Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Terrific new listing in north Knoxville, reduced $25,000!

Not surprisingly it looks like the real estate transfers in Knoxville and Farragut Tennessee were down a bit this past week.

I counted 135 with the usual high numbers in the lower price ranges as it’s been all of 2009

I’m very excited for 2010 to begin (which is will in only 4 more days) and see what a new year holds for us.

On one hand interest rates remain very, very low which makes buying attractive. But on the other hand unemployment remains higher than usual in Tennessee although we’re faring better than many other areas.

I believe I’m predicting a modest improvement in the volume of sales with prices still stagnant to downward. A good time to buy if you’re thinking about that. For sellers you have to price your houses competitively and be prepared to deal if you want to sell, you’re facing a lot of competition out there.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the “go to” place for both buyers and sellers for all of the Knoxville area Realtor listing plus some great selling tips and information including my free 52 page ebook titled: “450 Ways to Sell Your Home Faster For More Money” email [email protected] for your free copy.

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• Knox County Register of Deeds real estate transfers for the week of Dec. 13th (knoxvilletennesseerealestateblog.com)
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This very motivated seller is willing to do a lease purchase on this beautiful country home in north Knoxville.

Here’s the latest real estate property transfers as reported by the Knox County, Tennessee Register of Deeds.

Year to date Knox County has been averaging around 150 transfers (sales) a week. The week just passed reported 135 sales which is a bit below the average. I’m putting that down to the fast approaching Christmas week and other things than home buying on people’s minds.

You’ll notice from past reports that even the hot $100,000 to $150,000 price range sank down a little this past week.

I’m starting to hear from mortgage bankers all over the country that interest rates are on the rise and we will almost certainly be looking at 6% rates sometime before mid 2010, probably in the early months.

Of course 6% is a pretty phenomenal rate, I remember back about 30 years ago when I bought my first house and got an 8% fixed rate. I thought that was the best thing possible, which of course at that time it was.

If you’re thinking if buying, NOW is a great time. The $8,000 tax credit that most buyers will qualify for expires at the end of April in 2010 and I’m betting it will not be renewed again.

Even existing home owners can now get up to $6,500 if they buy another home for their principal residence AND your existing home does not have to be sold for you to qualify.

There is still a huge selection of homes for sale and motivated (for now) sellers are willing to make deals to entice buyers to buy their house over another.

And finally interest rates are still very, very attractive.

So putting all these factors together makes this sort of a perfect storm for home buyers.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com is the ‘go to’ place to see all Knoxville and Farragut Realtor listings as wells as many surrounding counties. Come on in and have a look around, you might find that “just right” home for you and your family.

Please feel free to leave your comments or email me with any questions.

Best wishes to everyone for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010!

Down in deep West Knoxville is one of the most awesome Christmas light show you’ve likely ever seen. Shadrack’s Water Sports has transformed the large hillside behind their boat showroom into a Christmas wonderland with hundreds of thousands of brightly colored lights dynamically synchronized and dancing to Christmas tunes.

There are well lighted auto paths through this delightful light and music show plus you can pull over to the side, park awhile, and listen to the whole show. Several familiar Christmas songs and a couple of upbeat contemporary ones as well.

Load the whole family up and take them down to see this holiday treat.

To find Shadrack’s go west on Interstate 75 to the Watt Road Exit, turn right and then an immediate left, Shadrack’s is about 3 blocks out on the right. If you go after dark you want have any trouble finding it, just follow the colored glow in the sky.

Location Times:
All Locations – Daily 6pm to 10pm

RATES:
Bristol – $10 per car Sunday – Thursday
$12 per car Friday – Saturday

Knoxville/Sevierville – $10 per car Monday – Thursday
$15 per car Friday – Sunday
All locations – Activity Van – $20 / Limo – $30 / Mini-Bus $40 / Bus – $65

*ALL HOLIDAYS ARE WEEKEND RATES*
WELL worth the trip!

235 real estate transfers recorded in Knox County, Tennessee this past week. I believe that’s only the 4th time in 2009 we’ve had over 200 sales recorded in 1 week! A good sign for the local real estate market and sellers and buyers.

Here’s a graph showing the breakdown.

Lots of real estate transfers recorded in the past week

As has been true all year, the $100,000 to $150,000 price range continues to dominate the market, there were 70 recorded sales in that category for the past week.

And the higher end, that’s the over $500,000 price point, continues to languish.

As most everyone is aware now, the $8,000 tax credit for new homebuyers has been extended until April 30, of 2010. I’m still convinced that is driving a very significant percentage of the lower price sales. Some say as much as 40% of those sales are qualifying for the credit.

One plus in the extension is that it now applies to sellers if they buy another home and you do not necessarily have to sell your current home to qualify. That category can get up to a $6,500 credit when they buy.

Housing sales in the greater Knoxville area remain fairly strong relative to our usual seasonal downturn which historically happens about July/August of each year and declining through the winter months until the spring market starts coming to life.

However houses are bought and sold every day of the year and it looks like more than normal are going to be bought and sold through the next few days of this year and into 2010.

Good news for the Knoxville, Tennessee real estate market.

Here’s a link to a great article by Marc Roth jokingly titled “If you don’t buy a house now, you’re broke or stupid.”

And here’s the place to go find that house to buy: www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com

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I counted the property transfers published by the Knox County Register of Deeds for the previous week and found 186 which is a little above the 150 or so average we’ve had for all of 2009 so far.

It seems the extension of the homebuyers tax credit is continuing to drive the lower end of our market (the $200,000 and under price points) and the upper end remains sluggish.

Knox County TN closed transactions

I’ve been reading lots of encouraging news about real estate markets all across the county and how they’re seeing increases in sales. Our market has shown one encouraging sign in the past 2 months in that sales have remained high instead of taking their usual seasonal downturn in the fall and winter months.

Let’s hope that trend continues, in past recessions real estate has been the force that drove the recovery.

Here’s some more statistical data from the National Association of Realtor’s research department.

Tennessee building permits

As you can see from the huge drop off in building permits new construction is still in deep trouble.

What drives local supply and demand

And finally how Knoxville is doing relative to the rest of Tennessee

Comparing Knoxville sales to U.S. sales

Visit www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com to see all of Knoxville’s homes for sale.

Please feel free to comment or ask any real estate related question you may have.

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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