Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

West Hills all brick rancher in absolute move in condition. $209,500, call to see it today.

Today is the last day of January 2010 and the last published real estate transfer report for that month from the Knox County Register of Deeds. So how did we do? Let’s take a look.

Knox County TN real estate transfers

I count 108 property transfers for the past week. In 2009 we were averaging around 150 or so a week.

Historically Knoxville area real estate sales have started to rise early in each new year, building to a peak in the summer before starting a dip down as fall and winter approaches. Will the same thing happen this year? The next couple of months will tell that story and I’ll keep you posted right here.

visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all of the greater Knoxville area listings for sale as well as great selling and buying tips.

Knoxville Homes For Sale

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• Knox County Register of Deeds Real Estate Transfers for the week of January 17th (knoxvilletennesseerealestateblog.com)
• Knox County Register of Deeds real estate transfers for the week of Dec. 27th (knoxvilletennesseerealestateblog.com)

New listing in popular North Hills section of north Knoxville.

Let’s look back over the past 11 years to get some perspective about where the current greater Knoxville, Tennessee area real estate market is compared to past years.

Knoxville area sales for the past 11 years

In 2009 all the members of the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors sold 10,495 houses and condos. in 2008 it was 11,850.  That’s a 11% drop in volume 2008. It’s also a whopping 40% drop from the peak sales year of 2006.

Basically that means the greater Knoxville area is back to pre-2002 sales levels.

That’s what has happened in the past 11 years; now let’s talk about what I believe is going to happen in 2010 and beyond.

I believe interest rates will remain low for at least this year, probably in the 5-6% range because of low demand. Any retailer will tell you that you can’t raise the price of your merchandise if it’s not selling.

Lots of pundits are predicting that housing prices have stabilized. I don’t agree with them. I think foreclosures and short sales will keep downward pressure on housing prices for this year and some years beyond. How many? anyone’s guess.

Mortgage will continue to be hard to get. I’m hearing stories from fellow Realtors about lenders asking for more and more documentation and verifications on even buyers with gold plated credit histories. For instance, I have a closing set for this coming Friday on a fairly high end house, great buyer, great credit history, and substantial down payment. Lender is now (4 days before closing) asking for more documentation and a statement from inspector as to minor maintenance issues. I’ve never had anything like that before.

Still a great time to buy a house, an OK time to sell one that’s priced competitively and in great condition, and it’s now taking longer than ever before to find a buyer and get to the closing table.

Below is the weekly sales report from the Knox County Register of deeds showing all the transfers recorded in the past week. In 2009 we averaged roughly 150 sales a week. I count 98 for last week. A sign of things to come? I don’t necessarily think so. It’s still early in the year and historically near the bottom of the yearly sales cycle.

I’ll continue to monitor these reports and we’ll see if they start to rise in February and March as they have done in past years.

Knoxville, TN weekly sales report

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all the Knoxville area Realtor listings for sale. Please leave your comments below and feel free to contact me directly with any questions or to schedule a showing or talk about selling your current home.

Great investment property and/or for UT students. 1 two BR up and 1 One BR down, Reduced to $79,950!

January is rapidly drawing to a close and we now have the 3rd real estate transfer report from the Knox County Register of Deeds available.

I counted 121 transfers for the past week. That’s a bit below the 150 average we had in 2009 but I’m discounting some of that because of the time of year. We’ll see if it picks up or now as we get close to spring and better weather for both sellers and buyers.

Knox County Tennessee real estate sales recorded

To start your home selling year off right here’s some home selling tips from real estate experts:

The Louisville, Kentucky Association of Realtors has a great video with more selling tips.

And WKMB in Kansas City has 9 great tips to help your home sell.

If you have a home you’re thinking of selling in 2010 please give me a call or email and ask for a free copy of my FREE ebook: “450 Ideas to help your home seller faster”. This 50+ page book is chock full of advice that will get your home sold and usually for more money than you would have gotten without doing some of the things suggested.

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com for more selling tips and to see all the greater Knoxville area listings of homes, condos, and land for sale.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Knox County Register of Deeds real estate transfers for the week of Dec. 27th (knoxvilletennesseerealestateblog.com)
• Now is the time to sell your rental property (westseattleherald.com)

Wow, we’re experiencing colder than normal weather in Knoxville, TN this week; it’s been below freezing for over a week now.

That’s a bit unusual for this area but it seems the whole United States has been experiencing below normal temperatures over the past few days. It’s supposed to get above freezing today with highs in the 50s toward the end of this week; I’m ready for some warmer (relatively) weather.

It appears from the weather map below that a high pressure system from the Gulf Coast and a low pressure system from Canada and further north are colliding over Knoxville right now. I’m pulling for the high to win.

US weather map

Although the air temperature is cold, the Knoxville real estate market is hot for buyers right now. Lots of homes for sale, motivated sellers, low interest rates, AND an $8,000 tax credit for most buyers.

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to pick one out and call me to go take a look at it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• U.S. in grips of long-lasting cold spell (cnn.com)
• Eastern U.S. sees ‘icebox’ conditions (msnbc.msn.com)
• The nation’s weather (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Weather forcast (liveactivecultures.net)

This delightful duplex is near UT and has 1 two BR and 1 1 BR units, will cash flow.

Happy New Years fellow Knoxvillians; it’s now officially 2010.

Following is the latest report from the Knox County Register of Deeds office for real estate transfers (sales) completed last week (January 3, 2010).

I counted 88 property transfers in the past week. That’s a low number compared to the 150 we have been averaging for all of 2009 but I believe the holidays had more to do with that than other factors.

Are you like me and wondering what the new year will bring for the Knoxville real estate market?

Here’s what I think is likely to happen:

• Interest rates are going to rise a little. I believe we will be looking at 6% or so at some point in 2010.
• It’s anyone’s guess what will happen when the tax credit expires at the end of April 2010. That credit has been driving the low end of our market for several months now so it can’t help but have a negative impact when it’s gone.
• The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors 2009 sales report for the year will be out around the 15th of this month so we will be able to compare 2009 to past years. However we already know the numbers for the last 11 months of 2009 so I’m not expecting any surprises in December sales.
• There are currently 3,332 active residential listings in Knox County.
• There is also 521 “sale pending” listings in Knox County. I’m wondering how many of those are for real and how many are listings where the sale has fallen through and the status was never changed. I know I have one lease purchase set to close next month that has been there since July of 2009.
• I think the volume of sales will rise in 2010; how much is anyone’s guess. 10-20% sounds realistic to me.
• I think the price appreciation will remain flat with maybe a slight rise but very slight if it happens.
• One in seven households with mortgages was either in foreclosure or delinquent on payments at the end of September, the most recent data available from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Some owners are defaulting because they have lost their jobs. Expect more foreclosures in 2010.
• The biggest factor missing from the real estate market (and other markets as well) is confidence. Investors and most everyone else are just unsure about what the short term future brings. Nervous investors tend to set on their assets and not invest them.

It will be interesting to revisit this post in about 6 months and compare my predictions to what has actually happened.

Nothing to do with real estate and just for fun, here’s a list of people and things with roots in Knoxville, Tennessee.

There are lots of awesome homes for sale if your in the market. If you’re thinking of selling houses are selling, 88 sold just this past week and that’s a low number compared to the 150 average we’ve had for all of 2009.

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all of the Knoxville area homes for sale, find great tips to make your home sell faster and for more money, and of course, contact me to buy or sell.

Best wishes to all for a very happy and prosperous 2010!