Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Terrific new listing in north Knoxville, reduced $25,000!

Not surprisingly it looks like the real estate transfers in Knoxville and Farragut Tennessee were down a bit this past week.

I counted 135 with the usual high numbers in the lower price ranges as it’s been all of 2009

I’m very excited for 2010 to begin (which is will in only 4 more days) and see what a new year holds for us.

On one hand interest rates remain very, very low which makes buying attractive. But on the other hand unemployment remains higher than usual in Tennessee although we’re faring better than many other areas.

I believe I’m predicting a modest improvement in the volume of sales with prices still stagnant to downward. A good time to buy if you’re thinking about that. For sellers you have to price your houses competitively and be prepared to deal if you want to sell, you’re facing a lot of competition out there.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the “go to” place for both buyers and sellers for all of the Knoxville area Realtor listing plus some great selling tips and information including my free 52 page ebook titled: “450 Ways to Sell Your Home Faster For More Money” email 450Ways@JimLee.com for your free copy.

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I’m back in Knoxville after attending the annual National Association of Realtors (NAR) Conference and Expo in San Diego, California.

It was a whirlwind trip filled with lots of learning experiences, reconnecting with Realtor friends, and seeing new products to help buyers and sellers.

San Diego is a very beautiful city with a spectacular and waterfront along San Diego Harbor.

San Diego California skyline from Coronado Island

One of the most exciting things I saw at the conference was the official unveiling of NAR’s new consumer website, HouseLogic.

HouseLogic is not a listings website like Realtor.com but rather a consumer resource which NAR intends to make the ‘go to’ site for homeowners and buyers to visit for objective and valuable advice, tips, and pretty much everything you need to know about owning and buying real estate.

You can simply visit the site and search to find whatever you’re looking for; it’s laid out very well and easy to navigate. A second option is to sign up for a free account and be able to find more easily projects and tips customized to your area. You’re completely safe signing up with your email address; the site’s privacy statement assures that none of your contact information will ever be passed on to anyone for any reason without your express consent.

I signed up for a free account and was immediately served up some project ideas to save money on energy costs, preventative maintenance on my heating system, and an article on how to receive up to $1,500 in tax credits for replacing an existing heating and air conditioning system. Pretty good stuff and the price was definitely right, FREE.

For buyers NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun had some words about the current market. He said: “said home sales continue to be dominated by lower-priced homes. In fact, NAR data shows nearly 70% of homes sold in September were priced below $250,000.

“The housing market has become much more active at the lower end,” said Yun. “The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit has significantly helped the market and is having its intended impact of stimulating home sales, decreasing high home inventory levels, and helping to stabilize home prices.”

Sales of homes priced below $100,000 are up 22.5% from a year ago. Sales in the upper-end market are still slow, however; homes priced above $500,000 are up only 4% from last year.

Yun projects the homebuyer tax credit will help raise home sales this year by 350,000 to 400,000 among first-time homebuyers—these are buyers who couldn’t have purchased a home without the tax incentive.

“The expansion of the tax credit into 2010 will help raise existing-home sales next year by as much as 15% and increase home prices by 3 to 5%,” he said.

Increased affordability is also helping spur lower end home sales. In September, the national median existing home price was $174,900, down 8.5% from one year ago.

So do yourself a favor, pay a visit to HouseLogic and see what it has to offer you. Better yet sign up for a free account and let the site find things relevant to your needs and get a monthly newsletter (optional) filled with timely information.

Buyers and sellers are also invited to visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all the Knoxville area homes for sale as well as find buying and selling tips, schools information, local jobs, recreational opportunities, and lots more Knoxville information.

Please feel free to comment or ask a question either here or email me

Below is a photo of the Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island. This spectacular beachfront hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places and has visited by many famous people.

Eleven U.S. Presidents have visited The Del, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. One of the resort’s most famous visitors was England’s Prince of Wales in 1920. He would later become King Edward VIII, only to give up his throne in 1936 to marry Coronado divorcee Wallis Spencer Simpson. Many have speculated that they may have first met at The Del.

The Del has played host to some of America’s greats, including Thomas Edison, L. Frank Baum and Babe Ruth. Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was honored at The Del in 1927 after his successful trans-Atlantic flight. At this lavish banquet, a replica of Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” circled the enormous Crown Room ceiling.

Hollywood has been making movies at The Del since 1901. In 1958, The Del was the backdrop for the comedy classic “Some Like It Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The resort has also seen a steady stream of celebrity visitors – from Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart to Brad Pitt and Madonna. None of them were there during my visit.

Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island, California

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I was interviewed by WATE recently about the present and future state of the Knoxville area housing market.

Here’s a link to that interview and video below.

So far this year Knoxville area sales are oddly resisting their typical seasonal downturn as we approach the colder months and the holiday season.

Usually we see a downturn in sales around July-August when school starts but so far this year that is not happening. I believe a significant portion of those sales are being driven by buyers trying to beat the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers which is set to expire at the end of November this year.

There are several bills in Congress to extend it but whether they will pass or not is is anybody’s guess. Here’s what past years sales have historically looked like compared to this year so far.

Knoxville, TN year to date home sales

As the red line which represents 2009 sales shows, sales are holding up at least 1 month past the points in the past where they have traditionally started dipping down.

The graph below shows the median price for a typical 3 bedroom home in the greater Knoxville area. The median price means “middle” and 50% of sales were above this price and 50% were below.

Knoxville area 3rd quarter median price comparisons

As the chart above shows, we’re selling more lower priced homes this year compared to years past. Hopefully Congress will see the wisdom of continuing the homebuyers tax credit and we can continue to see increases in the numbers of home sales in the Knoxville area.

Now is a great time to buy a house if you’ve been thinking of becoming a homeowner. You may not have enough time to qualify for the tax credit but there is a huge selection of homes for sale in the Knoxville area in all price ranges, interest rates are at historic lows which translates to payments maybe less than you’re paying right now in rent, and motivated sellers are willing to deal to entice you to buy their house over another.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start your search.

For Knoxville home sellers that need to sell; don’t dispair or give up. Knoxville area homes are still selling but you need to keep these three critical things in mind to make your home sell.

1. Aggressive pricing. Realize you’re probably not going to net as much for your house now and you could have a year or so ago. Be prepared and willing to offer potential buyers a price concession and/or help with their closing costs. Most lenders will let a seller ‘contribute’ as much a 3% of the purchase price to help your buyer.
2. Showroom condition. Start from the front door and pretend you’re the homebuyer for your house. Would you pay top dollar for it in the present condition? If the answer is no you need to make some changes. Start with a thorough cleaning of things you might not clean on a weekly basis such as ceiling fan blades, ceiling corners, garage, and other areas. Paint any needed area with a neutral paint color
3. Broad based marketing. Over 80% of today’s buyers are looking on the Internet for houses these days. You have to have your house exposed to as many potential buyers as possible and once they find it you need lots of photos to encourage them to visit in person to look and buy. Your selection of an Internet savvy Realtor is more critical now than ever before (maybe a Realtor local news outlets talk to about Knoxville’s housing market)

Please feel free to comment or ask any housing or mortgage questions you may have.

Knoxville, Tennessee real estate

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Founded in 1786, Knoxville, Tennessee is a city rich in history and colorful citizens that contributed much to Knoxville and the surrounding areas. Many of Knoxville’s early citizens were buried in historic Old Gray Cemetery after their passing.

In what has became an annual event, the Lantern and Carriage Tour at Old Gray Cemetery near downtown offers fascinating vignettes into Knoxville’s past as reenactors portray famous and/or interesting Knoxvillians buried in Old Gray.

Old Gray Cemetery was dedicated in 1852 with the first burial on July 14, 1851. Old Gray is located about 12 blocks north of downtown Knoxville and is intended to be used as a peaceful park in addition to being a burial place.

My lovely wife Charlotte and I visited Old Gray yesterday for the 9th annual Lantern & Carriage Tour.

Here’s a short clip of one of the carriages, listen as the iron horseshoes ‘clip-clop’ along one of the roads that wind through this tree lined sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Below is Eliza Penelope McFaul who was visiting the county fair at Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park September 5, 1904, when a bullet from a shooting gallery struck her in the heart killing her instantly.

Her family, who lived near this cemetery on Baxter Avenue, sued the city for wrongful death. The suit ended up in the Tennessee State Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the McFauls.

They bought a new house with the proceeds. Here’s Ms McFaul relates the story of her ‘death’ (and life)

Eliza Penelope McFaul, Old Gray Cemetery Lantern & Carriage Tour reenactor

Laura Emma Thornburgh, portrayed below by Lois Campbell, was a  Great Smoky Mountain author and early reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel.

She wrote the book she is holding titled: The Great Smoky Mountains. Ms Thornburgh and his mother lived in Gatlinburg for many years as she researched her book with the early citizens that lived in and around where the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is now located.

She was born February 8, 1885 and died March 28, 1973.

Laura Emma Thornburgh, Great Smoky Mountain author.

Charles Ducloux, portrayed by John Hitt, was a Confederate soldier in the Civil War, he returned to Knoxville a few years after the war was over and passed away on July 1, 1917.

Charles Ducloux, Confederate Soldier from Knoxville.

Colonel David Chapman below was born August 9, 1876, and died July 26, 1944.  Col. Chapman’s father, John Ellis Chapman, started a wholesale drug company in Knoxville and Col. Chapman served as president after his father’s death.

Colonel Chapman was heavily involved in the efforts by the State of Tennessee to acquire land that would later be donated to the federal government to become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Because his first wife was already buried in Old Grey at the time of his death in 1944, his second wife had him buried at Highland Memorial Cemetery in the Bearden area.

Colonel David Chapman was born August 9, 1876, and died July 26, 1944.

World War II veterans buried in Old Grey were represented by a bugler who blew “Taps” on his bugle every 30 minutes of so. A stirring rendition that brought applause from all at each performance.

the bugler was representative of World War II veterans

Click here for a performance of “Taps” complete with 21 gun salute.

If you have an interest in what Knoxville was like many years ago, a visit to the annual Old Gray Cemetery Lantern & Carriage Tour is like turning a page back in time to revisit living history.

For current Knoxville area homes and history visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, TN

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Started in 1992 by local physician Dr. Charlie Barnett, Flu Shot Saturday has become an annual tradition in the Knoxville area for thousands of local residents to get a free flu shot.

While the shots are technically ‘free’, donations to the Knoxville News-Sentinel’s Empty Stocking Fund which provides food and Christmas toys to thousands of Knoxville families who might otherwise have an unhappy holiday are encouraged and most flu shot recipients drop a generous donation into the box.

BlueCross BlueShield insurance of Tennessee partially funds the event along with the Knoxville News Sentinel. Local Rotary clubs also help support the event with traffic direction, getting paperwork filled out, and other tasks

Doctor Barnett and his group enlist the help of fellow Knoxville medical professionals to actually administer the vaccine at 5 Knoxville area high schools.

This morning  Charlotte and I were in line around 9:20 AM on a rainy Saturday morning along with hundreds of others at Farragut High School for a flu shot.

Flu Shot Saturday at Farragut High School, Knoxville, TN

Even though the lines were long they moved at a very good pace and we were in and out in less than 30 minutes. Great organization for such a large event but they’ve been doing it for 18 years now and have it down to a science.

I said hi to Dr. Charlie Barnett inside, he used to my parent’s physician. Charlie said crowds were huge this year and they were probably going to run out of vaccine in about an hour.

Inside Farragut High the lines continued.

The Knoxville News Sentinel was on hand accepting donations for their Empty Stocking Fund, a great community fund that provides food and gifts to needy local folks around Christmas time.

Donations are accepted but flu shots are free for all, no donation required.

My flu shot guy turned out to be the one between the two ladies with his hand raised.

curbside flu shots for those unable to walk inside

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The real estate market in Knox County, as in most of the rest of the country, continues to remain far below past sales. Here’s the results for the past week’s property transfers in Knox County as recorded in the Knox County Register of Deeds office.

Knox County real estate tranfers - total units

I count a total of 149 transfers for the week, about the same as previous weeks for the year.

I continue to hear antecdotal stories from my fellow Realtors about how they think the market is picking up and how busy they’re getting but so far very few of those stories have made it onto the closed sales scoreboard and that’s pretty much all that counts.

If anyone is thinking of buying this year and using the $8,000 tax credit you should know it expires on November 30th of this year.

And with all the new rules and guidelines making mortgages harder and lengthier to process you’re typically looking at 45 days processing time.

So unless you have a new house selected and under contract by around October 15th, which is only 2 1/2 months away, you could lose out on one of the best deals for first time time (and some repeat) buyers in a long time.

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com and see all of the Knoxville area listings for sale and then let’s get going picking one out for you.

Please call or email me with any questions or to schedule a time to look at some great Knoxville area homes.

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There is one very bright spot in this past week’s real estate transactions. A trio of very savvy local real estate developers bought a 355 acre tract of prime development property at auction with a reported 5 miles of Fort Loudon Lake frontage for the impressive price of 26.5 million dollars.

Known as the “Ingram Farm”,  it’s located just west of Riversound subdivision and about 3 miles from the Northshore Exit off Interstate 140, the Knoxville airport connector.

The old Ingram farm has a reputed 5 miles of Fort Loudon Lake frontage. Riversound S/D is in the upper right along Northshore Drive. The location and lake frontage should make this development a winner.

Unfortunately that was the lone bright spot as real estate sales continue to limp along in Knoxville as well as most of the rest of the country. The vast majority of local sales are in the lower price ranges and are being driven by the lowest interest rates in history combined with a new, $8,000 tax credit for most homebuyers that meet income guidelines and have not owned a home in the past 3 years.

Here’s the rest of the Knoxville and Knox County real estate picture for the past week.

Knox County real estate transfers

You’ll notice for the past week there were no sales over $1,000,000 (the Ingram Farm sale hasn’t closed yet), and no sale from the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range, and the majority of the rest were in the $100 to $300,000 range.

That brings the past week’s total sales to 142 which is down about 40 from the previous week.

If you’re in the market to buy there’s never been a better time and there’s never been a better place to look than www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com where you can see all of the Knoxville area Realtor listings with no registration required and get lots of buying and selling tips.