Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

It’s Honda Hoot time once again in Knoxville, Tennessee as the 8th annual “Honda Hoot” gathering of an estimated 16,000 motorcyclists rolls in to Ktown.

Bikes on display at Deal’s Gap, the beginning of the famed “Dragon’s Tail”, a 6 miles stretch of road with over 300 curves! Not surprisingly this road is very, very popular with the biker crowd.

The “Hoot” was originally for Honda owners primarily but it became very popular very quickly and expanded to include all types of motorcycles. Now you can see Ducatis, Kawasakis, Triumphs, Vespas, and most every other brand of bike ridden today at the Hoot.

Now lest you think “ugh, motorcycle rally, an orgy of beer drinking, reckless driving, and general rowdiness” don’t be concerned. The Honda Hoot crowd are mostly middle aged motorcycle enthusiasts who just love to ride their bikes and hang out; sort of a “born to be mild” crowd. The first official Hoot event is an ice cream social instead of a beer bust so the only danger there is increasing your weight. ;->

There’s all sorts of activities, rallies, rides, shows, and just hanging out with like minded people at the Knoxville based Hoot so strap on your helmet, fire up your bike, and come on down.

The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation estimates this year’s entire event will have an economic impact of $23.1 million so Knoxville business owners like the Honda Hoot as do most everyone else in Knoxville.

The 4 day party will be capped off by a concert starring Wynonna Judd.

The Knoxville & Farragut Tennessee sales figures for May of 2008 are now available to view here.

Days on the market (time from listing to contract) are almost unchanged from this past April; 101 days in May versus 100 days in April of 2008.

The median price of a 3 bedroom Knoxville area home was $184,700 this past May versus $163,600 in April 2008. The median is the middle price; half of all sales were above the median and half were below. With the big rise that means we sold more expensive houses in May than we did in April.

When you compare May of 2008 against May of 2007 there are some differences there as well.

• May 2007 the median price of a 3 bedroom home was $171,900
• May 2008 that median price was $184,700, a $12,800 increase.
• May 2007 days on market was 88 days
• May 2008 was 101 days so it’s taking an average of 13 days longer to sell a house.
• In May of 2007 we sold a total of 1,666 single family homes and condos in all price ranges.
• In May of 2008 we sold 1,213 so that’s 453 fewer units.

All in all, Knox County sales are still good, interest rates are still around the bottom of the 6% range but I tend to agree with the experts and predict they will start drifting upwards in the next few months.

If you’re in the market for a house or condo, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start looking.

Please feel free to call or email me with any real estate questions you may have.

The third Sunday in June is officially recognized as Father’s Day. It was conceived and first celebrated June 19th, 1910 by a young lady named Sonora Dodd in the state of Washington while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in church.
She wanted to have a special day to honor her single parent father for the selfless devotion he gave his family.

Apparently it took a little while to catch on. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day. But it did not become an official day of recognition until 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed a law which made it permanent.

Thanks to a forward thinking young lady in 1910 the third Sunday of each June is now an official “Father’s Day” to honor dads all over the United States.

I received my traditional Father’s Day call from both my daughters; Gretchen and Amanda. Both were brief because they each have their own families now and things to do but I look forward to the annual calls and cards.

Happy Father’s Day to dads all over

Ah, fishing. Those words conjure up childhood memories of sitting under a shade tree along the riverbank with a cane pole and a can of worms without a care in the world.

Better than just fishing is free fishing.

It’s the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s “Free Fishin Day“, a sponsored event where anyone can wet a line and no fishing license is required. A huge pond at Concord Park will be stocked with catfish with bait and fishing poles if you need one, supplied by area sporting goods stores.

Free Fishin Day; fun for kids of all ages.

The greater Knoxville & Knox County area current has 5,900 acres of land dedicated to 213 public parks. That’s abut 2% of the total land area of the County.

The City of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Division offers a wide variety of activities for each member of the family to enjoy. One of the main goals for the Division is to improve recreational opportunities for all Knoxvillians and they do a fine job.

Knox County Park’s Department also maintains a large portion of our area’s excellent parks and recreational areas.

The new, Harvest Park & Farmer’s Market located on the site of the old farmer’s market in northeast Knoxville is the latest addition. Here Knoxvillians can buy locally grown produce directly from the farmers that produced it. Their products are fresher, better quality, and equal or cheaper than supermarket produce.

Knox County’s new, Harvest Park & Farmer’s Market

A recent survey reveals (to no surprise) that over 80% of Knoxville & Knox County residents want more parks. The survey also said that walking trails, followed by bicycle and nature areas are the most used park features.

Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is a 360 acre wildlife sanctuary in east Knox County. Seven Islands has a rich diversity of wildlife with over 150 species of birds including a pair of bald eagles. The French Broad River which borders the park contains over 50 species of fish which is more varieties that are found on the whole European continent. In addition there are lots of great hiking and walking trails along the ridges and the waterfront and a boat launch ramp.

Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in east Knox County

Our area’s great parks system is one of the many attractions that make Knoxville & Knox County such a great place to live, work, play, and raise your family.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to look for your next Knoxville area home.

That’s sort of a hard comparison to make but follow this train of thought and see if it makes sense to you.

In the 1st quarter of 2005 the average price of a 3 bedroom home in Knoxville, Tennessee was $141,700. In the 1st quarter of 2008 the average price of that same 3 bedroom home has increased to $158,300.

Assuming a buyer put 20% down on the 2005 home that would have been $28,340.

If you took the same $28,340 and bought a CD at a local bank or credit union at the best rate I’ve found, which is 3.6% for a $100,000 CD or above (I’m giving the higher number to the CD) you would have earned $3,172 in interest.

$$$$$$$$$$

Your $141,700 house you bought in early 2005 would have now been worth $158,300 which means you would have $16,600 in equity AND you would have been enjoying living in your own Knoxville home the past 3 years.

So which is the best deal; $3,172 interest (taxable by the way) on a CD and no house or $16,600 in equity and a new, 3 bedroom home for you and your family to enjoy?

PS, contrary to all the “Doom & Gloom” stories you’re bombarded with daily on the news; not all the US real estate markets are losing value and undergoing massive foreclosures.

In fact around many cities the housing market is moving along pretty well; Knoxville, Tennessee is one of those cities.

We’ve never enjoyed (if that is the right word) 10% appreciation monthly in home prices like southern California but we’ve also never experienced 50% price and value declines either.

Here’s a great place to look for your own 3 bedroom home to live in and probably enjoy an increase in value over the next 3 years and beyond, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

If you’re selling or getting ready to sell your Knoxville area or Farragut home you probably need to “lighten up” the amount of stuff inside.

Living in a house for a number of years, one tends to accumulate lots of stuff. Usually we take far more in than we take out.

Leaning out your closets and garages as well as the rest of the house creates a more spacious appearance and makes it appear larger to your prospective buyers.

Here are a few simple suggestions that can create more space in your Knoxville home and make it more appealing to prospective buyers.

• Box up and pack anything you won’t be needing for the next 3 months. This is also a great time to get rid of things you rarely or never use anymore. Buyers understand stacks of boxes setting around, after all you’re moving. However they do not understand or like closets stuffed full and overflowing as well as garages that will not hold cars.
• If you have items you haven’t used in over a year consider selling them or giving them away. Selling your house is a great time for a garage sale. You also should consider looking into charitable donations for items you give to non-profits such as your church or local Goodwill type organizations.
• Consider renting a storage unit, either a PODS type that sets in your driveway until your move or a rental storage unit off your property.
• A side benefit to getting rid of ’stuff’ is that moving companies charge by weight and distance. If you have less stuff your move will weigh less and cost you less.

Find more great home selling and buying tips at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

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One of the new ‘rites of springtime’ in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area has become a great outdoor concert series called “Sundown in the City“.

Starting April 17th and running through July 3rd, the Market Square Mall in downtown Knoxville will be rocking (or jazzing, countrying, or bluesing) with some great music.

And best of all it’s completely free even to parking. Bring your blanket or lawn chairs, kick back, and enjoy some great music for all ages.

Festivities start at 6:00 pm and the music begins at 7:00.

It’s a wholesome activity for families and people of all ages. There is a strict prohibition against underaged drinking (that’s the under 21 crowd).

Unfortunately you can’t bring coolers and outside food or drink but there are lots of Market Square merchants that will be delighted to supply you.

In past years crowds of up to 10,000 happy music lovers have flocked to the Mall and adjacent Krutch Park to goove to  some great tunes by great bands and singers.

Some of this years lineup include:

funk-fusion group Galactic leading off April 17th

The Presidents of the United States of America, May 22nd and lots of other well known bands.

Sponsored by a group of local businesses, Sundown in the City happens each Thursday evening, rain or shine, so if it’s cloudy bring an umbrella or your poncho and be ready for an evening of great entertainment.

Visit the Sundown in the City website for more details.

If buying a house or moving to the Knoxville Tennessee area is in your future plans, Knoxville Home Center rocks too with all of Knoxville’s Realtor home listings for sale; visit it soon.

If you’re looking to rent a home in the Knoxville or Farragut areas there are some great rentals available, but there is also a fairly new scam being operated to relieve you of your money without putting you in a house.

I communicate daily with lots of Realtors all over the country via several social networking sites and email. One of my Realtor pals from Louisiana told me today that someone had commandeered one of her listings for sale and was advertising it for rent on Craig’s List.

The person advertising this bogus rental claimed to be the wife of an oil company executive that was suddenly transferred to Lagos, Nigeria.

Hmmmm, Nigeria, that should be waving some big red flags. I used to get email all the time from people claiming to be in Nigeria that needed to send their fortune out of the country and wanted to give me a 20-40% cut if they could just stick it in my bank account for a few weeks until they could escape and get over here.

This supposed ‘wife’ had an application for potential renters to fill out and she would then overnight the keys to them so they could go inspect their potential new home.

Of course the ‘application’ wanted some bank references as “proof of your financial capability” including account numbers.

And while you were busy watching for FedEx guy to show up with your keys the scammers were busy emptying your bank accounts.

Yeah, it’s that easy if someone get hold of your bank account numbers.

Here’s what Craig’s List recommends if you’re in the market for a rental home or apartment.

• “DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON. Follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of Internet scams.
• NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
• FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.”

It appears Craig’s List is being used for other types of real estate fraud as well. This is about how crooks forge names onto deeds and then “sell” your house to unsuspecting purchasers or refinance it and pocket the loan proceeds leaving you with a new mortgage to deal with.

If you need to find a Knoxville or Farragut house or condo to buy, KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to start your search.

And if you need to rent I can recommend some good, LOCAL, rental agencies that will put you in a house without emptying your bank account.

The January 2008 sales figures are out for the greater Knoxville area Realtors.

It appears for the first full month of the year in Knoxville we have about a 23% drop in sales volume over the same time period in 2007.

Total volume was 783 closed units for January 08 versus 1,017 for January 07.

Apparently Knoxville & Farragut sellers are still not jumping out of windows though, the average sales price for a 3 bedroom home the only declined .3% or down to $161,800 versus $162,300 in January 2007.

With interest rates still hovering near a 4 year low it remains a good time to buy a new home. Lots of Knoxville area sellers are willing to negotiate and some good buys are out there.

Visit KnoxvilleMLS.com to take a look at the inventory; call me to go look at your favorites.