; we saw deer, heard lots of owls at night, and saw a coyote strolling down the trail beside our campsite. He seemed to be oblivious to our presence. He came back trough about 30 minutes later headed back up the trail. We whistled and hollered at him, he turned once to look but kept on at the same pace. Couldn’t get a picture either time.

It was a great weekend for all, good to get away from computers and cell phones periodically and just do some serious relaxing and have fun.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to find a new home if you would like to live in the Knoxville area of east Tennessee.

Image via WikipediaFor potential, first time Knoxville area homebuyers, there is now a $7,500 tax credit available to help you get into a home.

But don’t delay, it’s only good until July 1, 2009 and then it goes away.

The new tax credit can help you own a great new home like this one.
The credit (which is actually a no interest loan because you have to repay it) works like this.

If you buy a new or resale Knoxville area home before the cutoff date of 2009 you can claim the credit on the federal income tax return you file two years from the closing date, i.e. if you close on say, January 1 of 2009 yog get to claim the credit on your 2011 tax return.

And there’s also good news even if you’ve owned a home in the past. The IRS defines a “first time homebuyer” as one who has not owned a home at anytime in the past 3 years. For married couples that includes both you and your spouse.

There’s also an income limit. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Well, that all sounds great but how does a $7,500 credit in 2 years help me buy a house today?

Easy, it can work like this.  If you believe you will qualify for the credit you can simply reduce your withholding amount or your quarterly tax payments and save the difference to use for your down payment and closing costs.

With most FHA insured loans the seller is permitted to make a contribution toward a buyer’s closing costs up to 3% of the purchase price. This is typically almost enough to pay for them so a new home buyer would only have to then come up with the 3% down payment in cash and there’s another new bill in Congress that will bring back gifts to buyers for that amount.

Knoxville Home Center is a great place to pick out a new home.