Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

As a long time Knoxville area Realtor I have helped literally hundreds of families buy and sell homes. And of course since I’m fairly intimately involved with those people during their home purchase or sale I know a lot about them including where they’re moving from or to.

However I have often wondered about the rest of people moving here from other areas. Where did they move from? What part of the United States or the world were they living before they moved here?

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has a research department that investigates such things as where people come from, what sort of house did they buy, number of people in the family, and lots of other statistics.

Historic trend of homebuyers into and out of Knox County, TN

I got a copy of the latest “NAR Relocation Report” for Knox County, Tennessee to get some empirical data on just exactly where do new Knox County residents come from; the results were pretty surprising to me.

In the latest year data is available far and away the biggest number of new Knox County residents moved here from Blount County which is just next door. 817 households from Blount County are now Knox County residents.

Number of households that moved into Knox County, TN and bought a house.

Blount, Anderson, Sevier, and other area folks are invited to view all of Knox Counties Realtor listings for sale at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

Here’s a couple of Knox County homes that might appeal to newcomers.

Karns, 4 bedrooms, and priced at $299,900

Attractive Cape Cod style and priced at only $174,900

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The Fourth of July weekend is winding down;  only the occasional firecracker “bang” can still be heard and it’s rainy out today so I don’t expect too much will be going on.

Unfortunately the “don’t expect too much will be going on” still applies to Knoxville’s real estate market as well. The weekly figures from the Knox County Register of Deeds show 157 real estate transactions recorded in the past week; that’s about the same number as was recorded the week before.

And like all the weeks past, the figures show the lower end; homes priced below $250,000 with most of sales in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.

Knox County real estate transactions recorded provided by Jim Lee, Realty Executives Associates

With the end of June comes the end of the Second Quarter of 2009. The 2nd Quarter sales figures are usually posted around the middle of the following month along with the previous month’s sales. It will be interested to compare 2nd Quarter 09 with previous years to see how we’re doing over a longer term.

I did notice the average days on market jumped up in May to 125 days. It was 109 in April, 116 in March, 120 in February, and 110 days in January so that’s not a huge jump although it is a high for the year in what’s has been historically one of the more active sales months.

Below is a chart showing how many months supply of homes are current for sale at the current sales rates. For example on the first category, homes priced over one million dollars, it will take 43.8 months to sell just those homes assuming no new listings come on the market.

Knoxville tn homes for sale absorption rates

While most sellers are not getting top market value if they sell now, some very good buys exist for buyers able to qualify for a new loan. Interest rates are still very low, in the bottom of the 5% range, which translates into more affordable house payments.

Take a look at KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com and see if anything for sale there strikes your fancy. I have all the homes listings in the Knoxville Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service (MLS) posted there and you can search them with no registration required.

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The past week looks a bit worse than the week before with the volume of transfers down to 78 from the previous weeks 138.

only 78 Knox County Real estate transfers recorded for the week of May 10th

This market has created the proverbial “Perfect Storm” for home buyers. Lots of home for sale (Today there are 5,124 active single family and condominium homes for sale just in Knox County) and 78 recorded transactions last week so it’s very clearly a strong buyer’s market.

Financing remains in the sub 5% range for most price ranges with some great 100% financing available for buyers able to use the Tennessee Housing Development Authority (THDA) program.

Those smart folks at THDA have a new program that actually lends you up to the 3..5% of your down payment (which coincidentally happens to be the minimum down for FHA financing) at 0% for up to a year and you can repay them when you file your taxes and collect that $8,000 tax credit the federal government is offering for qualified buyers that have not owned a home in the past 3 years.  Regular conventional buyers also can qualify for the 8K tax credit as well.

All you need is a minimum 620 credit score and a debt to income ratio below 45%; call me if you’re interested and I’ll explain how it works; easy for most people to qualify.

Here’s a few listings you can buy right now that fit into this program’s guidelines.

This charming Cape Cod styled home is priced at only $129,900. Ask about $0 down financing and a principal and interest payment under $600 a month!

This excellent basement rancher is priced at only $149,900 with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a two car garage.

This charming older home was listed for $84,900 and not surprisingly just sold.

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see over 5,000 Knox County homes for sale as well as other nearby areas such as Maryville, Oak Ridge, Loudon County, and many others.

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If you’re thinking of selling your house and it has older and outdated kitchen and bathrooms you’re probably thinking thousands of dollars to remodel and upgrade.

There is a low cost alternative to replacing bathtubs, showers, counters, etc. by simply having them professionally refinished. We sold our house in 2007. It was built in the 70s I believe and each of the three bathrooms had different colored fixtures and tile. One was yellow, one was avocado, and the other was a funky brown and gold.

After some investigation I found a company called Miracle Method of Knoxville who refinishes tiles, tubs, etc., in place with very high grade paint and totally changes the look to a clean, modern finish.The entire process, depending on how much you do, takes anywhere from 1 to 3 days. If you’re worried about durability they guarantee the finish for 5 years against peeling and flaking.

They have a showroom in the Middlebrook Pike area near Wright’s Cafeteria so you can go by and see their work firsthand.

In each bathroom they repainted the bathtub and all the tile along the walls. I installed new vanities, mirrors, light fixtures, and a new, comfort height commode along with new vinyl flooring. My total cost per bathroom was under $2,000 and the difference was enormous.

Here are some example from other projects they have done.

Notice how the dirty old pink and black tile was coated to provide a clean, modern look

Kitchen counter tops can also be refinished in place.

Counter tops can also be refinished and they even have a textured finish that imitates granite or quartz.

Dated Avocado Green tile becomes sparkling white.

Huge difference in this shower stall after refinishing.

BTW, our house sold at full price in a week. The buyers were totally blown away by the bathrooms and kitchen in a 35 year old house.

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Best wishes to everyone for a Happy and Prosperous New Year and thank you for a great 2008.

Jim Lee, Your Realtor

Image by Kitty Sonnenschein via Flickr

If you still have Thanksgiving turkey left over here are 2 quick and easy recipes to deliciously get rid of it.

One of my favorites I fixed last night.

Grilled Turkey Rubens, serves 2

4 slices rye bread

1/2 cup sauerkraut

2 slices of Swiss cheese

1,000 island dressing

turkey

Butter or apply spread to outside of rye bread, place one slice butter side down in skillet.

layer on some turkey, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing.

Butter other side of bread and place on top with butter side facing up.

Grilled until toasted on one side, turn over and toast other side.

Enjoy, grilled turkey Rubens are delicious especially with a crisp pickle and some chips.

Crunchy Turkey Salad, serves 2

coarsely chop cooked turkey, from 1/2 cup to 1 cup

Mix in a coarsely chopped tart apple like Granny Smith

Throw in a handful of nuts, pecan or walnuts work best.

Fold in some low fat mayo to taste.

You can either use this on a sandwich, by itself, or put a big spoon on top of some torn salad greens.

Both the Reuben and turkey salad recipes are very easy to prepare and both are very tasty.

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www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is another great recipe to help you find a new home, no mixing, stirring, or cooking necessary.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

If you are you’re in good company.

Currently the Knoxville Area Association of Realtor’s Multiple Listing System (MLS) has 11,576 active residential listings and 1,743 condos which have all been for sale an average time of 108 days. That’s a very clear sign to me that we’re in a strong buyer’s market.
In the month of October there were 874 closed sales but there were also 2,106 new residential listings plus another 228 condos.

I’m not going to do the math but it’s pretty plain that only about 1 out of every 15 listings sold in October.

As a seller you’re goal is to be that 1 out of 15 that got an invitation to the closing table.

Because I’m in the Knoxville area real estate market on a daily basis I see lots of sellers with houses that are grossly overpriced for various reasons.

Reasons like:

• “We really need the money.” Sorry, but buyers don’t care. If you want to sell now you need to have your house priced aggressively and in tip top shape to attract buyers that want to buy now.
  
• “We can always reduce the price later.” Later is often too ‘later’. Buyers are looking to buy now and they’re buying that 1 in 15 house that they feel gives them the most bang for their buck. Buyers pass overpriced houses by and usually don’t come back.
• “We’ll just try it at this price for a few weeks and see what happens.” Buyer activity for a new listing is typically highest while it’s still new on the market. After it has set a while buyers start passing it by because it’s stale. Usually a price reduction (a significant price reduction) is what you need to do to invite them back to take another look. Better to price it right from the start and get it sold.
• “Buyers can always make an offer if they think our price is too high.” Sounds reasonable but buyers tend to look in certain price points and if you’re so high that you’re out of their price range they’re not even going to look at your house much less make an offer.

Here’s a link back to a posting I wrote a few months ago with 4 quick ways to make your Knoxville area house sell. Not guaranteed to work but it will get you a lot closer to that closing table than you are now.

If your house or condo is currently listed with a Knoxville area Realtor ask them to take you on a CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) field trip to take a look at your competition. Choose 2 or 3 houses similar to yours currently for sale and go visit them to see how yours compares.

Then get a list of what similar houses to yours have sold for in the past 2-3 months; 6 months ago doesn’t count anymore, that’s ancient history. You need to know what is going on with sales now. Have your Realtor call the listing agents for the house that just sold and ask them what they feel made it happen.
Remember, with only 1 out of 15 listings selling last month and average market times at 108 days, your listing needs to stand head and shoulders above the crowd to attract buyers.

You can take a look at current homes for sale at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see how yours stacks up to the competition.

I’m available to answer any questions you may have by phone, email, or I’ll be glad to come visit you to talk about getting your house sold.

Image via WikipYesterday at the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) annual convention in Orlando, Florida, NAR proposed their own economic stimulus plan to get the nation’s economy moving again.

Not surprisingly it involves real estate, more specifically residential real estate.

Increasing home affordability and access to reasonably priced mortgage loans would help other business as well because each home sale drives the purchase of many other goods and services.

“New homeowners move into a home with energy and enthusiasm, spending money on everything from appliances, to furniture, window treatments, and rugs. New homeowners tend to want to make the home their own, and spend a great deal during the first two years in a new residence making improvements, from cosmetic changes such as a new coat of paint to major renovations such as room additions.”

I know that when we bought a new home in 2007 we spent quite a bit of money doing improvements. We:

• painted the interior
• Added insulation in the attic
• Rebuilt all the closet shelving with vinyl coated shelving systems
• refinished the hardwood floors
• remodeled both bathroom
• Replaced the single pane windows with new, insulated low-e glass
• bought new blinds for all windows
• did quite a bit of new landscaping
• Upgraded the electrical service

And each one of those purchases put several thousand dollars into Knoxville’s economy which enabled the local goods and service providers to pay their bills, buy their own consumer goods and services, and make capital investments to grow their business.

NAR’s 4 point proposal is as follows:

1. Extend for 2 years the current $7,500 tax credit for first time homebuyers, make it applicable to all buyers, and eliminate the repayment requirement.
2. Make permanent the temporary increase in FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits to $729,750 in high-cost areas. The limits are scheduled to roll back to $625,000 on Jan. 1.
3. Permanently block banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management.
4. A temporary federal buy-down of mortgage rates to 4.5 percent or less. We feel mortgage interest rates are too high by roughly 200 basis points (100 basis points equals 1%) and the temporary buy down would encourage buyers currently sitting on the fence to go forward with their purchase.

With or without the stimulus proposal there are some great buys in resale and new homes all around the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area. Take a look at KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see for yourself.