Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

By now most have probably heard that Congress passed an extention of the $8,000 tax credit for people who buy a home and have not owned one in the past 3 years. Most call it the “first time buyers’ credit even if that is not entirely accurage.

Here’s a list of the relevant changes in the extension that were not all present in the original one.

• Extends the deadlines for purchasing and closing on a home.
• Creates a credit for existing homeowners who buy a new principal residence.
• Raises the income limits for those claiming the credit.

Here’s a few common questions people have had:

Question: If I’ve already purchased a home in 2009 can I apply for the credit now or do I have to wait until I file my 2009 tax return?

Answer: You have two choices; you can either file an amended return for 2008 or just wait until 2009 and claim it then.

Question: I’m in the process of buying right now but have not closed on the purchase. Can I get that credit now so I can use it for a down payment?

Answer: Nope, sorry, you have to actually own the home (have closed) before you can qualify for the credit. However if you live in the state of Tennessee we have a solution for that problem. Our state mortgage funding agency, the Tennessee Housing Development Authority (THDA) will make you a second mortgage of up to $8,000 that you have to qualify for in addition to your new first mortgage which can give you the cash you need to use for a down payment now. You can buy your house, collect the $8,000 tax credit, and then payoff the second mortgage from THDA. I suspect other states have similar programs.

Question: Will I ever have to pay back any of the $8,000?

Answer: Not in most circumstances, there is one exception however. If the home you buy and claim the tax credit on stops being your principal residence anytime within 36 months (3 years) of the date of purchase you would then be required to repay whatever portion of the credit you had collected.

Question: I noticed the extension provides that existing homeowners can also claim a tax credit if they buy a replacement home anytime after November 6th, 2009. I’ve tried to sell mine and can’t so we rented it. Could I still qualify for the $6,500 credit?

Answer: Yes you can. Existing homeowners do not actually have to sell their current home in order to qualify for their credit. The only requirements are that the house you buy be your new principal residence and that your former residence had been your principal residence for any 5 of the past 8 years.

Please call or email with any more homebuying questions.

Browse all of the homes for sale in the greater Knoxville area at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

Here’s the latest report from the Knox County, Tennessee Register of Deeds real estate transactions.

closed real estate transactions for the week of November 29th

There were 157 transactions during the past week; that’s about on par for the 150 average we’ve had for 2009.

And as usual the $100,000 to $150,000 price points dominate the number with almost twice as many as any other category.

Even though we have not seen the normal seasonal slowdown yet, I think it may be beginning in December.

Real estate in Knox County and most everywhere else in the United States is in a very highly volatile state right now because of the economy, unemployment, and a lack of consumer confidence. I believe that will be exacerbated this month by the Christmas season. People with holiday parties and shopping foremost in their minds are typically not in the house buying mode at the same time.

According to the Knoxville Realtors Multiple Listing Service there are 3,727 active residential listings and 976 condos in all price points. Here’s a graph showing the current, active listings broken down by price points.

Current Knox County active listings by price points

By comparing the two graphs you can easily see there’s a huge disparity between the number of current, active listings and those that actually sell.

This also demonstrates that now is an excellent time to buy a house or condo. Excellent fiancing is still available and there is a huge selection of homes for sale. Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all the current active listings listed above plus all the other counties served by the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors

It’s the week before Thanksgiving, lets see if the Knoxville area real estate market has any real estate thanks to give.

The Knox County Register of Deeds reports 117 closed transactions in the past week. That about 30 less than average. However the Knoxville Area Association of Realtor’s October sales figures show a 14.5% in October 2009 versus October 2008, go figure.

Here’s the past week’s stats broken down by price points.

Knox County Real Estate transactions recorded

The lower price points are still dominant, there are just less of them.

The chart below tracks the past 5 years sales volume through October 2009, the latest available data.

Knoxville area real estate sales

So far this year sales are bucking the seasonal downturn and remaining steady. This is almost certainly driven, at least in part, by the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers. Now that it’s been extended to sellers who then buy, it will be interesting to see if it drives more sales in the upper price points.

Below is a comparison of Knoxville area sales for the 3rd quarters (July, August, Sept.) broken down by bedrooms; 2 or fewer, 3, and 4 or more.

11 year comparison of average sales prices by bedroom size

For buyers financing remains a high hurdle. Lenders are demanding more documentation than ever before in addition to squeaky clean credit. Credit markets are in a very volatile state right now; some lenders have even raised their credit score requirements after approving loans based on the former good scores.

However, don’t let any negative talk discourage you from buying if now is the right time for you to buy. There are mortgage loans available at very attractive interest rates and sellers are more flexible than they were last year.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the place to look at all of the Knoxville area real estate listings for sale.

Please feel free to ask any real estate questions you have or call me to go see some homes for sale.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Good Credit Scores Are Essential To Get A Mortgage Today (saratogavoice.com)
• Mortgage Rate Update (raincityguide.com)

Buy this terrific north Knoxville home and get up to $8,000 in tax credits to help.

It’s now official, President Obama signed an extension of the existing $8,000 homebuyers tax credit into law yesterday (Friday, Nov. 6th).

The new law extends the existing tax credit for Knoxville area buyers who have not owned a home that was their principal residence in the past three years and adds some new criteria and qualifying homebuyers.

The $8,000 credit was scheduled to lapse on December 1st, 2009 but will now be in effect through the end of June. Homebuyers must sign a contract before April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.

The income limits have been raised; Single buyers can now earn up to $125,000 and still get the full credit while a married couple can earn $225,000.

The bill also made more Knoxville, TN homeowners eligible to claim the credit on their taxes. First-time buyers — those who have not owned a home in the past three years — still qualify for an $8,000 rebate. But now people who want to trade up can also qualify. Those who have owned and occupied a residence for at least five years out of the past eight can claim a $6,500 tax credit if they close on a purchase by the end of June.

Some real estate industry experts weigh in on the extension:

“This bill will shift demand from the second half of 2010 into the first half,” said Pat Newport, a real estate analyst with IHS Global Research. “As a result, home sales and prices will get a boost in the first half of 2010, with payback in the second.”

“That’s not a bad thing, according to Bill Kilmer, vice president of advocacy for the National Association of Home Builders. It’s important to stabilize real estate markets quickly to help bring the economy out of its tailspin.”

The National Association of Realtors’ chief economist has this to say about the extension:

“The industry thought the credit would provide a ripple effect, with sales to first timers triggering as many three additional “move-up” sales.”

That did not happen, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“It did not have the chain reaction impact it was supposed to,” he said. “Instead, many first-timers turned to vacant, foreclosed or other distressed properties the sellers of which were unlikely to be move-up buyers.”

So, the tax credit helped prop up the low end of the market without having much impact on the rest of the spectrum. Expanding the benefit to existing homeowners should boost those segments. That should produce additional benefits, according to Yun.

“Preventing further price decline or even nudging prices up a bit stabilizes housing wealth, which makes homeowners more comfortable in their spending,” said Yun. “They’re more likely to go out to the stores or buy a new car. That provides a boost to the overall economy.”

So let’s get busy Knoxville and Farragut homebuyers, it’s not that long until April 30th. Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com today and pick out your favorite Knoxville area homes to go look at.

Call or email me with any questions of comments. (865) 693-3232

Knoxville and Farragut Tennessee homes for sale

Related articles by Zemanta

• $8,000 homebuyers tax credit extended (money.cnn.com)
• Obama signs homebuyer tax credit extension (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Experts: Extended tax credit to boost local housing recovery (seattlepi.com)
• Homebuyer Tax Credit: Congress Gives New Buyers A $6,500 Break (huffingtonpost.com)
• Goldman: Tax Credit Extension Would Keep Home Prices Up (blogs.wsj.com)
• First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Gets Obama Nod (usnews.com)
• Congress giving homebuyers a $6,500 tax break (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

This delightful home above has been reduced to $184,900 and will qualify for the $8,000 federal tax credit if you have not owned a home in the past three years. Click the Visual Tour above to see a virtual tour and then call me to schedule a private showing.

** UPDATE** The extension passed the Senate vote today and President Obama said he would sign it on Friday!

It looks like the extension of the $8,000 federal tax credit for Knoxville & Farragut TN area homebuyers is almost done.

RISmedia is reporting today (November 5th) that the Senate voted to cut off debate and bring the measure to the floor for a vote and then pass it on to President Obama for signature by the end of this week.

President Obama has already said he intends to sign the legislation.

The homebuyer tax credit, due to expire at the end of November would be extended through April 30 of next year. First-time buyers who are in the process of making a purchase would not need to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 credit if they close after the November 30 deadline.

For the first time, the legislation that was recently cleared makes move-up buyers as well as first-time buyers eligible for a credit. The $8,000 maximum first-timer credit will continue and will now be available to couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the level in existing law. A new $6,500 maximum credit would also be available to move-up homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years.

I’ll keep you updated as this bill moves quickly toward becoming law.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Senate Acts to Expand Housing Credit (nytimes.com)
• Q&A: The Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension (blogs.wsj.com)
• Senate OKs home buyer credit extension (dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com)
• Extended, expanded homebuyer tax break nears passage (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Extra homebuyer tax credits 1 step closer to law (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Senators Look to Expand Home Buyer Tax Credit (abcnews.go.com)
• Homebuyer Tax Credit: Congress Gives New Buyers A $6,500 Break (huffingtonpost.com)
• US housing recovery is continuing (news.bbc.co.uk)

Last week’s results from the Knox County Register of Deeds is now available. It appears the past weeks transactions were a bit below our typical weekly average this year of around 150 closed transactions.

Weekly real estate transactions report from the Knox County Register of Deeds

As we’ve seen in previous reports, the median price for a typical 3 bedroom house was $139,900 for the 3rd quarter of 2009. That price point, $100,000 to $150,000 was overwhelmingly the top selling price last week as it has been for most of the year.

Below is www.Trulia.com’s market view of  Knoxville, TN

In September we did see total monthly sales showing a 7% increase (about 60 more homes sold) over the same time period in September of 2008. But taken in context of the past 5 years, that increase really tells us nothing and is far too little data to base any trend on.

Here’s popular website Trulia’s summary of the Knoxville TN area real estate market.

“Average price per square foot for Knoxville TN was $99, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Knoxville TN for Jul 09 to Sep 09 was $136,200 based on 1,598 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 4.1%, or $5,800, and the number of home sales decreased 27.7%.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Everybody Thinks the Real Estate Market has Recovered (movephilly.blogspot.com)
• SF Fed chief sees housing stabilization (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

October……..in east Tennessee the air is turning crisp and cool, the leaves are starting to turn to their fall colors, and real estate sales are in the air.

So what does the first week in October bring to Knoxville real estate news?

It looks like the average number of sales is still average; we had 152 closed real estate transactions reported by the Knox County Register of Deeds, here’s the price points breakdown:

Knox County, TN real estate transactions recorded

And as usual the lower pric points continue to dominate the sales figures. 35 in the $100,000 to $150,000 price ranges was the top number with 2 in the over $1,000,000 price range.

And if you compare an average week of sales to the absorption rates (how long it takes houses to sell) you’ll see the price point points above go hand in hand with sales.

Knoxville, TN home sales by price points and months to sell

And the year to date sales figures compared to the past 4 years

Knoxville real estate sales year to date compared to past years.

So which way are Knoxville area sales headed? My guess is down for few months until January-February 2010 when they have historically started their seasonal climb to the peaks in May-June.

Even though sales this year around 50% less than 2005-6 the sales trend still mirrors the peak years sales; there is just far fewer sales.

The $8,000 federal tax credit expires at the end of November this year and I believe that carrot has accounted for about 20-30% of our sales this year. If buyers want to have a chance of collecting that eight thousand bucks they need to plan on having a house under contract in the next 1-2 weeks. After there your odds of closing before the end of November are going to go way down.

There is talk and much action from real estate entities like the National Association of Realtors to extend the credit to keep sales going but what’s going to happen there is anybody’s guess.

Bottom line, if you want to buy a house, now is a great time if you have a stable job and can qualify for a mortgage. Interest rates are in the low 5 to high 4% range, you still might be able to collect $8,000 in tax credits if you buy soon, and there is a huge selection of homes for sale.

KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start you search as well as find school information, and lots of other Knoxville area information.

Please call or comment with any questions.

Knoxville, TN real estate