Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

One of my favorite kinds of pie is Key Lime. Easy to make but hard to find a good one.

My benchmark for excellence in Key Lime pies are the ones made at the Donut Hole Bakery & Cafe on Harbor Boulevard in Destin Florida. Their pies are what all Key Lime pies should aspire to; that tart-sweet taste that makes your mouth sort of pucker and gets your saliva glands flowing at the same time. Delicious.

I have now discovered another Key Lime pie that you can easily create at home that tastes just as good. My fellow Realtor Jean Tavenner’s daughter Yvonne is an accomplished cook just like her mother. Yvonne has a Key Lime pie recipe that won First Prize in a local cooking contest and after tasting a slice last night, I know why. It was delicious with that trademark tart sweet taste all Key Lime pies should have.

With her permission I’m sharing her award winning recipe with you.

Yvonne Farmer

Here’s what you need to make your own “Yvonne’s Award Winning Key Lime Pie”:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup of firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of melted butter
• 2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk (Yvonne uses one regular and one low or non-fat).
• 1 cup of  Key Lime juice (make sure it’s REAL Key Lime juice, regular limes just don’t produce the same taste) Yvonne uses about 3/4 cup and squeezes the remaining 1/4 cup from fresh Key Limes.
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tarter
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Lime slices to garnish

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients. Press into a 9 inch pie pie plate or pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then let it cool.
2. Stir together sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until blended. Pour into crust.
3. Beat egg whites and cream of tarter at high speed with electric mixer just until foamy. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time while beating until soft peaks form and sugar dissolves  (2 to 4 minutes). Spread meringue over pie filling.
4. Bake @ 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely. chill 8 hours. Garnish with lime slices. Yields 1 9 inch pie.

There you go, one of the best and easiest Key Lime pie recipes around. Thanks to Yvonne Farmer for sharing her award winning recipe.

Visit Knoxville Home Searcher.com to see all Knoxville area Realtor listings for sale.

New listing in popular North Hills section of north Knoxville.

Let’s look back over the past 11 years to get some perspective about where the current greater Knoxville, Tennessee area real estate market is compared to past years.

Knoxville area sales for the past 11 years

In 2009 all the members of the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors sold 10,495 houses and condos. in 2008 it was 11,850.  That’s a 11% drop in volume 2008. It’s also a whopping 40% drop from the peak sales year of 2006.

Basically that means the greater Knoxville area is back to pre-2002 sales levels.

That’s what has happened in the past 11 years; now let’s talk about what I believe is going to happen in 2010 and beyond.

I believe interest rates will remain low for at least this year, probably in the 5-6% range because of low demand. Any retailer will tell you that you can’t raise the price of your merchandise if it’s not selling.

Lots of pundits are predicting that housing prices have stabilized. I don’t agree with them. I think foreclosures and short sales will keep downward pressure on housing prices for this year and some years beyond. How many? anyone’s guess.

Mortgage will continue to be hard to get. I’m hearing stories from fellow Realtors about lenders asking for more and more documentation and verifications on even buyers with gold plated credit histories. For instance, I have a closing set for this coming Friday on a fairly high end house, great buyer, great credit history, and substantial down payment. Lender is now (4 days before closing) asking for more documentation and a statement from inspector as to minor maintenance issues. I’ve never had anything like that before.

Still a great time to buy a house, an OK time to sell one that’s priced competitively and in great condition, and it’s now taking longer than ever before to find a buyer and get to the closing table.

Below is the weekly sales report from the Knox County Register of deeds showing all the transfers recorded in the past week. In 2009 we averaged roughly 150 sales a week. I count 98 for last week. A sign of things to come? I don’t necessarily think so. It’s still early in the year and historically near the bottom of the yearly sales cycle.

I’ll continue to monitor these reports and we’ll see if they start to rise in February and March as they have done in past years.

Knoxville, TN weekly sales report

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all the Knoxville area Realtor listings for sale. Please leave your comments below and feel free to contact me directly with any questions or to schedule a showing or talk about selling your current home.

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

Tennessee is a state with lots of scenic beauty and lots of outdoor recreational activities. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has created an awesome lake and river system for boaters, fishermen, and all sort of water sports. East Tennessee, the part I live in, is home to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with over 900 miles of hiking trails, campgrounds, and beautiful mountain scenery.

Another little known and used part of Tennessee outdoors is the huge amount of state park, scenic areas, and protected natural areas dotted all over.

I visited one I had never been to today; Stinging Fork Falls Natural Area near Spring City which is about 50 miles south of Knoxville.

Parking area at Stinging Fork Falls near Knoxville, Tennessee

This state natural area is located on top of the Cumberland Plateau system which covers parts of 5 states, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and northern Alabama & Georgia.

According to the website above Stinging Fork Falls is a 783-acre natural area. It is named for the 30-foot waterfall located within the Stinging Fork gorge. The creek flows over the fan shaped falls, then quickly slips through chutes, and tumbles over cascades below the falls.

topo map of stinging fork fall natural area near Knoxville, TN

It’s only about a mile to Stinging Fork Falls but to get to actually see them you have to climb down inside a 160 feet gorge because the dense brush and trees hides the creek that feeds the falls. But it’s worth the walk, that’s one of the more picturesque waterfalls I’ve seen.

The falls spills into a large, deep pool. I’m betting some skinny dipping has gone on here; this place is pretty isolated and hard to get to.

Unfortunately once you climb down a 160 foot gorge the only way back is UP. It’s pretty steep coming and going but the state has provided a pretty good trail with some steps at the steeper parts but I would still only recommend it to those is pretty good physical condition. I was breathing pretty hard when I came over the top.

Stinging Fork Creek cascades over rock formations.

This is a great place to visit if you want to get away from crowds and most everything else. We were there about 2 hours and did not see a single other person; just the sounds of birds, the wind, and the rushing water.

If you love year round out door activities as much as I do, then maybe you need to come visit us in East Tennessee. We have plenty to do for all interests and all seasons.

You might even like it enough to want to move here permenently. Check our areas housing out here: www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

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The October sales figures are out now from the Knoxville Area Association of  Realtors. The total for October was 1,023 for the month which was 149 more than the same time period in 2008.

That’s a 14.5% increase year over year but the most exciting part is that increase came at a time of year when sales have been historically dipping toward the winter lows. I believe the first time home buyers tax credit is continuing to prop up our market.

Here’s an easy to understand at a glance graph of the past 5 years sales including year to date in 2009.

5 year sales comparison

Unfortunately tight money remains the proverbial ‘elephant in the living room’ .

Located in Anderson County on Raccoon Valley Road at Claxton.

The seller of this delightful country home will consider a lease purchase, call me for details.

Here’s my weekly report on Knox County real estate transfers. I’m coming to you today from San Diego, California where I’m attending the National Association of Realtors (NAR) annual Conference & Expo. It’s been a whirlwind week here of great learning experiences and a huge trade show of new real estate products. I’m heading home early Monday morning.

Below is the Knox County Register of Deeds real estate transfers for the week just passed.

Again this week, no surprises. There were 162 Knox County Real Estate transfers last week with the majority in the lower price points. According to National Association of Realtors statistics first time home buyers have been as much as 45% of the total market.

Recently Congress passed a bill extending the $8,000 tax credit until April 30th of 2010 which should help continue the current sales trends. Hopefully the addition to a similar credit for current homeowners will encourage that group to re-enter the market in the higher prices ranges when they sell an existing home they own.A recent report from NAR says short sales and foreclosures also continue to be a very significant percentage of sales.

“The annual survey of home buyers (not REALTORS®), suggests that the first-time buyer accounts for 45 percent of all buyers. The number of distressed sales, those that are short sales or foreclosed sales, made up 29 percent of all sales in September. It accounted for 45 to 50 percent of all sales late last year and in the early months of this year.”

Here’s what NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun said recently about the housing market:

“We have to be mindful that the tax credit is not only about people in the market. Despite spectacular gains in the stock market, principally from the financial sector recovery, most of the 75 million home-owning families have more wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn consistently positive and help the broad base of middle-class families, but we are not there yet. We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy. Without a firm foundation for middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in U.S. history.“

Please feel free to comment or ask questions about any portion of the Knoxville area real estate market. If I don’t have the answer I do have access to some of the best sources available and will get the answer for you right away.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the ‘go to’ place to search for all Knoxville area houses, condos, land, lots, and commercial properties. Give me a call or email if you find some you would like to take a look at.

This spectacular log home sets amid 6.9 tabletop level acres in a beautiful area of the Cumberland Plateau. $355,000

Congress passed a bill extending the current $8,000 tax credit for persons buying a home who have not owned one in the past three years that was their principal residents. President Obama signed it this past Friday, November 6th, so it’s now official.

But the new bill has an addition for current Knoxville, TN homeowners who want to sell their current home and buy another. If you own your home now, sell it and buy another before April 30th of 2010 you probably qualify for a $6,500 tax credit like the ones buyers have enjoyed this year. ($3250 if you’re married and file separately).

As long as you have a sales contract dated April 30, 2010, you have up to 60 days past that date to get the newly purchased home closed.

The new extension also increased the income limits for all home-buyers. Single buyers can earn up to $125,000 and married couples can earn as much as $225,000.

Before there was no limitation on the cost of your new home; it’s now a maximum sales price of $800,000. I suppose the rationale for this is that the former income limits of $75,000 for a single taxpayer and $150,000 for married buyers was a self limiting mechanism that did not need to be spelled out. Now that selling an existing home enters into the mix with the potential for equity from selling an existing home, I guess Congress felt they needed some sort of purchase price cap.

The income limits were increased in hopes the new higher ceilings will stimulate the purchase of more expensive home. Before the existing tax credit was mostly driving the sales of lower end homes priced at $150,000 and below. With the income limits now increased and current homeowners allowed to participate too that should raise the average sales price of Knoxville and Farragut homes bought with this program.

To cut down on some fraudulent tax returns submitted by taxpayers who did not qualify for the tax credit buyers now have to submit some documentation as proof you actually bought a home and that you qualify for the credit. I believe a copy of your HUD 1 form (closing statement) would qualify as proof but you should check with the IRS or your tax preparer to make sure.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George told a House panel that more than 19,000 people filed 2008 tax returns claiming the credit for homes they had not yet purchased. George said his office had identified another $500 million in claims, by some 74,000 taxpayers, where there were indications of prior home ownership.

He told a House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee that they also found 580 taxpayers under the age of 18 who claimed $4 million in first-time home buyer credit. One was 4 years old.

“Some of our findings, while preliminary, are somewhat disturbing,” George said. Among the most striking instances of fraud include 4-year-olds, non-U.S. citizens and IRS employees inappropriately claiming the benefit, he said.

Below is a chart from the National Association of REALTORS® comparing the new tax credit extension to the current one and spelling out the terms and conditions.

Comparison chart showing the existing bill compared to the new, extended version.

So if you’ve been sitting on the fence waiting to buy or, if you couldn’t qualify because of needing some cash for closing costs, this new law levels the playing field for both new buyers and current homeowners who want to sell and buy.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is a great place to get started looking at Knoxville and Farragut TN homes and listings for sale. Updated daily and NO REGISTRATION required to search to your heart’s content.

I would be delighted to help you get your current home sold and then buy another either in the Knoxville area or I can refer you to another top notch REALTOR in the city you’re moving to.

Please call or email with any questions about the tax credit or any buying and selling questions.

Knoxville, TN real estate sales and listings

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