Knox County Tennessee Register of Deeds property transfers for the week of March 28th

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 9:44 am, March 28th, 2010  
Play VisualTour

Take a look at this charming, North Hills home. Beautiful hardwood floors, updated, and 3 bedrooms.


It appears as if the Knoxville area real estate market is showing some signs of life based on the past week’s sales figures. the Knox County Register of Deeds office is reporting 175 property transfers compared to only 92 the week before.

Days on Market (time from listing to contract) was 122 days this past February compared to 120 days in February 2009 and 100 days same time period in 2008.

knox county tn real estate knoxville homes for sale knoxville properties for sale

For the week of March 28th, 2010

A very nice increase.

The Knoxville News Sentinel had a very nice, tongue in cheek article today about the soon expiring $8,000 tax credit titled:  $8,000 – nah, you can keep it Pretty funny article and full of useful information about how the tax credit works.

As of today, March 28th, 2010 at 10:36 AM, there are 5,089 homes currently for sale in Knox County and 13,643 total in all the counties our Multiple Listing Services reaches including Oak Ridge, Maryville, Loudon County; a total of 19 counties I believe. If you’re a potential buyer that means there is a huge selection of homes for sale in all price ranges.

I wrote an offer on a home yesterday and my buyer got a 4 1/2% fixed rate, 15 year mortgage and 30 year loans are available for 5% fixed interest rate.

$8,000 in tax credits to buy a house, 5% of lower interest rates, and thousands of homes to choose from. It does not get any better than this and that tax credit expires at the end of April.

visit Knoxville Home Searcher.com now to pick one out for you and your family.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

New Tennessee REALTOR® License Plates “Celebrate Homeownership”

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 3:59 pm, March 25th, 2010  

The new, specialty REALTOR License Plates for Tennessee REALTORS — “Celebrate Homeownership!” are in. I picked mine up today and it’s on my car

tennessee realtor license plate knoxville tn real estate jim lee

Tennessee REALTOR license plates

Very cool and very colorful.

If you pre-ordered one they should be at your local county clerk’s office. To pick yours up you will need a copy of your state real estate license and the current license plate on the vehicle you plan to put your Realtor plate on.

I didn’t know that when I went after mine and had to get my secretary to fax a copy of my license down.

I also didn’t know about having to turn your existing license plate in to get the new one either so of course I didn’t have mine with me.

If your current license isn’t due for renewal yet you will get credit for the remaining time left on it so you won’t lose any money by getting your new Realtor plates right away.

And of course if you’re looking for a new home in Tennessee, especially east Tennessee, www.KnoxvilleHomeSearcher.com is a great place to start your home search.

Award winning Key Lime Pie recipe

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 8:16 am, March 25th, 2010  

One of my favorite kinds of pie is Key Lime. Easy to make but hard to find a good one.

My benchmark for excellence in Key Lime pies are the ones made at the Donut Hole Bakery & Cafe on Harbor Boulevard in Destin Florida. Their pies are what all Key Lime pies should aspire to; that tart-sweet taste that makes your mouth sort of pucker and gets your saliva glands flowing at the same time. Delicious.

I have now discovered another Key Lime pie that you can easily create at home that tastes just as good. My fellow Realtor Jean Tavenner’s daughter Yvonne is an accomplished cook just like her mother. Yvonne has a Key Lime pie recipe that won First Prize in a local cooking contest and after tasting a slice last night, I know why. It was delicious with that trademark tart sweet taste all Key Lime pies should have.

With her permission I’m sharing her award winning recipe with you.

Yvonne Farmer Award Winning Key Lime Pie recipe

Yvonne Farmer

Here’s what you need to make your own “Yvonne’s Award Winning Key Lime Pie”:

  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup of melted butter
  • 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk (Yvonne uses one regular and one low or non-fat).
  • 1 cup of  Key Lime juice (make sure it’s REAL Key Lime juice, regular limes just don’t produce the same taste) Yvonne uses about 3/4 cup and squeezes the remaining 1/4 cup from fresh Key Limes.
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tarter
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • Lime slices to garnish
  1. Combine the first 3 ingredients. Press into a 9 inch pie pie plate or pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then let it cool.
  2. Stir together sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until blended. Pour into crust.
  3. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter at high speed with electric mixer just until foamy. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time while beating until soft peaks form and sugar dissolves  (2 to 4 minutes). Spread meringue over pie filling.
  4. Bake @ 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely. chill 8 hours. Garnish with lime slices. Yields 1 9 inch pie.

There you go, one of the best and easiest Key Lime pie recipes around. Thanks to Yvonne Farmer for sharing her award winning recipe.

Visit Knoxville Home Searcher.com to see all Knoxville area Realtor listings for sale.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

What’s happening this month in Knoxville, TN real estate.

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 11:59 am, March 21st, 2010  
Play VisualTour

Here’s a marvelous North Hills home that has been extensively updated. Hardwood floors, fireplace, and lots of other great features.

See all the greater Knoxville area listings of homes and condos for sale at Knoxville Home Searcher.com, just click here and you’re there. 😉

My apologies to my regular readers for not posting anything in the past 2 weeks but I’ve been pretty busy listing and selling houses which is a good thing.

The February sales numbers are now available from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors for the greater Knoxville area and surrounding counties so let’s take a look and see how we did this past month.

knoxville tennessee real estate and knoxville tn homes for sale

February to past Februaries comparison

While this just past February was up 42 homes over 2009 the total volume is still way down compared to the past 7 years or so. According to these numbers we’re basically at around 2001-02 levels.

Here’s the latest Knox County sales figures for the week just past.

knoxville tennessee real estate and knoxville tn homes for sale

From the Knox County Register of Deeds

I count 92 transactions in the chart above. That’s down considerably from the 150 or so we were averaging in 2009 which dovetails with the sales figures above from the Realtor Association.

It appears this February is pretty much like January 2010; down from years past but up over last year a little. Modest good news for the Knoxville area real estate market.

Another way to calculate the current state of a real estate market is by the absorption rate. That means how long will it take to sell the current amount of homes for sale at the current sales rate.

Currently in the Knoxville Area Association of Realtor’s MLS (Multiple Listing Service) there are 4,021 single family homes and condos for sale. Based on the latest February sales figures for Knox County there were 369 closings. That means it would take 13.3 months at the current sales levels to sell all 4,021 listings assuming no new ones came on the market.

Those figures tell me we’re still in a very strong buyer’s market in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area.

Knoxville median sales prices

Median sales price is the middle of the price range, half were more, half were less.

If anyone is thinking of buying this year let me remind you the $8,000 federal tax credit expires at the end of April 2010 and most likely WILL NOT be renewed this time. Here’s some FAQ about how it works, please call or email me with any additional questions or to get started buying your own home.

You do have until the end of April to have your selected home under contract and then an additional 60 days beyond that to get it closed. Some active duty military personnel have more time under special circumstances; I can help with that as well.

See all the greater Knoxville area listings of homes and condos for sale at Knoxville Home Searcher.com

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Knoxville Real Estate Transfers for the week of February 28, 2010

Posted by Jim Lee, REALTOR® @ 8:34 am, March 1st, 2010  

See 11,509 Knoxville area homes and condos for sale right here.

February 2010 is now officially over. The total sales from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors won’t be available until around the 15th of March so as to include late closings from February. We can however take a look at last week’s property transfers from the Knox County Register of Deeds office.

Knox County TN real estate property transfers

I count 104 for the past week which is about on par for this year’s totals. Last year we were averaging around 150 a week but I still believe this year’s numbers will increase as the spring selling market gets in full swing.

I mean who wouldn’t buy a house now if you wanted to and could qualify for a loan. There is a huge selection of homes for sale in all price ranges, motivated sellers who are willing to deal on prices and concessions to buyers, AND the lowest interest rates we’ve seen in a long, long time.

The only think holding real estate sales to their current levels is the jobs (unemployment) and the economic mess the United States (and a lot of the world) finds itself in right now.

The January unemployment figures held pretty much steady at 10% of the workforce. However, the real rate of unemployment — which includes part- time workers who want full-time jobs and people who want work but have simply stopped looking — rose to 17.3% from 17.2%.  Not good.

Only two more months left for buyers to get a home under contract now and qualify for the up to $8,000 tax credit for those that have not owned a home in the past 3 years and up to $6,500 for those that have. Call or email me for details.

Here’s what January 2010 sales looked like compared to previous Januarys. We were up 90 homes in 2010 compared to 2009 so that’s  good news.

knoxville tn real estate listings

January sales

Check out my exciting new website below to see all Knoxville area Realtor listings of houses and condos for sale. Search 1000’s of Beautiful Homes Photos, Prices, Tours, Maps & More!

See 11,509 Knoxville area homes and condos for sale right here.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]