Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

No, I’m not talking about ‘giveaway’ pricing, but right pricing.

In today’s market my experience with working with lots of buyers is that they look at far more homes than they used to before making a decision.

After looking at several homes and doing lots of research and online searching they become very adapt at recognizing an overpriced listing as well as one priced correctly.

This month I sold a home to some buyers that had put an offer on another home in the same neighborhood but at a price considerably below the list price. The sellers countered back at a figure very close to their original asking price.

The home they did not buy has now been on the market for almost a year and in both my buyers opinion and mine, is about $25,000 overpriced for the current market. Additionally this home is sadly in need of updating to hope to command anywhere near the asking price.

Here’s a photo of the kitchens in both homes.

$25,000 overpriced, dark, drab interior in need of updating.

Priced to sell, “move in” condition, with light & bright interior and decor. Which one would you choose?

The home they bought is same style, a similiar square footage but was priced at current market value, in ‘move in’ condition, AND was about $20,000 lower than the first home we made an offer on. The home they chose and bought was on the market 2 days when we reached an agreement with the sellers for only 2.5% less than asking. The buyers felt good about making an offer that close to the list price because they felt good about that price and saw the value.

Here are some of the pitfalls of overpricing:

• Buyers know what houses should sell for generally. If yours is overpriced they will likely pass it by for something more competitively priced.
• Buyers will look and leave because they’re expecting more in your home than the price dictates.
• You’ll attract fewer offers and offers will come in below your asking price but those offers will be closer to fair market value.
• Buyers will use your home as an example to help them buy other homes that are priced closer to the market.
• And even if you do find a willing buyer at your price you then have to pass the mortgage appraisal hurdle. Appraisers know values very, very well (that’s what they’re paid for) and if you can’t get an appraisal at your asking/selling price then no lender is going to grant a mortgage to your buyer and you can’t sell.

Visit KnoxvilleMLS.com to see some right priced homes; call me to help you pick one out.

Best wishes to all for a Happy New Year! 

Sources say the Bush Administration will announce Thursday that certain homeowners that have subprime mortgages with adjustable interest rates will benefit from a five year moratorium on future schedule interest rate hikes.

Some Knoxville TN homeowners with sub-prime ARMs will benefit from a rate freeze for the next 5 years in a deal to be announced this coming Thursday.

Under the agreement certain mortages originated between the start of 2005 through July 30 of this year with rates that are scheduled to rise between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31, 2010 will have their rates frozen at current levels for the next five years.

This plan is reported to only be available to owner-occupied Knoxville area homes; not investment properties.

Through October of 2007, there were about 1.8 million foreclosure filings nationwide, compared with about 1.3 million in all of 2006, according to Irvine, Calif-based RealtyTrac Inc. With home loan defaults still rising, the trend is expected to worsen next year.

According to RealtyTrac Knoxville/Knox County foreclosures are trending down instead of up like some states. The top 5 states for foreclosures are California, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Texas.

I’m wondering if this mortgage freeze scheme will actually happen because a mortgage note is a contractural obligation and a very high percentage of these loans are sold to investors who are counting on getting the higher payments.

For the most current Knoxville, Tennessee area real estate information visit www.KnoxvilleMLS.com

Over the past 12 years I’ve spent lots of time and money refining my website www.KnoxvilleMLS.com to be the best available Knoxville area real estate resource center.

I’ve found through trial and error that most all prospective home buyers first want to be able to search all the homes in the area they’re interested in living in.

KnoxvilleMLS.com’s search page delivers all the Knoxville area’s Realtors residential listings of homes, condos, land, multi-family homes listings.

Next there are links for buyers, sellers, mortgages, Knoxville area schools, employment, things to do in the Knoxville area, and several other links to items of interest for both prospective homebuyers and homesellers.

In short, KnoxvilleMLS.com was developed, and is constantly being refined to be the best, one stop real estate resource for the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area.

Visit KnoxvilleMLS.com today to pick out your next home and then contact me to help you buy it.

Alright, it’s clue time for CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, ETC., ETC. and all the rest of the national media that is trying to paint the mythical “national real estate” market with the same brush.

Truth be told, there is no such thing as any sort of national real estate market, never has been, and probably never will be.

All real estate is local and dependant on market conditions in that local area.

Have a plant closing that costs lots of area jobs? Real estate will suffer along with most other industries in that local area.

Have a new plant opening that brings lots of new jobs and workers into an area? No surprise that lots of people now want to buy homes in that local market area.

According to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), 2007 is shaping up to be the 5th best home sales year on record………..in spite of foreclosures, in spite of falling sale prices in some overheated local markets, and in spite of the continuing stream of negative press from CNN and the rest of that ilk.

“Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the data underscores the fact that all real estate is local.  “Some metro areas are hot while others are experiencing localized problems,” he said.  “The report also shows that home prices in the vast midsection of America, from the Appalachians to the Rockies, are affordable and, perhaps, even undervalued.”

And here’s another perspective from Realty Times editor Blanche Evans:

“Stocks and houses aren’t the same. Over 10 years, a $10,000 investment in the stock market at a normal 10 percent market rate of return would yield nearly $24,000. The same investment as a down payment on a $200,000 home at a normal appreciation rate of 5 percent would return nearly 5 times the stock market return, or over $110,000.”

If you need a home for your family now is a good a time to buy as it’s likely to get. There is a big selection of existing homes for sale, some builders are offering incentives to buy their homes, and interest rates remain at an all time low.

If you need to look for a new Knoxville area home, KnoxvilleMLS.com is a great place to find one.

In addition to being the University of Tennessee’s homecoming weekend ………..

…..it’s also time for Knoxville annual “Flu Shot Saturday”.

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 and local Rotary clubs also help support the event.

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

If you missed flu shot saturday there’s still lots of local clinics and drug stores adminstering the vaccine.

Better to endure a little pin prick from the shot than to suffer through 2 to 3 weeks of flu this winter.

The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors recently released their 3rd quarter 2007 Knoxville area home sales data.

and the data is not bad at all, especially comparing the greater Knoxville area to many other parts of the United States.

Our average sales price for a typical 3 bedroom home jumped from $169,300 in quarter 3 2006 to $177,200 in this third quarter; a 4.6% increase which is fairly typical in the Knoxville area real estate market.

 View all Knoxville homes sales data back to 1999.

Source: Knoxville Area Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service statistics

Total homes and condos sold during the previous quarter were 4,463 and we dropped a bit from the 4,645 Knoxville area homes sold during the same period in 2006.

The third quarter median sales for a Knoxville 3 bedroom home rose from $149,900 in 2007 to $157,900 in 2007 which is a 5.3% increase.

Visit KnoxvilleMLS.com to see current Knoxville area homes for sale including condos and land.

Reading my morning newspaper this morning and I was very surprised to see a photo of fellow Realtor Deborah Black trying to rescue one of her horses which wandered off and fell into a partially filled swimming pool near her Fountain City home.

Deborah is the one in the red T shirt shivering in the pool.

Personally I’ve never tried to coax a 1200 pound horse out of a swimming pool but I’m sure it took some imagination and some effort.

The Knoxville Fire Department, animal control workers, and some veterinarians from the University of Tennessee finally managed to lift the animal from the pool with the aid of a wrecker and a special rescue harness.

Deborah is a very accomplished horsewoman and riding instructor. She and her swimming horse “Look to the Mountain” have won tons of trophies over the years not only in the Knoxville area but all over the east coast.

Mountain is now retired from horse shows but apparently he’s thinking of starting a new career as a swimmer.

Read the soggy horse story here.

Find yourself a new, Knoxville area home, with or without a swimming pool, here, “BYOH” (Bring Your Own Horse)

If you like spectacular fireworks shows, HUGE crowds, and lots of fun it’s almost time for Knoxville’s annual “Boomsday” celebration.

This annual event has grown quickly and has crowds routinely exceeding 300,000 fun loving folks swarming all over downtown Knoxville and along the Riverfront and Neyland Drive.

Beginning this coming Sunday, September 2nd at noon and lasting until the fireworks finale at 9:30 PM, it’s a daylong party of food, music, fellowship, exhibits, and loads of fun things to do.

In addition to the largest Labor Day fireworks show in the nation, this year’s Boomsday will feature food from 30 vendors, amusement games and rides, exhibits, children’s activities and inflatable area, and a community stage with some of the region’s best young athletes and performers. And of course there will lots of great music with several venues located throughout the city.

Best of all; attendance, including the fireworks spectacular, is absolutely FREE!

If you get hungary or thirsty there are lots of approved vendors selling all sorts of food and drink.

The big finale is of course, the super spectacular fireworks show choregraphed to music. Tons of fireworks are shot from the Henley Street Bridge which is closed the day before to allow the fireworks guys to set up their show. The finale is a fire waterfall across the entire bridge and into the Tennessee River below.

The city skies are aglow for over 20 continuous minutes as the show unfolds.

Be prepared to leave early or stay late because when it’s all over around 10:00 PM, those 300,000 tired and happy folks will be headed home and 300,000+ people is a bunch of folks.

This is a shot of Neyland Drive during last year’s Boomsday. Wall to wall people as far as you can see.

If you’ve even been around Knoxville during a University of Tennessee home football game which routinely attracts around 105,000 to a game, you can imagine how 3 times that many people can clog up the streets.

Doom and gloom news abounds in today’s real estate market.

• “Foreclosures: No relief in sight”
• “Mortgage Bankers Association index falls 5.5 percent on lower demand for home-purchase and refinancing loans.”
• “Prices drop for 4th straight quarter”

After hearing and reading news like that day after day for months now, lots of people are reaching the conclusion that the real estate market is down the proverbial tubes. 

Actually the real estate market (which is actually comprised of hundreds of local markets as opposed to one giant superstore) is alive and well in most areas.

Sure, some people that took out mortgages they were barely qualified for to start with are struggling and lots of them will unfortunately end up losing their homes. Several areas of the country where rampant speculation artifically ran up prices are seeing the downside of that speculation as their prices drop back to earth; but overall, homes are still selling, mortgage rates are still very attractive, and buyers are out there buying.

So if you have a house to sell today here’s 5 things you can do to help your house sell faster and for the best possible price.

Number 1. Fix it up and get it ready to sell. I don’t mean just dust and pick up the magazines laying around the couch. I mean get objective and look at your house as a buyer would. Do the walls need painting a neutral color? Paint them. Paint is about the cheapest fix up thing you can do, and offers the best bang for your buck.

Clean! Not just run the vacuum and swish out the bathtubs. I mean consider hiring a professional cleaning crew to come in and clean all the windows, scrub out the bathrooms and the kitchen, clean along where the walls meet the ceilings, and clean places you don’t normally touch.

Carpet worn and threadbare? Replace it. Carpet allowances generally say to a buyer; “I’m just going to let you walk on our worn out carpeting instead of replacing it.” Lots of times you can get 90 day or long, same as cash financing from carpet stores and pay for this upgrade out of your closing proceeds. Be sure to choose a neutral color and use the same color throughout.

Fix up, clean up are the best things you can do to make sure your house sells quickly for top dollar. Visit my website for a list of 40 free or almost free things you can do to make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

Number 2. Price it below the market value. I know I just said the housing market is still pretty good but there are also tons of homes on the market right now and the more ways you can make yours outstanding to a potential buyer the better your odds of selling at a good price. Maybe not the absolute best possible price but you will sell and get a good price.

Number 3. Offer some incentives to your buyers. Lots of buyers are well qualified these days but are cash poor. Offer to pay 3% of so of your asking price towards their closing costs. This alone will make your house stand above the crowd especially if you also do numbers 1. & 2. above.

Number 4. Offer some incentives to Realtors as well as buyers. A 1/2% higher commission offered to a buyer’s agent could encourage them to push your house over others to their buyers. Or throw in a $1,000 cash bonus to anyone bringing you an acceptable offer by a certain deadline, say 30 days or less.

Number 5. Throw in some attention getting, non-traditional incentives. For just a few hundred bucks you could offer a buyer a years worth of maid service or lawn care. Things like that appeal most to the person that actually does that work. For the same few hundred bucks you could offer a Caribbean vacation. Lots of buyers would think about a nice break after house hunting and going through the buying process.

Here’s what some truly “motivated” sellers and builders of new homes are doing.

• “in Medford, Ore., Diane Adams, a real-estate agent, is offering to pay four months of mortgage payments on the $975,000 house she and her home-builder husband constructed on 20 acres near Crater Lake.”
• In Richmond, Va., Orleans Homebuilders Inc. is offering “Sizzling Summer Sale Savings” that include as much as $100,000 off the cost of upgrades ranging from granite countertops to a conservatory”
• “Among other things, they are offering buyers cash discounts of as much as 20%, throwing in a pool and agreeing to finish basements, garages and other spaces at a cost of several thousand dollars.”

Bottom line; there are still lots of buyers out there looking to buy but there are also lots of homes for sale. The more things and ways you can make yours stand above the crowd, the better chances of selling quickly for the best possible price.

If you would like some professional advice I would be glad to stop by at your convenience, walk through your house with you, and suggest what you should do to help it sell faster for more money.

I’m also an accredited staging professional so I can give you some staging tips as well.

As always, no cost, no obligation, all I ask is if you should choose a Realtor to professionally market your home you consider me.

Good luck and happy selling.

The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors have released their sales figures for May of 2007.

These figures look pretty good, especially when compared to the earlier months this year. For example; January 2007 showed 2,430 new listings for the month in Knoxville but only 958 sales. Days on market (time to sell) were 91 days.

One of Knoxville’s median priced homes at $184,900.

May sales were 1,608, close to double January, with 2,783 new listings to take their place. Days on market dropped to only 88 days, so Knoxville homes are starting to sell faster.