Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

The Second Quarter of 2009 real estate sales figures are out now along with the numbers from this past June; let’s take a look.

Here’s what this past June looked like in numbers of closed sales in the greater Knoxville area.

June 2009 closed real estate sales for the greater Knoxville, TN area

Not too much difference here compared to this past May except the dramatic upturn in sales in past months of June seemed to start earlier.

Now let’s take a look at the 2nd quarter numbers. Here’s the 2nd quarter of 2009 compared to past 2nd quarters.

No real surprises here, these numbers looked pretty much as I expected.

These graphs represent numbers of real homes sold and the numbers still look pretty sad compared to past years. Sales volume today is basically back where it was in 2002.

2nd quarter 2009 compared to past 2nd quarters

Here’s a graph showing days on the market or time to sell a house. Not surprisingly that number is up.

Greater Knoxville area average time to sell a home

So what is the solution to Knoxville’s housing crisis?

Unfortunately most of the solution depends on the way the federal government manages the current financial crisis brought about by loosening of lending standards to let marginal and in some cases, unqualified buyers, buy homes with high leveraged loans they couldn’t afford.

Now lender and the fed has over corrected making it more difficult for well qualified buyers to qualify for loans they can easily afford. Most every Realtor I talk with, both locally and across the country, has stories of qualified buyers that want to buy a house they can well afford to make the payments on but either get turned down or have to jump through numerous lending hoops before they can buy.

All of this has combined to create a crisis of confidence in our financial system, driving down the stock market, causing job losses, and huge numbers of foreclosures as the weak buyers that probably should not have been able to buy in the first place, struggle or can’t make their mortgage payments.

The current federal tax credit to enable buyers that enables buyers making under $150,000 ($75,000 for single buyers) is what’s driving a big portion of our market right now. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has petitioned Congress to continue this credit which expires in November of this year, through 2010, increase it to $15,000, and let it apply to all homebuyers, not just those who have not owned a home in the past 3 years. We’ll see how that goes.

Another solution would be to loosen up the guidelines for qualified buyers and not penalize them. Home purchases not only create lots of jobs for people involved in those transactions, each one also drives many thousands of dollars in retail sales as new homeowners purchase goods and services for their new homes.

Please feel free to make comments or ask any questions you may have.

All of Knoxville’s Realtors listings are available for you to see at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

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This past weekend was Jordan, my oldest grandaughter’s birthday; she turned 16. Of course 16 is one of those “milestone” birthdays, a sort of junior coming of age, so a big party was in order.

Fortunately my daughter and her family live in a small town in west Tennessee with a very nice community center so they rented it for the birthday party. We had a DJ, a local rap group called “GMC”, and lots of party goers.

Here’s the DJ setting up before the party got under way.

This is Jordan the birthday girl with proud grandpa.

Jordan's birthday cake before it was devoured.

backdrop for the luau birthday party

Here are some of the party goers dancing.

This is a clip from our rappers, GMC and company.

The party went on unti midnight and everyone went home tired but happy. I believe we had around 80 kids at the height of the party and around 25 parents who sat around outside and talked where the noise level was more bearable.

Happy birthday Jordan Elizabeth, I hope you have many, many more. Love, Grandpa.

Before becoming a Realtor many, many years ago, I was in the restaurant business, mostly in management but I love to cook and create new recipes. Here’s a couple of my summer favorites that meet 2 of my main criteria for cooking; quick and easy.

Pulled BBQ pork, serves 4

You can fix this one in your crock pot or slow cooker.

Ingredients:

• 2 pound Boston Butt Roast or boneless ribs work well also
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 a 14 ounce can of beef broth (you can freeze the other half for later use)
• Your favorite BBQ sauce
• To give it an interesting flavor save a couple of Tablespoons of brewed coffee and toss it in

Preparation

• Put the roast or ribs in your crock pot or slow cooker, pour beef broth and optional coffee over.
• Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or until meat is fork tender (separates easily with fork)
• Remove to cutting board and pull apart with two forks or you can chop with a large knife like an 8 inch french cooks knife.
• Serve with BBQ sauce on the side or poured over. You can also mix BBQ sauce with meat in advance and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes but most people like to add their own sauce.

Serve with cole slaw and BBQ fixins’ like baked beans, potato salad, or chips.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp, serves 4 (I got this one from All Recipes.com which is a great source of awesome dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons and 1-3/4 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1-1/4 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• skewers

Preparation

1. in a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
2. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque or pink.

Bon Appetit!

KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com also has some great houses just in case you need a backyard to put that grill in.

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If you have ever had any aspirations to own your own home, NOW is the time. Economic factors have all came together to create the proverbial “perfect storm” in the home buying market.

1. First, the nation’s financial crisis has driven mortgage interest rates to their lowest levels ever; currently you get fixed rates below 5% all over Knoxville.
2. A glut of houses has increased inventories of both new and resale homes providing a huge selection to choose from. Currently just in Knox County there are almost 2,000 homes for sale priced under $200,000
3. The federal government, in an effort to stimulate the economy is providing up to $8,000 as a fully refundable tax credit to encourage you to buy a home.
4. The State of Tennessee’s “Tennessee Housing Development Authority” (THDA for short) has a no interest loan program to give you up front to use for a down payment, up to 3 1/2% of the purchase price of your new home which coincidentally happens to be the minimum down payment required for FHA (Federal Housing Authority) financing. So you can borrow your 3 1/2 % down payment at 0% interest and repay it from your $8,000 tax credit.
5. Because of the number of houses for sale I’m usually able to negotiate with a seller to pay most or all of your closing costs to get you into a new home with no cash out of your pocket.

This informative local news story tells how the Knoxville area housing market is starting to heat up.

Here’s a few examples of what is on the market today. And like the story above says, they’re starting to move so now would be a great time to get in the home buying game or at least give me a call to find out what you can do.

This beautiful, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home in north Knoxville is currently listed at $159,900.

And yes, you can still find houses in west Knoxville for under $200,000. Here’s just a couple

Nice looking one level home in Farragut and on the market with 3 bedrooms and two baths for only $154,900.

This west Knoxville home is 'move in' ready and offers 3 bedrooms and 2 baths for just $154,900.

This charming home, complete with red door, is located in Fountain City and can be yours for only $124,900.

So there you have it; world class interest rates, lots of credits and homes to choose from, time to get moving.

My number is (865) 693-3232, answered 24 hours a day (just not always me. ) and my my email is [email protected]. Let’s get started today and have you in a new home with payments probably less than what you may be paying now for rent.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is where you can see all of the greater Knoxville area’s homes for sale. Pick out a few and lets go look at them soon.

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My oldest daughter Gretchen and her family live in a small town in west Tennessee called Adamsville.

Movie buffs may remember Adamsville and McNary County as the home and setting for the movie “Walking Tall” about legendary Tennessee sheriff Bufford Pusser.

Gretchen has 3 children, Jordan age 16, Anderson 12, and Eli age 4. Husband and father Steven Lambert is a teacher at Adamsville High School and the school’s baseball coach.

With a father professionally involved in sports, family involvement runs high. Jordan and Anderson both play basketball and 4 year old Eli has taken up officiating. Yep, at age 4 Eli is a budding basketball referee, at least in his mind.

eli lambert adamsville high school tennessee, copyright, jacksonsun.com

Gretchen bought Eli an official referee shirt and one of her friends cut it down (a lot) to fit Eli. All the local referees have taken to Eli and gave him several whistles, an official TSSAA patch, and some other referee goodies.

Eli knows not to blow his whistle while the game is going on but he does get down on the sidelines and mimic the official calls. The big referees take him back into their locker room during halftime to have a chat. They are all very impressed with his knowledge of the game and all the calls he can make.

Eli Lambert runs the sidelines during a local basketball game, copyright, jacksonsun.com

Eli has been featured twice now in area newspapers.

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On a recent, chilly Thursday evening Knoxville area bloggers were treated to a special evening with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) at the Tennessee Theatre on Gay Street.

This was the Symphony’s second “Bloggers Night” and my first. It was a great evening with 2 hours of delightful music from Bach, Mozart, and Mendelssohn.

The Mozart concerto featured Pianist Navah Perlman on the piano. Ms Perlman is a very accomplished musician and gave a wonderful performance. It was amazing to watch her fingers fly across the keyboard and produce her beautiful music.

A pre-concert chat was held on stage with Maestro Lucas Richman giving a preview of the upcoming performance. Ms Perlman joined him briefly to talk about her work.

I was pleasantly surprised to find one of my fellow Realtors, Jennifer Crake, is a musician with the Orchestra. Jennifer is Second Horn as well as a Knoxville Realtor.

Also Knoxville blogger Katy Gawne is the principal violinist and de facto KSO blogger.

The first piece was Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major for Strings and Continuo, BWV 1048. Frankly I don’t have a clue what all that stuff means but I do know it was some very beautiful music by the Strings (that’s violin, viola, cello, and bass)  which I enjoyed immensely.

Second was Mozart’s Concerto No. 24 for Piano featuring the talented Ms Perlman and the Orchestra. They seemed to mesh very well with the Orchestra’s music complimenting her piano. Another beautiful work.

After a brief intermission we heard Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, the Italian Symphony; I think this was my favorite. I enjoyed hearing the oboes in the background punctuated by the timpani (commonly known as kettledrums).

Here’s a link to KSO’s podcast as well as an interview with Ms Perlman by Maestro Richman so you can enjoy some beautiful music and hear a couple of talented musicians talking shop.

After the concert there was a reception in the Glenn Miller room downstairs for all the bloggers. Several of the Orchestra members joined us along with Maestro Richman who struck me as a pretty cool guy. Ms Perlman also made a brief appearance.

KSO Maestro Lucas Richman and Featured Performer Navah Perlman at the KSO Blogger's Night reception following the concert.

Knoxville area bloggers file into the Glenn Miller room for the Blogger's Night reception. It was great to be able to see and meet in person the people you know online.

“The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”

Johann Sebastian Bach, composer, 1685-1750

Mr. Bach I could not agree more.

Thanks to KSO for a delightful evening and a wonderful performance.

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OK, Christmas is past and it will soon be time to pack up the ornaments and tinsel for next year.

However, what do you do with your old cut Christmas tree.

The best deal is to take it to Ijams Park to be recycled into mulch which is used to maintain the trails we all enjoy.

“Collecting trees and holiday greenery now through January 31

Ijams Nature Center will be accepting holiday greenery and trees for recycling into mulch. (Please remove greenery from wire back wreaths.)

When you bring your trees to Ijams, turn into Ijams entrance and then bear left on the interior road to the home-site.  You may place trees near the mulch piles on the left, now through January 31.”

If you live in the city and can’t make the trip to Ijams the city will collect it. Right now they’re still concentrating on leaves but the regular two week brush pick up cycle begins again in mid January 2009. Just put your ornament and tinsel free tree at the curb just as your do brush and it will be picked up.

County residents can have their tree recycled into free mulch at 2 locations:

North: Knox County Convenience Center in Halls
Drop Off Tree Dec 26 through Jan 5 – Trees Chipped on January 5th
To drop off a tree Dec 26 through Jan 5 – 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday
To drop of a tree and pick up mulch on January 6th, event will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
3608 Neal Road, 37918 – Click for Map

West: Knox County Greenwaste Facility in Solway
Drop Off Tree Dec 26 through Jan 6 – Trees Chipped on January 5th
To drop off a tree Dec 26 through Jan 5 – 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday
To drop of a tree and pick up mulch on January 5th, event will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
8707 Joe Daniel Road, 37931 – Click for Map

One more county locations to drop off your used tree but no mulching is:

East: Knox County Convenience Center at Forks-of-the-River Industrial Park
Drop Off Tree Dec 26 through Jan 5 – NO Chipping at this Site
To drop off a tree: Dec 26 through Jan 5 – 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
3106 Water Plant Road, 37914 – Click for Map

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