All Around KTown

Changes Coming to All Around KTown

2008-08-10T23:30:00.005-04:00

Due to some upcoming changes here at All Around KTown, your regularly scheduled weekly poll will not be up tonight. But don't fret - it will be back soon and it will be better than ever!

Intrigued? Well then make sure you don't miss out on any of the exciting stuff that's about to happen - subscribe to AAKT in a feed reader or by email today!

A New Housing Alternative?

2008-08-10T22:40:00.008-04:00

Via Calculated Risk, from cartoonist Eric G. Lewis.

What's Your House Sign?

2008-08-08T10:12:00.000-04:00

Because I work for a Coldwell Banker franchise, I regularly get Coldwell Banker ~~spam~~ promotional emails. I ususally automatically delete these, but for some reason I actually opened the one I got yesterday.

It was an announcement for a new little widget called Housetrology, which claims to tap into your emotional instincts to help you find your perfect home. All you do is look at some pictures and answer a few questions about things you like, and this quiz will tell you what your ideal house style is and direct you to homes in your search area that match it.

And because CB is trying to get hip to the times, you can also add it to your Facebook page. Really.

I have to admit it's sort of fun, if not entirely accurate. It told me I'm an urbanist, which I think was mostly due to me saying I like the house on the Cosby Show more than the house on Dynasty or the one on Desperate Housewives. Go figure.

So, if you're casting around for something to do besides work on a Friday, head over and see what your house sign is and then come back here and let me know.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-08-06T23:18:00.005-04:00

Whatcha doin' Watchers? This week on Foreclosure Watch, active and pending listings, as well as closed sales, are all slightly down. As for our strange data blips from last week, the average sales price is on its way back down after last week's unexpected spike, but new active listings continue their downward trend with only 15 new foreclosure listings this week vs 26 last week. Again, it's too early to call this a trend, but I'm still going to be keeping my eye on it.

In other news, 37917 overtook 37914 as the zip code with the most new foreclosure listings since I started keeping count and 37909 made it's very first showing with 1 new foreclosure listing this week. Should I make up prize ribbons?

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 8/06/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 146 ▼
Average Asking Price: $139,817 ▲
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▲
Most Expensive New Listing: $585,500 (4 BR, 3 1/2 BA, approx 4000 sq ft on 5+ acres in Powell)
Least Expensive New Listing: $29,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 800+ sq ft off of Campbell Station Rd.)

Notable New Listings:
North: $94,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1900+ sq ft in Fairmont P ark)
South: $90,000 (4 BR, 3 BA, 2000+ sq ft in Lake Forest)
East: $33,000 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1000+ sq ft off of Chestnut)
West: $379,000 (5 BR, 4 BA, approx 4500 sq ft in Cavet Station)

Current Pending Sales -103 ▼
Average Asking Price - $87,916▲
Median Asking Price - $74,900 ▬

Closed Sales July 30, 2008-August 5, 2008 - 11 ▼
Average Asking Price - $108,118 ▼
Average Sales Price - $99,450 ▼
Median Sales Price - $88,500 ▼
Average Days on Market - 76 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 8/06/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. As an added bonus, I promise never to spam you.

Why take the chance of ever missing out on Foreclosure Watch? Make sure you get all your foreclosure goodness every week by subscribing to All Around K-Town today, either by RSS or email!

Another Cool Tool: Neighborhood Watch

2008-08-05T18:59:00.000-04:00

Remember me telling you not too long ago that real estate agents aren't allowed to tell clients if a neighborhood is "good " or "bad"? Yeah, well we're still not allowed to do that, but it looks like home buyers may have a new tool to use to get that information themselves. It's a website I just found out about from The Real Estate Bloggers called Criminal Searches that allows you to look up pretty much anyone's criminal history for free. Really.

But that's not all. The cool part about the site for homeowners and home buyers is the "Neighborhood Watch" feature, which allows you to enter a zip code, city, or address and then shows you offenders by type of crime on a Google map of the search area -

You can also click on each person and pull up detailed information on what their exact offense or offenses were and when they were committed.

I took at look at my neighborhood and found that there were more traffic offenders than anything, although there were a few folks with multiple drug offenses.

The site says that it pulls its info from public records and stresses that, because the data includes civil and traffic filings, not everyone that turns up in neighborhood search results is a "criminal" per se.

While it certainly is not a foolproof way to identify "good" or "bad" neighborhoods, it is certainly a helpful tool to use to check out areas you are unsure about.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Neighborhood of the Week: Lincoln Park

2008-08-04T21:59:00.001-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads back to the north side of town, a little ways up from downtown, but not quite all the way to Fountain City, to a small historic community known as Lincoln Park.

Lincoln Park is located just north of the Old North Knoxville and Fourth and Gill neighborhoods and is roughly bounded by Sharps Ridge to the north, Atlantic Avenue to the south, Broadway to the east, and I-275 to the west. It is very often lumped in with the neighboring community of Oakwood, and in fact there is a joint Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association. From that association's web page:

The Lincoln Park community began as a mineral spring resort in 1899 and was probably named for the large Lincoln Park in Chicago. The original Lincoln Park school was located at Atlantic and Kenyon Aves. There were three mineral springs, Epsom, Lithia, and Chalybeate, located where the Lincoln Park Elementary School later stood. An early photograph shows a building with porches on at least three sides with a sign above saying, “Lincoln Park Mineral Springs.” The springs were enclosed so that people had to buy the water and much later were capped. The first school building was erected near the springs by Knox County. The dummy railroad line, which served the neighborhood, became part of the city’s trolley system, following annexation in 1917. Lincoln Park became a part of the city of Knoxville in 1917 along with Oakwood and several other neighborhoods.

The joint Oakwood/Lincoln Park neighborhood association is very active and even has its own clubhouse where neighborhood meetings are held and which residents can rent out for special events.

The homes in Lincoln Park have a lot of character. Many date from at or near the turn of the century and several have architectural characteristics of Victorian and Craftsman style homes. And even though it is a historic neighborhood, Lincoln Park is still quite affordable, especially compared to Old North Knox or Fourth and Gill.

So if you're looking for a charming, historic, and affordable neighborhood with a strong sense of community that is also convenient to downtown and UT, you might not have to look any further than Lincoln Park.

Note: The stats for this NOTW are only for Lincoln Park. I will be covering Oakwood in a future installment.

Here's Lincoln Park by the numbers -

Lincoln Park*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $95,729
Median Asking Price: $89,900
Most Expensive: $115,000 (3 BR, 2 BA, approx 1300 sq ft home built in 1899)
Least Expensive: $79,500 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft home built in 1930)
Middle of the Road: $89,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft home built in 1899 )

Current Pending Sales - 3
Average Asking Price: $83,900
Median Asking Price: $99,900

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - June 30 2008- 15
Average Asking Price - $71,627
Average Sales Price - $69,580
Median Sales Price - $65,000
Average Days on Market - 85

Closed Sales - Jan 2007 - June 30 2007- 14
Asking Price - $73,764
Average Sales Price - $71,193
Median Sales Price - $79,703
Days on Market - 72

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 8/04/08 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Lincoln Park Listings" or "New Lincoln Park Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. Spam belongs in a can, not in your email inbox.

Feeling left out because your neighborhood hasn't yet been featured as a Neighborhood of the Week? Don't keep it to yourself, let me know all about it.

The Weekly Poll

2008-08-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

Early voting is open for this week's poll. You can find your closest polling station in the upper left hand corner of the page.

This week's topic is the new Housing Rescue Bill that was just signed into law. I wrote about it earlier this week and now it's your turn to weigh in on what you think about it. Good, bad, or indifferent, let me know your opinion by casting your vote.

And even though they may have differing opinions about it, All Around KTown subscribers always have the latest information on local and national real estate. Don't be left out - subscribe to AAKT in a feed reader or by email today!

More Cool Homes You Can't Afford

2008-08-01T16:44:00.001-04:00

The weekend is almost here and I thought it would be a good time to take another stroll through the MLS and drool over homes that shall never, ever be mine. Care to join me?

First up is this nice little horse farm on East Emory Rd between Halls and Corryton. The 4 BR, 4 full bath, 2 half bath home is located on just shy of 60s acres and features not one, but 3 barns, a gated entry, and a year round creek. Asking price: $2,950,000

Next up is a 5 BR, 5 full bath, 3 half bath, 8800 sq ft+ estate on 18 acres right off of Duncan Road in West Knoxville. Features include media room, outdoor terraces and living area, vanishing edge pool, 4 car attached garage, and 5 car detached garage. Asking price: $3,895,000

Not too far down the road is this 10,000+ sq ft spread in Sherwood Oaks. Features include walnut paneled office with fireplace and built-in bookshelves, gourmet kitchen upstairs and 2nd kitchen downstairs, workout room, and large outdoor patio with fireplace. Asking price: $1,849,900

Finally, there's the house that Regas and Grady's built. This contemporary rancher in Farragut might be on the small side, but it's sitting on over 3 acres of lakefront property and includes a 300 foot lakeside walkway and 2 boat houses with lifts and floating docks. Asking price: $1,695,000

Well, that's all the day dreaming I have time for now. Time to get back out and show people some cool houses they actually can afford. Have a great weekend!

Link Round-Up: Housing Rescue Bill Edition

2008-07-31T23:55:00.000-04:00

OK, so by now you know there's this new "Housing Rescue Bill" and that it just got signed into law. It has a lot of provisions that have raised a lot of questions and caused a lot of mixed opinions.

Some people think it's good,

some people think it's bad,

some people think it's good and bad,

some people think it's only a temporary fix,

and one person thinks it's a lot like an episode of "Mad Men."

What do you think?

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-07-30T21:52:00.001-04:00

It hardly seems like it can be Foreclosure Watch time again, but time does have a tendency to fly when you're working in this crazy real estate market. This week on Foreclosure Watch, while actives, pendings and closings stay somewhat steady, I did notice two strange blips in the data.

1. The average sales price for closed foreclosures more than doubled.
This is partially due to one very big six figure sale, but even if you remove the big one from the equation, the average sales price would still be in the $120s - way higher than last week's average of around $88,000. So what gives? Is it just a fluke or are more buyers starting to look for bargains in the upper bracket of the foreclosure market? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

2. There were only about 1/2 has many new foreclosure listings this week as there were the previous two weeks.
Again, no idea if this is a fluke or a trend, but you can bet I'll be keeping an eye on it in coming weeks.

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 7/30/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 150 ▼
Average Asking Price: $136,451 ▲
Median Asking Price: $88,900 ▼
Most Expensive New Listing: $499,900 (7 BR, 4 1/2 BA, 4900+ sq ft in Andover Place in Farragut)
Least Expensive New Listing: $16,150 (1 BR, 1 BA, 700+ sq ft in East Knoxville)

Notable New Listings:
North: $180,000 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2400+ sq ft in Corr yton)
South: $90,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1100+ sq ft off of Sevierville Pike)
East: $39,900 (3 BR, 1 1/2 BA 1300+ sq ft off of Biddle St.)
West: $120,000 (4 BR, 3 BA, approx 2600 sq ft in Lakeshire)

Current Pending Sales -105 ▬
Average Asking Price - $87,444▼
Median Asking Price - $74,900▼

Closed Sales July 23, 2008-July 29, 2008 - 12 ▼
Average Asking Price - $174,442▲(way, way up)
Average Sales Price - $164,383▲
Median Sales Price - $135,600 ▲
Average Days on Market - 69 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/30/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. Spam is for losers.

Why take the chance of ever missing out on Foreclosure Watch? Make sure you get all your foreclosure goodness every week by subscribing to All Around K-Town today, either by RSS or email!

New Knoxify Neighborhood: North Hills

2008-07-30T09:55:00.001-04:00

Knoxify and I have posted a new community to our Knoxville Neighborhood Guide. This week we focus on a lovely historic neighborhood that also happens to be very walkable: North Hills. Head over to Knoxify and check it out!

Have a comment or suggestion for the Knoxville Neighborhood Guide? You know I'd love to hear all about it.

Quote of the Day

2008-07-29T21:50:00.000-04:00

"Our main problem is inventory, and as it starts to get back more in balance with the demand then there'll be more confidence in pricing and stability will come back. We're hoping that's a positive; that the light's at the end of the tunnel and we're going to get our inventory back in line and it will be better in '09 than it was in '08. It's better now than it was a year ago."

- Jim Wallace, co-owner of (my brokerage) Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace, REALTORS on the state of the Knoxville real estate market in an article over on KNS.

Neighborhood of the Week: Riversound

2008-07-28T23:16:00.002-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads back out West to little lakefront neighborhood called Riversound.

Located just off of Northshore Drive a little over 2 miles west of the Pellissippi, Riversound bills itself as "an exclusive lakefront development with the comfort and atmosphere of family living."

The community sits on 96 acres on the north shore of Fort Loundon Lake and not only are several homes there actually on the water, many homes in Riversound have incredible lake and mountain views. There's also a community boat dock with some private dock slips available for homeowners. There are, however, not enough for all homeowners, and when a slip goes up for sale, I hear it goes pretty quickly

Other neighborhood amenities include a 5000 sq ft neighborhood clubhouse, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, and newly resurfaced tennis courts.

Riversound is also located just up the road from quite a few county parks, including "The Cove", or Concord Park, Admiral Farragut Park and Carl Cowan Park.

So if you're looking for an upscale lakefront community that's convenient to I-640 and Turkey Creek, has it's own neighborhood pool and tennis courts and is also close to some really nice public parks, Riversound might be a good place to call home.

Note: Even though the condo community "The Breakers" is located within Riversound, I'm only going to focus on the single family homes in this NOTW.

Here's Riversound by the numbers -

Riversound*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $744,371
Median Asking Price: $764,900
Most Expensive: $896,000 (5 BR, 5 BA, approx 5000 sq ft on about an acre)
Least Expensive: $619,900 (4 BR, 4 1/2 BA 4200+ sq ft )
Middle of the Road: $764,900 (4 BR, 4 1/2 BA, 5700+ sq ft )

Current Pending Sales - 0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - June 30 2008- 3
Average Asking Price - $628,133
Average Sales Price - $611,667
Median Sales Price - $600,000
Average Days on Market - 38

Closed Sales - Jan 2007 - June 30 2007- 1
Asking Price - $1,175,000
Sales Price - $1,115,000
Days on Market - 38

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/28/08 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Riversound Listings" or "New Riversound Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam - scout's honor.

Live in a great neighborhood you think is worthy of some attention? Let me know about it and you might just see it featured here in the coming weeks.

The Weekly Poll

2008-07-27T23:59:00.004-04:00

This week's poll is up. You know the drill.

This week's topic is about what you most want to have in your next home. More space? Less space? A really nice outdoor living area? Or maybe just a whole lot less yard work? Cast your vote and let me know.

And while you may not have all the square footage you want yet, you can still get all the latest information on the Knoxville real estate market any time you need it. Just subscribe to All Around KTown in a feed reader or by email today!

Listing Photos Gone Wrong

2008-07-26T23:55:00.019-04:00

It's been a really long week. Such a long week, in fact, that I have lost the ability to turn my head to the right. Not good. So instead of bringing you hard hitting real estate news or stats, I'm instead going to show you this -

And this -

(Yes, that is a person in that bed.)

And this-

So what do all of these photos have in common? No, they're not of my house. They're all actual, if unfortuate, listing photos that have been lovingly gathered together for your enjoyment over at It's Lovely! I'll Take It!, a great blog that one of my seller clients told me about this week. And these are just the tip of the iceberg - there are pages and pages of these beauties to keep you amused for quite some time.

This totally inexplicable one is my absolute favorite -

Maybe the idea is that instead of thinking that the kitchen was last updated in 1982, the potential buyer will instead think, "Run for your life! It's a giant man-eating dog!!!!!!"

Knoxify's Free Stuff Friday

2008-07-25T09:58:00.003-04:00

If you answer Knoxify's Friday question about what you like about your neighborhood by midnight tonight, you will be entered to win some cool, free swag from Rootclip, the choose your own video adventure website.

So why are you still here? Head on over to Knoxify and answer that darn question, already! And while you're there, check out our joint endeavor, Knoxify Neighborhoods.

Knoxville Market Doing (Relatively) Well

2008-07-24T18:13:00.001-04:00

The Knoxville market is doing pretty well when you compare it to national averages and even to other Tennessee cities. From an article by Josh Flory in yesterday's KNS:

But while the local real estate market has been sluggish, there's no doubt that East Tennessee has been spared from the worst of the pain. According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median sale price of existing single-family homes in Knoxville fell by 2.7 percent in the first quarter, compared to a national drop of 7.7 percent. Knoxville also outperformed Volunteer State peers like Memphis, where prices were off by 18.5 percent, and Chattanooga, where prices were down by 3.4 percent.

It may not be great news, but I'll still take it.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-07-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

Word up to the Watchers. In this week's edition of Foreclosure Watch, on-market listings and pending sales are slightly down, while closed sales have almost doubled. This week I'm also continuing my experiment of tracking new foreclosures by zip code. Here's how they're breaking down so far-

So far it still looks like the majority of the new listings are coming from north and east Knox. It will be interesting to see how each area develops over time.

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 7/23/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 155 ▼
Average Asking Price: $132,516 ▼
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▬
Most Expensive New Listing: $430,000 (3 BR, 3 1/2 BA, 3500+ sq ft in Fox Run)
Least Expensive New Listing: $24,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 800+ sq ft in Lonsdale)

Notable New Listings:
North: $72,900 (3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1500+ sq ft in Fountain City Heights)
South: No new South foreclosures this week!
East: $35,500 (3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1100+ sq ft on Biddle St.)
West: $129,900 (4 BR, 2 BA on 1+ acre in Hardin Valley)

Current Pending Sales -105 ▼
Average Asking Price - $95,977▲
Median Asking Price - $79,900▼

Closed Sales July 09, 2008-July 15, 2008 - 15 ▲
Average Asking Price - $88,253▼
Average Sales Price - $85,033▼
Median Sales Price - $87,200 ▲
Average Days on Market - 54 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/23/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. This is a spam free zone.

Why take the chance of ever missing out on Foreclosure Watch? Make sure you get all your foreclosure goodness every week by subscribing to All Around K-Town today, either by RSS or email!

June Home Sales Report

2008-07-22T23:09:00.000-04:00

Somehow it's that time again - Home Sales Report time - even thought I still can't believe it's almost the end of July. What's up with that?

So, without further ado, here it is, the breakdown of the June Home Sales Report, All Around K-Town style:

As always, you know I like the good news first:

Median condo sales price is up.

June '07 - $145,000

June '08 - $147,000

And yeah, that's about it for the good news. Sorry. Now for the not so great news:

Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is (way) down.
June '07 - $101,300
June '08 - $85,500

Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is down.

June '07 - $83,000

June '08 - $78,200

Average sales price for 3 BR homes is down.

June '07 - $176,300

June '08 - $162,900

Median sales price for 3 BR homes is down.

June '07 - $155,000

June '08 - $145,000

Average sales price for 4+ BR homes is (slightly) down.

June '07 - $304,800

June '08 - $303,100

Median sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.
June '07 - $265,000
June '08 - $254,000

Average condo sales price is down.
June '07 - $179,600

June '08 - $166,100

Total number of single family unit sales is down.

June '07 - 1,567

June '08 - 1176

Total number of condo unit sales is down.

June '07 - 165

June '08 - 118

Days on market is (slightly) up.

June '07 - 90

June '08 - 95

Here's the "hey, I told you FHA was the new sub-prime" news:

The number of FHA loans continues to skyrocket...
June '07- 56
June '08- 193

...while, the number of conventional loans continues to plummet.
June '07 - 1247
June '08 - 722

Then there's the "wow, things really are staying on the market a while, aren't they?" news:

Residential active listings are still up.
June '07 - 14, 252
June '08 - 14,650

While residential listings taken are still down.
June '07 - 3130
June '08 - 2853

Finally, here's the "wow, sellers really aren't getting it, are they?" news -

The average list price for new listings is up. Yes, up.
June '07 - $234,100
June '08 - $236,500

So, here's my completely unscientific analysis:

1. The Knoxville condo market has taken a licking, but has come back to continue its slow but steady uphill ticking.

2. Residential sales are still as soft as a nice, oven baked brie.*

3. Buyers are continuing to go FHA either be choice, or because of lower credit scores or a need for at or near 100% financing. Or hey, maybe even because their conventional lenders went belly up. Who knows?

4. Judging from reduction of listings taken, it still looks like some homeowners are choosing to sit this selling season out.

5. Judging from reduction of listings taken and a simultaneous rise in active listings, it looks like we have a lot of inventory that is quite simply not selling.

6. Knoxville is still in the midst of an absolutely incredible buyer's market, even if some sellers are still in denial about it.

If you're interested in looking at both reports yourself, here is '07 and here is '08. Enjoy, and if you notice anything interesting that I missed or messed up, let me know about it in the comments.

*No need to freak out. Lower average sales price and lower median sales price do not necessarily mean that your personal home has depreciated.

Knoxified Neighborhoods

2008-07-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

Just in case you hadn't heard the exciting news, I've teamed up with Knoxify to create an online Knoxville neighborhood guide. We call it Knoxify Neighborhoods and it's kind of like Neighborhood of the Week on steroids. And yes, that's a good thing. Each guide will have great information like homes sales history, quotes from residents on what it's really like to live in each neighborhood, local school information and much more.

The very first entry, a guide to West Hills, is already up and ready. Check it out over at Knoxify and then come back and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

Other neighborhood guides, covering north, south, east, west and downtown, will be posted regularly, so if you have a neighborhood that you'd like to see featured, drop me a line and let me know.

Neighborhood of the Week: Mechanicsville

2008-07-21T23:26:00.001-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads just to the western edge of downtown to a small community with a big history: historic Mechanicsville.

Not only does old Mechanicsville have a colorful history, it also contains perhaps the largest collection of 19th century architecture in Knoxville. From the Knox Heritage website:

The area of present day Mechanicsville which contains the most intact number of historic structures was developed initially as Deaderick’s Addition, J.W. Swann’s Addition, and Moses Fairview Addition. This area contains the larger Queen Anne and Italianate houses built for factory owners and area businessmen, and the smaller cottages of factory workmen...

Mechanicsville derives its name from the large number of factories that developed just outside its boundaries during the late 18th and early 20th centuries. It was settled around 1880. By 1883, Mechanicsville had a population of over 2,000. Most residents of the Mechanicsville worked in the factories and mills that surrounded the neighborhood. Mechanicsville, with its railroad and water source (Second Creek), quickly became the center for industrial activity in Knoxville...

One of the first industries to locate in Mechanicsville was the Knoxville Iron Company, incorporated in 1868 ... The Knoxville Iron Company manufactured bar iron, nails, and railroad spikes, as well as ornamental iron. Ornamental iron fences and trim on houses in Mechanicsville are probably products of the Knoxville Iron Company.

Other industries in Mechanicsville included Knoxville Brewing Company, Knox Standard Handle, W.H. Evans & Son (suppliers of Italian marble), The Pottery and Pipe Works, Knoxville Box & Keg Factory, a railroad turntable factory, a broom factory, a soap factory, Cudley Planning Mill and Knoxville Car & Wheel...

In addition, the Mechanicsville area is home to Knoxville College, founded in 1875.

Knox Heritage has even more on the history of the area, as well as an online tour. If you're more
interested in architecture, Restore Knoxville has a great write up on the neighborhood's many architectural styles.

So, if you're looking for an area close to downtown and rich in history and architecture, definitely check out historic Mechanicsville.

Note: While there is newer construction near the older part of Mechanicsville, for the purposes of this NOTW I'm only going to be looking at the small area that most people consider to be the "historic" section of Mechanicsville.

Here's historic Mechanicsville by the numbers -

Mechanicsville*

Current On-Market Listings - 5
Average Asking Price: $99,780
Median Asking Price: $71,600
Most Expensive: $259,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 2500+ sq ft restored 1889 Victorian)
Least Expensive: $34,500 (1 BR, 1 BA, 700+ sq ft updated Victorian cottage)
Middle of the Road: $79,900 (1 BR, 1 BA, 800+ sq ft 1899 cottage)

Current Pending Sales - 0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - June 30 2008- 1
Average Asking Price - $27,900
Average Sales Price - $24,000
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 36

Closed Sales - Jan 2007 - June 30 2007- 0
Average Asking Price - NA
Average Sales Price - NA
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - NA

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/21/08 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Mechanicsville Listings" or "New Mechanicsville Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. Spam is not a part of the deal.

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting places to feature on NOTW. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

The Weekly Poll Is Up

2008-07-20T23:46:00.000-04:00

This week's poll is up. I'll give you a hint to help you find it: it's not on the right or bottom part of the page.

This week's topic is house hunting and, in particular, how many houses you had to look at before you found the one you now call home. A couple? A few dozen? A gazillion? Cast your vote and let me know.

While they may still have to look a long time to find that perfect home, All Around KTown subscribers never have to look too far to find the latest information on the Knoxville real estate market. Subscribe in a feed reader or by email today!

New Neighborhood Blog: KWNA Online

2008-07-19T23:38:00.002-04:00

I got tired of my neighborhood not having an online presence, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and give it one. But what good is a community resource if nobody knows about it?

So, if you or someone you know lives in the Kingston Woods area, check out KWNA Online, a online resource for the Kingston Woods Neighborhood Association.

In case you're wondering, the Kingston Woods neighborhood is located just south of West Town Mall and technically consists of four separate "subdivisions:" Kingston Woods, Kingston Hills, Kingston Park, and West Oak.

That concludes my shameless plug. Now go out there and spread the word!

Sometimes Not Making a List Is a Good Thing

2008-07-17T23:50:00.001-04:00

Here's something interesting I just saw in the Wall Street Journal:

Stung by growing defaults, lenders are offering borrowers fewer ways to avoid purchasing private mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance, required for buyers who are unable to make a full down payment or who have insufficient credit histories, reimburses lenders in the event of a borrower default. But over the past few months, mortgage insurers have been declaring more and more of the U.S. a "declining market," raising the requirements and making such insurance harder to obtain. The result: another hurdle for home buyers, and yet another wrenching change for the struggling housing market.

The bad news is that many Tennessee cities - Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cleveland, Jackson, and the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro area - have been named as "declining markets" this year. The good news is that Knoxville has not.

If you're interested, here is the complete list of markets declared declining by three major mortgage insurers.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-07-16T21:21:00.001-04:00

Thanks for coming back to catch the lastest edition of Foreclosure Watch. This week, since all the numbers are once again more or less the same, I thought I'd try something new and take a look at where the new foreclosure listings are coming from. I decided the easiest way to do this was by zip code. Check it out:

I hope that's not too hard to read (or causing blindness). I'm thinking about keeping a running tally of all new foreclosures by zip to see which areas stand out as "foreclosure rich." Thoughts?

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 7/16/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 160 ▲
Average Asking Price: $140,066 ▲
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▬
Most Expensive New Listing: $299,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 2200 sq ft on 5+ acres near Watt Rd)
Least Expensive New Listing: $19,900 (3 BR, 1 BA, 900+ sq ft in Mechanicsville)

Notable New Listings:
North: $79,900 (4 BR, 1 BA, 1500+ sq ft on 6 acres in Powell)
South: $94,900 (3 BR, 1 BA, 1200+ sq ft on 1.4 acres off of Sevierville Pike)
East: $72,500 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1500+ sq ft on 4+ acres in Carter)
West: $199,900 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2200+ sq ft in Westhampton)

Current Pending Sales -107 ▲
Average Asking Price - $90,646 ▼
Median Asking Price - $80,655 ▲

Closed Sales July 09, 2008-July 15, 2008 - 9 ▲
Average Asking Price - $95,767▲
Average Sales Price - $90,594▼
Median Sales Price - $59,900 ▼
Average Days on Market - 44 ▬

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/16/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. Spam is for losers.

Why take the chance of ever missing out on Foreclosure Watch? Make sure you get all your foreclosure goodness every week by subscribing to All Around K-Town today!

Sales Meeting Update

2008-07-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Since last month's sales meeting update went so well, I thought I'd keep the tradition alive and fill you in on this month's meeting*. And while my news this month is not quite as hopeful, it is nonetheless fairly thought provoking.

Here are the interesting tidbits from today's meeting:

The vast majority of our Q1 and Q2 closed sales came from the $100,000 to $200,000 price range

Why? Well I'm going to go out on a limb and speculate that a) people who could have qualified for the lower price homes last year are no longer meeting minimum lender requirements and b) people who would have qualified for the higher end homes are either staying put, not qualifying for as much home this year, or are being conservative and buying less home than they qualify for. Another factor in all of this is that if the upper and lower range price homes aren't selling, the people who are trying to sell can't move on and buy, which further compounds the issue.

Our in-house mortgage person estimates that of all the loans she is currently working on, roughly 90% are FHA.

According to her (and others), the number of FHA loans has gone up as much as 50% this year in many parts of the country. Why? Going out on less of a limb, I think one answer here is that conventional mortgage lenders have been tightening their minimum requirements all year long, with the minimum credit score raising to 700 and 100% financing going to the way of the dinosaur. Not only does FHA allow lower credit scores, it also allows the use of down payment assistance programs (read: seller paid) for those who have no money to put down on a home. Combine those two factors with recently raised FHA loan limits and you begin to see why FHA popularity is skyrocketing.

So what do you think? Any thoughts on why the upper and lower range listings are sitting on the market? And what about you mortgage people? What are you seeing in the Knoxville market right now? What percentage of your current business is FHA?

*Keep in mind that while sales meetings, and thus these updates, are chock full of real estate number goodness, those numbers are for my company only and not for Knoxville as a whole.

Quote of the Day

2008-07-15T21:15:00.000-04:00

"Just because they've waited until the children's 21st birthday to finally ground them doesn't mean they're not responsible parents."

- Tanta at Calculated Risk on the Fed's decision yesterday to (finally) tighten up its mortgage rules for lenders.

Neighborhood of the Week: Village Green

2008-07-14T22:15:00.002-04:00

We're back to good old residential homes and back out Farragut way with this week's Neighborhood of the Week, Village Green.

Village Green is an established swim and tennis community located 1/4 mile south of I-40, just off of Campbell Station Road. It is also part of the Farragut section of the Knoxville Dogwood Trail.

Not only is Village Green convenient to I-40, it is also within walking distance of a public library, a park with a hiking trail, a post office and a major shopping center.

The community as a whole is very active and in addition to the neighborhood swim team and tennis leagues, there are also planned bonfires, garage sales, bunco nights, barbeques, ice cream socials, water aerobics, swim lessons and much more. The community website is very detailed and provides a lot more great information about the varied neighborhood activities.

So, if you're looking for a home in an established, walkable neighborhood in Farragut that has community swimming and tennis and is also very active & community oriented, look no further than Village Green.

map from villagegreeweb.com

Here's Village Green by the numbers -

Village Green*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $282,729
Median Asking Price: $279,500
Most Expensive: $319,900 (4 BR, 3 BA, 3600+ sq ft basement ranch)
Least Expensive: $225,000 (4 BR, 3 BA, 2400+ sq ft on 3/4 acre)
Middle of the Road: $279,500 (5 BR, 3 1/2 BA, approx 3400 sq ft)

Current Pending Sales - 2
Average Asking Price: $264,550
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - June 30 2008- 5
Average Asking Price - $292,820
Average Sales Price - $282,780
Median Sales Price - $300,000
Average Days on Market - 49

Closed Sales - Jan 2007 - June 30 2007- 11
Average Asking Price - $278,055
Average Sales Price - $266,586
Median Sales Price - $279,900
Average Days on Market - 63

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/14/08 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Village Green Listings" or "New Village Green Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. Spam is a four letter word here at AAKT.

Know a community that you think would make great AAKT Neighborhoods of the Week? Tell me about it in the comments.

This Week's Poll

2008-07-13T23:46:00.004-04:00

The weekly poll is finally up and in that same spot it never seems to tire of, the upper left hand corner of the page.

This week's topic is tonight's announcement that the federal government is indeed going to come to the aid of ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some say it was the only way to prevent a world-wide financial meltdown. Others say it was an outrageous government bailout of two private companies. Look at the facts and decide for yourself.

Here's another fact to consider: All Around KTown readers always stay up to date on the latest Knoxville real estate news and they also rarely require government bailouts. What are you waiting for? Subscribe today!

Link Round-Up: Good News & Bad News Edition

2008-07-12T23:34:00.002-04:00

Let's do the bad news first:

Mortgage lender IndyMac failed Friday and was taken over by the federal government. This is by many accounts, one of the biggest bank failures in US history and it is estimated it could cost the FDIC somewhere between $4 billion and $8 billion dollars, or roughly one tenth of its deposit insurance fund.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsered entities that are essentially the heart of the mortgage market, are struggling to raise capital and rumors of a government bailout are running rampant. The failure of these two giants would change mortgage lending in this country as we know it.

So what's the good news?

Kittens playing in boxes are still adorable. And Spoon still rocks.

Cool Homes You Can't Afford: Greg Isaacs Edition

2008-07-11T23:27:00.003-04:00

Today's KNS has a write up of local attorney Greg Isaacs' mega mansion in Harrison Keepe. The 15,000 square foot castle style home features a hammered metal indoor fountain, custom wrought iron gates and railngs, limestone fireplace, two kitchens, an outdoor living room, an activities room with a ball toss game built into the wall, and a home theater. Do you think Bruce Pearl is jealous?

Photoblogging Friday

2008-07-11T00:14:00.000-04:00

The other day I stopped by the Wigshop and saw a very cool photo of the "Wedge House" in Mechanicsville, which ck says is one of his favorite homes in Knoxville. This got me thinking about one of my favorite houses.

This house is located in my neighborhood, Kingston Woods. My husband and I call it the "Edward Scissorhands House," not because it's creepy, but because of all the incredibly cool topiarys in the yard. Without the yard ornaments, the house itself would probably be pretty plain, but with it's UFO & bird shaped hedges and Easter Island statues, it never fails to make me smile when I pass by.

Do you know of any interesting or unusual houses in the Knoxville area? If so, drop me a line, or better yet a picture, and let me know about them.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-07-09T21:26:00.004-04:00

Well, hello there, Watchers! This week's Foreclosure Watch theme is "no news is good news." Other than closed sales being way down this week - remember, last week was the end of the month - everything is pretty much the same. Weird, huh?

One thing I did notice this week was that two of our foreclosures actually closed higher than asking price. Since banks almost never pay closing costs, I'm wondering if the higher closed prices were the result of multiple offer situations creating bidding wars. Interesting.... I'll be keeping a close eye on that over the coming weeks.

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 7/09/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 157 ▼
Average Asking Price: $138,524 ▲
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▲
Most Expensive New Listing: $799,900 (6 BR, 4 1/2 BA, 7400+ sq ft in Fox Run)
Least Expensive New Listing: $22,300 (3 BR, 1 BA, 1000+ sq ft on 1+ acre in Powell)

Notable New Listings:
North: $84,900 (4 BR, 2 BA, 1400+ sq ft in Country Club Estates)
South: Sorry! No new South listings this week!
East: $114,900 (4 BR, 2 BA, 2300+ sq ft in Chilhowee Hills)
West: $179,900 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA 2000+ sq ft in Westop)

Current Pending Sales -102 ▲
Average Asking Price - $93,668 ▲
Median Asking Price - $79,900 ▲

Closed Sales July 02, 2008-July 08, 2008 - 8 ▼
Average Asking Price - $78,638▼
Average Sales Price - $74,388▼
Median Sales Price - $75,050 ▼
Average Days on Market - 44 ▼

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/08/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. No spam will come your way as a result.

No news may be good news, but no new All Around K-Town updates is not. Make sure you don't miss a single one by subscribing to All Around K-Town today!

An All New Logo for All Around KTown

2008-07-08T22:45:00.001-04:00

That's right, All Around K-Town has a super spiffy new logo! And yes, I'm ridiculously excited, but please humor me and check it out up at the top of the page - I mean is that a rockin' "K" or what?

This awesome new logo is the brainchild of Casey Peters, aka @cpknoxify, aka co-creator of Knoxify and Knox'd, aka the Man Who Obviously Never Sleeps. Thanks Casey!

The new logo is just the first of many exciting changes you'll see here at AAKT in the coming months. Stay tuned to see what happens next and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Downtown North

2008-07-08T17:48:00.007-04:00

Last week I gave you a sneak peek at North Central Village, a new condo development just north of downtown Knoxville. Today's KNS has an article about the redevelopment of that area, which has been dubbed by developers as "Downtown North." In case you're wondering exactly where Downtown North is, here's a rough approximation of its boundaries according to the article:

The redevelopment plans, which will be unveiled in full tonight, call for a mixed commercial and residential area. Most interestingly, the key goal for the area is walkability, which would hopefully make the area an "extension of downtown."

Seeing as how most of the current housing in the area is way more affordable than downtown proper, I would think that making this a walkable (or bikeable) community would attract people who are tired of paying through the nose at the gas pump, but just can't afford, or simply don't want, to live downtown.

What do you think? Can you envision this area as a walkable extension of downtown Knoxville? Is it more realistic to see it as a downtown alternative? And can we be all New York and start calling it NoDo just for fun?

Neighborhood of the Week: Cherokee Bluff

2008-07-07T21:40:00.000-04:00

This week we head into uncharted territory by looking at a new type of dwelling never before explored on Neighborhood of the Week: the condominium. The first ever NOTW condo community lies just south of the river, way high up on yonder bluff. Cherokee Bluff, that is.

Cherokee Bluff is a gated condo community located just off of Alcoa Highway, behind UT Medical Center and almost directly across the river from the University of Tennessee campus. Because of where it sits up high on the bluff, several units have great views overlooking the river, campus and downtown Knoxville.

Architecturally, Cherokee Bluff is all 1976 - you don't need to look any further than the 3 story loft style floor plans to figure that out. However, unlike some other 70s era Knoxville condo developments on the other side of the river (which shall remain nameless), this one has actually been very well maintained . Also unusual for condos of the era, and unusual in the price range, is that almost all units have a 2 car garage. Pretty spiffy.

Inside, the floor plans don't vary a lot, but the amount of updating does. This, along with access to city views, is usually the reason for a good bit of variation in the pricing of otherwise similar units.

Security-wise, Cherokee Bluff has you covered. Not only is it gated, it has a guard in a guardhouse at the gate 24 hours a day. And I can tell you from personal experience that the guard is not just there for show: if you're a guest (or in my case, an agent trying to show a unit), he will write down your name and tag number on your way in and out. There's no sneaking in behind the car in front of you to get through the gate at Cherokee Bluff on his watch.

And like most condo communities, the trade-off for having no exterior maintenance is having a monthly condo association fee. That fee is currently hovering between $240-$275 (depending on who you ask) and includes association insurance, exterior building maintenance, grounds maintenance, water/sewer, and that oh so vigilant security guard. Other amenities include swimming pool, tennis courts, exercise room and a clubhouse

So if you're not into a yard and you're looking for a place with a garage located just minutes from UT campus, UT Medical Center, or downtown Knoxville, you might want to make the climb up to Cherokee Bluff. Just make sure you check in with that guard first.

Here's Cherokee Bluff by the numbers -

Cherokee Bluff*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $130,086
Median Asking Price: $128,500
Most Expensive: $145,000 (3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 1700+ sq ft end unit with downtown views)
Least Expensive: $122,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1550+ sq ft middle unit)
Middle of the Road: $129,900 (3 BR, 2 1/2 BA 1700+ sq ft end unit)

Current Pending Sales -2
Average Asking Price: $124,950
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - June 30 2008- 7
Average Asking Price - $148,486
Average Sales Price - $139,714
Median Sales Price - $128,500
Average Days on Market - 106

Closed Sales - Jan 2007 - June 30 2007- 1
Average Asking Price - $159,00
Average Sales Price - $145,000
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 63

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/7/08 does not include adjacent developments or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, or heck, even if you want to buy one of them, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Cherokee Bluff Listings" or "New Cherokee Bluff Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam will find it's way to your inbox on my watch.

My Realtor brain can only work so hard, so help me out by letting me know in the comments what neighborhoods you think would make great AAKT Neighborhoods of the Week. My brain cells thank you in advance.

The Weekly Poll

2008-07-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

This week's poll is up. Go ahead and get your vote on in the upper left hand corner of the page.

This week's topic is about what we like most about the places we live. I really love the location of my home, but there's no doubt that my very favorite thing about my house is my living room. The comfy couch is there, the TV is there, the big picture window is there, and I write most of this here blog there. Given a few days off, as I recently was, I can sit very contentedly and simply watch the world go by there.

So what do you love most about the place you live? Is it the location or neighborhood, the square footage or layout, the kitchen, the yard, or maybe even the view from your front porch? Cast your vote and let me know.

Speaking of favorites, is All Around K-Town is your favorite source of info on the Knoxville real estate market? Then why not get your favorite stuff sent straight to you? Subscribe here or by email in the upper right hand corner.

Knoxville's First Energy Star Home

2008-07-04T22:58:00.000-04:00

Knoxville just unveiled its very first Energy Star certified home. According to Connected:

The home is owned by Ollie Goolsby and was rebuilt through Community Development's Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program. The program is designed to help low and moderate income homeowners rebuild or renovate their homes.

The house cost about $2,000 more than a non-Energy Star home to build, according to city spokesman Randy Kenner. He said Goolsby's previous utility bills for a two-bedroom house were $150-$300 month, totalling about $2,800 a year. In her new house, if she keeps the thermostat at 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in summer, Goolsby will pay less than $1000 a year on utilities in her new, three-bedroom home.

So what exactly is an Energy Star home, anyway? I went to the Energy Star website to find out:

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

The site also includes a directory of builders in Tennessee who have partnered with Energy Star. And although there are several Knoxville area builders listed, Lake Forest Construction and Development appear to be the only ones on the list who have actually built an ES certified home. Anybody know where?

I think the Energy Star homes being built by Community Development are great and I hope more builders in our area follow their lead. But here's what's worrying me: how many already financially strapped Knoxville builders will be willing and/or able to spend more money to build more energy efficient homes, especially considering the fact that many home buyers in the current (fairly ruthless) buyers market may simply not be willing to cover those extra costs when it comes right down to it? And if you're still with me after that last never-ending sentence, what do you think about it?

Also, if any of you guys know of any builders working on energy efficient homes in Knoxville, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-07-02T22:12:00.001-04:00

We're coming up on a nice, long holiday weekend, but before you head out of town or even out to the backyard for a burger, don't forget there are still some foreclosures over here that need watching. In this week's installment of Foreclosure Watch, actives and pendings remain more or less steady while the number of closings more than doubled. And I'm thinking you're thinking what I'm thinking - that this last is due to it being the end of the month. That is what you were thinking wasn't it?

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 7/02/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 158 ▲
Average Asking Price: $130,099 ▲
Median Asking Price: $86,700 ▲
Most Expensive New Listing: $399,500 (4 BR, 4 BA, 4000+ sq ft on 2.5 acres in Fountain City)
Least Expensive New Listing: $36,800 (3 BR, 2 BA, approx 1700 sq ft craftsman in E. Knox)

Notable New Listings:
North: $ 135, 900 (4 BR, 2 BA, 2900+ sq ft in Fountain City)
South: $49,900 (3 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft off of Woodson)
East: $204,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 3000+ sq ft on 7+ acres in Carter)
West: $162,000 (3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 1700+ sq ft off of Bob Kirby)

Current Pending Sales -99 ▼
Average Asking Price - $90,096 ▲
Median Asking Price - $74,900 ▲

Closed Sales June 25, 2008-July 01, 2008 - 21 ▲
Average Asking Price - $95,514▲
Average Sales Price - $90,737▲
Median Sales Price - $39,900 ▼
Average Days on Market - 68 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 7/02/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you need more information on any of these properties, just drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. No icky spam, you've got my word.

Start your holiday weekend off right - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

Cool Homes You Can't Afford: Bruce Pearl Edition

2008-07-02T12:20:00.005-04:00

A few days ago, Josh Flory over at Property Scope pointed out that Bruce Pearl just bought a house in Gettysvue and I started thinking that some of you might want to check out the $2,100,000 home, complete with media room and wine cellar. Is that a fireplace I see next to the bathtub in the master bath? Very swanky.

Sneak Peek: North Central Village

2008-07-01T22:21:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I had a chance to take a tour of North Central Village, a new development of affordable, urban condos at the corner of Broadway and Central, just north of downtown. Lucky for you, I took my camera.

Prices range from $85,000 to $165,000 and size ranges from around 400 sq ft to just over 1000 sq ft. Amenities include keyless entry to building and units, deeded and secured parking, and wi-fi throughout the building.

Given the $200+ per sq ft it costs to buy downtown, I think it's very cool to see units not too far from the city center that are this affordable.

Neighborhood of the Week: Covered Bridge

2008-06-30T22:38:00.001-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week is headed back out west, this time to Hardin Valley and a new neighborhood that a lot of people keep asking me about: Covered Bridge.

It's no secret that Hardin Valley is a hot area right now, what with a brand new high school opening for students there this fall and lots of new commercial development. There are many new neighborhoods in the area, but Covered Bridge is definitely one of the more up-scale of the bunch. According to what appears to be the official website:

Covered Bridge is one of Knoxville's most pristine environments for comfortable and convenient living. The natural unspoiled beauty of the land surrounding the site is part of its unique charm. Nearly 40 acres of land are dedicated to outdoor leisure including an activities field.

With quality of life as the overriding goal, the amenities at Covered Bridge were developed with the highest quality materials. We paid significant attention to detail in every selection we made, from the street lights and sidewalks to the activities field and clubhouse. The community surrounding Covered Bridge is designed to be outstanding in every way.

Amenities include a clubhouse, pool, activities field, and yes, an actual covered bridge.

And although there appear to be several different builders with homes for sale in Covered Bridge, the neighborhood has covenants and restrictions, as well architectural guidelines, in place to ensure a certain amount of uniformity.

If you're looking for new construction in a country like setting with easy access to both Hardin Valley Elementary, Hardin Valley High School, and the Pellissippi Parkway, Covered Bridge might just what you're looking for.

Image from http://www.hardinvalley.com

Note: while there are "villas" (read: condos) in Covered Bridge, I will only be looking at single family homes in the stats. But don't despair - you can always drop me a line if you'd like the numbers for the villas.

Here's Covered Bridge by the numbers -

Covered Bridge*

Current On-Market Listings - 18
Average Asking Price: $595,239
Median Asking Price: $594,900
Most Expensive: $847,500 (5 BR, 4 full bath, 2 half bath, 5200+ sq ft)
Least Expensive: $469,000 (4 BR, 3 BA, 2500+ sq ft ranch with bonus room)
Middle of the Road: $829,900 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, Frank Betz plan)

Current Pending Sales -1
Average Asking Price: $671,900
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Jan 2008 - present- 2
Average Asking Price - $674,950
Average Sales Price - $668,700
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 112

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/30/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Covered Bridge Listings" or "New Covered Bridge Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam or sales pitches, I pretty promise.

This week's neighborhood of the week was suggested by a loyal AAKT reader. Is there a neighborhood you'd like to see featured here in the coming weeks? Tell me all about it in the comments and I'll do my best to make it happen.

Neighborhood Matchmaker

2008-06-30T00:06:00.000-04:00

I just discovered another house hunting tool over on Inman News.
It's a website called Hoodeo that bills itself as "The Neighborhood Matchmaker." The concept is simple: create a profile by answering a few questions about income and general housing preferences, and Hoodeo will match you up with homes that it thinks fit you to a T.

So is Hoodeo worth its salt? Kind of. Based on my answers (and my saying that I didn't want to leave the Knoxville area), Hoodeo placed me in Fountain City, which is a great part of Knoxville that my husband and I once thought about moving to. The homes it picked for me, however, were totally not my style. This is maybe not such a big surprise, since the only questions Hoodeo asked me about what I was looking for in a home were price, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage.

Just for larfs, I went back and answered all of my questions the same, except that I said I was willing to leave K-Town. Apparently my #1 dream city is a place called Cedar Hill, Texas, which appears to be right outside of Dallas. A match made in heaven? Um, no.

Still, it's an interesting idea and it works for renters as well as for those looking to buy. Go check it out and then come back here and let me know what your neighborhood match is in the comments.

All Around K-Town in Today's KNS

2008-06-29T01:49:00.002-04:00

Is it totally shameless for me to tell you that I'm featured in Michael Silence's weekly deadwood column on blogging and bloggers today, where I answer his 4 regular "blogger" questions? Probably, but I'm so tickled pink I just gotta tell someone. There are also some kind words about AAKT in the intro. Thanks, Mike!

For those of you who found your way here from the article - welcome and thanks for stopping by! There's lots of Knoxville real estate goodness to explore here, so take a look around and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

If you like the site and want to make sure you don't miss a single post, why not subscribe to it? You can subscribe in a reader by clicking here or by you can receive new posts by email by entering your email address in the box at the upper right side of the page. psst...If you don't know what a reader is, check out this great article for an explanation.

Thanks again for stopping by (and also for enduring my shamless self-promotion). Don't forget to tune in every Monday for Neighborhood of the Week and every Wednesday for Knoxville Foreclosure Watch. See you soon!

The Weekly Poll Is Up

2008-06-28T23:08:00.002-04:00

This week's poll is up in the top left corner of the page. You know the spot.

We're only a week away from the 4th of July and I thought it would be a good time to look at home ownership as a part of the American dream. As recently as 2002, President Bush was quoted as saying, “Owning a home lies at the heart of the American dream." But a lot has happened in the last 6 years that might make some people think otherwise.

There was an interesting op-ed on the subject recently in the New York Times in which the author claimed that the idea of home ownership is so ingrained in us as a nation, it even affects our policy making and causes us to look at renters as second-class citizens. The author goes on to say that we need to "drop our obsession with homeownership and try to level the playing field that, at the moment, is hugely tilted against renting."

Whether or not we are truly obsessed, there are still plenty of people, myself included, who still think the benefits of homeownership outweigh the downsides.

So what do you think? Is home ownership something you consider as American as baseball and apple pie? Are Americans too obsessed with the idea of owning a home? Will all of the chaos in the housing market start to change our perception of renting vs. owning? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

And hey - have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Link Round-Up: Questions I'm Asking Myself Edition

2008-06-26T23:55:00.001-04:00

I'm very tired tonight (I'm looking at you Mr. Counter Offer!), so I'm more or less phoning this link round-up in, but here are a few things I'm wondering about:

Should you really be allowed to do this kind of damage to your own house - even if it's about to be foreclosed on?

Exactly what kind of agent do you have to be to make someone set up a blog about how much you suck?*

Is Knoxville's sweatiness really something I should mention to clients who are about to move to our fine city?

If Knoxville's sweaty state is important, should it be taken into consideration when trying to come up with a new Knoxville slogan? (BTW - suggestions for sweaty slogans welcome in the comments, but let's go ahead and rule "Armpit of the South" out right now. K? Thanks.)

*h/t Mad Mortgage World

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-06-25T18:04:00.000-04:00

Well, hello there, Watchers. In this week's installment of Foreclosure Watch, listings are slightly up, while pendings and closings are slightly down. Days on Market is back up where it was before last week's sudden free fall and average list and sales price is making its first upward move in several weeks.

Technical note: RealFocus, the source of the fancy shmancy listing sheets I link to here, has been having some problems this week. Please be patient if these links don't work properly for the next few days. Sorry!

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 6/25/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 157 ▼
Average Asking Price: $122,653 ▼
Median Asking Price: $85,500 ▼
Most Expensive New Listing: $249,900 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA 2700+ sq ft in Halls)
Least Expensive New Listing: $26,900 (3 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft in East Knox)

Notable New Listings:
North: 3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 1500+ sq ft in Halls
South: 4 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1400+ sq ft in Lake Forest
East: 3 BR, 2 BA, 1500+ sq ft on 4+ acres in Carter
West: 3 BR, 2 BA, 2700+ sq ft in Ashley Oaks

Current Pending Sales -112 ▲
Average Asking Price - $89,667 ▲
Median Asking Price - $69,900 ▼

Closed Sales June 18, 2008-June 24, 2008 - 9 ▼
Average Asking Price - $83,844▲
Average Sales Price - $70,430▲
Median Sales Price - $66,500 ▼
Average Days on Market - 62 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/25/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. No yucky spam is involved, I swear.

Don't let your fear of commitment get in the way of getting great info on the Knoxville real estate scene - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

A Brief Word of Warning on Social Media and Your Home Sale

2008-06-24T16:49:00.002-04:00

If you're in the middle of buying or selling a home, you might want to take a look at what happened when local Knoxville blogger, The Modern Gal googled the soon to be new owner of her home:

I found out she and I went to the same college and were on the same Facebook and lucky for me! she didn't have her Facebook page set to private as everyone should. So I found out all I needed to know: she's a year younger than me, we have a couple mutual friends, she's a sorority girl, a marketing director of some company I've never heard of, but most importantly she was "In the process of buying a new house, which is really exciting. Yay..now people will actually have room to come stay with me and visit!"

Bingo.

I found all this after I had made my counteroffer, which she eventually accepted, so it was of no use to me in that department, but it did help me not freak out about the rest of the closing process.

Luckily, in this case, nothing bad came from the buyer's excited Facebook postings. But it is a good reminder that as you're blogging/updating/posting/tweeting the details of your ongoing real estate transaction, the other side might very well be there reading right along.

Neighborhood of the Week: Colonial Village

2008-06-23T21:14:00.001-04:00

We're going back down to the south side of K-Town and across the Henley Street bridge for this week's Neighborhood of the Week, Colonial Village.

Colonial Village is a Dogwood Trail community located just off Chapman Highway, and just across the way from Lake Forest. The Colonial Village Neighborhood Association's website details the history of the area:

The area of the 6000 block of Chapman Highway, was a part of the original 200 acre farm of Samuel A McCall (1856-1934). The new highway, went through the middle of his property. This proved to be disastrous for Mr. McCall. On October 28, 1934, while attempting to cross the new road to get to his barn to feed his livestock, he was struck by an automobile and died later that evening at Ft. Sanders Hospital...

...The rural area did not stay vacant for long. Progress came and commercial development was flourishing along this main route. The residential development became fast growing into a beautiful little neighborhood and eventually with four churches, (Meridian Baptist Church, Colonial Heights Methodist Church, South Knoxville Church of God and Moorland Heights Baptist Church) one elementary school (Mooreland Heights School) and one city park. The park, named for the former Knoxville city councilman for our district, is the Gary Underwood Park and Greenway and is located on Moore Road. At this same park is the Ras P. Neal Soccer Field and the South Knoxville Optimist Club Building, which serves as the voting precinct for the 27th Ward. However, just on the edge of our district is a second park, and that is the 26 acre Charter Doyle Park, that in 1984, was donated to the city and county by former long-time Superintendent of Knox County Schools, Mildred Doyle. This parcel of land was part of a land grant issued for his service to his country, to Pvt. John Doyle, Mildred's Revolutionary War patriot ancestor. He is buried in a family cemetery on the hill in a fenced area of the park.

The popular Butterfly Lake, our area fishing hole, was the result of a series of sink holes that are along the south side of Colonial Road. In the early days, is referred to as McCall's Pond, but today is frequently called the Duck Pond...

...By the late 1950's, the Chapman Highway Dogwood Trail was etched into the neighborhood by the city traffic engineers. The problem of folks being able to take the scenic tour without a guide, was solved with an ingenuous plan of painting the street with white markings on the pavement. The only change in that plan is what it is now painted pink.

The website has an interesting old photo showing the area before it was completely developed. There are also several present day photos highlighting the lovely scenery that earned the neighborhood a spot on Knoxville's Dogwood Trail.

If you're looking for an affordable, community-minded neighborhood with gorgeous scenery that is convenient to UT and downtown, you might consider giving Colonial Village a closer look.

Here's Colonial Village by the numbers -

Colonial Village*

Current On-Market Listings - 9
Average Asking Price: $125,822
Median Asking Price: $114,900
Most Expensive: $190,00 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 3100+ sq ft basement ranch)
Least Expensive: $99,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 900+ sq ft ranch)
Middle of the Road: $119,900 (3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1700+ sq ft ranch)

Current Pending Sales -0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 4
Average Asking Price - $127,450
Average Sales Price - $123.113
Median Sales Price - $106,350
Average Days on Market - 93

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 1
Average Asking Price - $99,900
Average Sales Price - $98,500
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 96

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/23/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you'd like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Colonial Village Listings" or "New Colonial Village Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam or sales pitches, scout's honor.

Thanks to those of you who have given me great ideas for upcoming Neighborhoods of the Week. Want to join in on the fun? Make your suggestions in the comments.

The Weekly Poll Is Up

2008-06-22T21:41:00.001-04:00

This week's poll is patiently waiting for you on the upper left hand corner of the page. Don't make it sit there all alone - go ahead and cast your vote!

This week's topic is rising gas prices how they will affect the housing market. A lot of people in other areas are already moving closer to work or moving to more walkable communities in order to pay less at the pump. Do you think Knoxville home buyers will follow suit? Would you change where you live now in order to save money on gas?

And while subscribing to All Around K-Town may not save you money on gas, it will definitely save you from being out of the loop on the Knoxville real estate market. Following me on Twitter is equally helpful.

The Subprime Primer

2008-06-21T22:12:00.004-04:00

I just discovered a wickedly funny little power point presentation over at the Inman Blog, in which foul-mouthed little stick figures explain the sub-prime debacle. And when I say foul-mouthed, I mean foul-mouthed. If you don't like bad words, please don't click through it.

F-bombs, stick figures, and humor aside, the "Primer" does a great job of putting the whole mortgage mess into fairly simple terms. Apparently this was circulated among Wall Street traders earlier this year, though I'm not sure of the original source.

May Home Sales Report

2008-06-20T14:36:00.000-04:00

I give up, Josh Flory. You will always beat me to the monthly Home Sales Report. You, sir, are the most timely Home Sales Reporter. But that doesn't mean I won't keep adding my own two cents to those monthly numbers. Oh, no. Some of you might say numbers are numbers, but there ain't' no Home Sales Report breakdown like the AAKT Home Sales Report breakdown, because... well, there's just not.

So, here it is, the breakdown of the May Home Sales Report, All Around K-Town style:

As always, you know I like the good news first:

Average sales price of 3 BR homes is up.
May '07- $171,900
May '08- $184,700

Median sales price of 3 BR homes is (slightly) up.

May '07 - $152,000

May '08 - $152,400

Now for the not so great, but, hey, come on, you totally knew this was coming news:

Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is down.
May '07 - $96,500
May '08 - $88,900

Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is down.

May '07 - $79,500

May '08 - $77,500

Average sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.

May '07 - $335,800

May'08 - $290,800

Median sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.
May '07 - $259,900
May '08 - $257,900

Average condo sales price is down.

May '07 - $169,700

May'08 - $165,800

Median sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.
May '07 - $147,000
May '08 - $144,500

Total number of single family unit sales is down.

May '07 - 1666

May '08 - 1213

Total number of condo unit sales is down.

May '07 - 207

May'08 - 143

Days on market is up.

May '07 - 88

May '08 - 101

And here's a very clear picture of how home financing is evolving:

Number of FHA loans continues to ~~rise~~ skyrocket.
May '07- 59
May '08- 219

Heck, even the number of VA loans have doubled.
May '07- 18
May '08- 37

Meanwhile, the number of conventional loans has almost been cut in half.
May '07 - 1318
May '08 - 716

Finally, here's the What the Fudge news:

Residential active listings are up.
May '07 - 13,951
May '08 - 14,650

While residential listings taken are down.
May '07 - 3276
May '08 - 2834

So, here's my completely unscientific analysis:

1. The Knoxville condo market has finally taken a hit. A small hit, but I still stand corrected.

2. Residential sales are still soft*.

3. The upper price bracket homes continue to take a pummeling.

4. Buyers are continuing to go FHA either be choice, or because of lower credit scores or a need for at or near 100% financing

5. Judging from reduction of listings taken, it looks like homeowners who don't absolutely have to move have simply decided not to sell right now.

6. Knoxville buyers are still getting killer deals. Some are making out so well, they're even afraid to reveal their true identities.

If you're interested in looking at both reports yourself, here is '07 and here is '08. Enjoy, and if you notice anything interesting that I missed or messed up, let me know about it in the comments.

*No need to freak out. Lower average sales price and lower median sales price do not necessarily mean that your personal home has depreciated.

MetroPulse Covers Knoxville Housing Market

2008-06-19T15:08:00.001-04:00

There's a big article in the new MetroPulse about the state of the Knoxville housing market. The article quotes several Knoxville real estate insiders, including an anonymous source, "John Smith." Apparently John Smith, a recent Knoxville home buyer, wouldn't give his name, because the deal he got was so dang good. That's just wild.

But I digress. The article is not all doom and gloom and makes several good points.

1. The Knoxville housing market is not nearly as far in the toilet as other markets around the country.

From the MetroPulse:

The one trend Knoxville is not sharing with areas like California, not even a little, is decreased home values. Yes, people are pricing some homes below their appraised value so they’ll sell quicker in an excess inventory environment. And true, the median Knoxville metro area home price—$146,000—dropped 2.7 percent from the last quarter of 2007 to the first in 2008. The April report from KAAR goes on to say that the median price of a home with four or more bedrooms fell more than 12 percent to $240,000.

But—and this is an important distinction for the average home owner who has a reasonable mortgage and doesn’t need to sell anytime soon—these statistics mean only that the averages of the prices of homes that sold were lower. Local real estate values have not been affected.

Exactly!

2. Local foreclosures are not out of control.

MetroPulse:

Knoxville’s foreclosure rate of 0.6 of a percent and year-over-year increase of 46 percent is only high enough to place us 72 on a list of the 100 largest metro areas.

And as we've seen week after week in Foreclosure Watch, the number of active, pending, and closed foreclosures, at least in the Knoxville MLS, is remaining more or less steady, not skyrocketing like some national media outlets would lead you to believe.

And don't forget. our market is considered so stable, Knoxville was named the 7th best place in the US to invest in foreclosures.

3. Out of control lending was partly to blame for the current market.

From the article:

“In 2005 and 2006 we saw the trend where the appraisals were too high and the amount of money being loaned became 100 percent of the value of the home or even higher," says Jim Slyman ... "So if the market for the home you paid $300,000 to buy slips even 10 percent, you now owe more than $30,000 over and above your loan."
Along with traditional high-end home buyers, many average folks got bitten. “The reason there have been so many foreclosures is a lot bought houses who should never have been able to qualify..."

Ouch. True, but ouch.

4. The correction of out of control lending practices has knocked a lot of buyers out of the market.

MetroPulse:

“This time last year, you could still get a zero-equity deal, but lenders have tightened their guidelines," says [Jim] Lee..."It’s tougher to quality for a loan right now.”

This is very true. I had a client a few months ago who qualified for a loan and then got knocked out of the market 3 weeks later when minimum credit scores were raised. This client was not able to buy a home and won't be able to for another year - and that's only if they can manage to clean up their credit in that time. Last year, I would have sold that client a home. This year I won't. Pretty basic cause and effect, no?

The article has a lot more to say about Knoxville real estate, and you can read the whole thing here. After you do, come back and let me know what you think about the Pulse's take on our local market. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-06-18T18:34:00.004-04:00

Konichiwa, Watchers. This week on Foreclosure Watch, the on-market listings are up, closed prices are down, and days on market is way down. DOM dropped so much, I decided to go back and take a look to see how it's been fluctuating over the last few months. Here's a nifty chart:

It looks like this week's drop is the biggest since early May. Several of the properties that closed this week were on the market less than 2 weeks. I'm going to watch this over the next few weeks to see if it's a trend or just a fluke. Any thoughts?

On a technical note: I'm linking to new property info sheets this week. Let me know what you think and which one, old or new, you like better. Thanks!

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 6/18/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 160 ▲
Average Asking Price: $127,971 ▼
Median Asking Price: $86,700 ▼
Most Expensive New Listing: $314,900 (5 BR, 3 1/2 BA, 4700+ sq ft in Concord Hills )
Least Expensive New Listing: $17,500 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1000+ sq ft in East Knoxville)

Notable New Listings:
North: 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1900+ sq ft on Emoriland
South: 4 BR, 2 BA, 1300+ sq ft bric k rancher off of Sevier
East: 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1100+ sq ft in Holsto n Heights
West: 3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 1600+ sq ft in Farmington

Current Pending Sales -107 ▲
Average Asking Price - $87,062 ▲
Median Asking Price - $74,900 ▲

Closed Sales June 11, 2008-June 17, 2008 - 10 ▲
Average Asking Price - $77,090▼
Average Sales Price - $70,800 ▼
Median Sales Price - $69,501 ▼
Average Days on Market - 37 ▼

Sorry! Due to some technical difficulties and lack of patience, no average sales price chart this week!

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/18/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line .

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest. No yucky spam is involved, I swear.

Be the first to know the latest scoop on the Knoxville real estate market - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

More on Solar Power in Knoxville

2008-06-18T12:37:00.000-04:00

Last month Ken Baker asked me about solar powered homes in Knoxville and, sadly, there just wasn't a lot I could tell him.

Well, it looks like interest in solar power has picked up some in our area, at least for one KUB customer, Preston Smith, who recently installed 28 solar panels on his barn. According to an article in the KNS, his "solar system" is the largest in the KUB service territory and cost a whopping $50,000.

I'm sure normal, meaning much smaller, residential installations would be cheaper, but I'm thinking that the prices are still going to give a lot of people in our area sticker shock. I would also think this is the type of improvement you would only do to a home you planned to stay in a long time, as I'm not sure you could get your installation costs back dollar for dollar when you sold it.

Any thoughts on this? Would you pay more (probably a lot more) per square foot for a solar powered home?

The One Real Estate Show I Actually Watch

2008-06-17T20:13:00.002-04:00

I know this is going to sound like sacrilege, seeing as how I live in Knoxville, home of HGTV and DIY, but I have always said that I really don't like to watch home improvement or real estate shows. I say, "I eat, breathe, and sleep houses. Why would I want to watch shows about them when I'm not working?"

And I felt pretty secure in that thinking until I discovered Jeff Lewis. For those of you who don't know, Jeff Lewis is the anti-hero of Bravo's real estate reality show, "Flipping Out," the second season of which premieres tonight. This is the one real estate show I will break my "no real estate show" rule for. Why? Maybe it's Jeff Lewis's unbelievable, never-ending OCD. Maybe it's the fact that he never buys an investment property without consulting a tarot reader. Maybe it's the fact that he has an employee whose sole duty is taking out the trash. Or maybe it's the fact that this show has a lot more to do with Jeff Lewis than it has to do with real estate. I'm just not sure.

Here's one of my favorite scenes from last season:

And I'll admit it: I secretly can't wait to see how Jeff and the gang are flipping houses in the now softening LA housing market and still making a profit. Doh! I think I just brought my work home with me.

Neighborhood of the Week: Fox Den

2008-06-16T18:03:00.001-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week makes the trek back out west to one of the most swingin' golf communities in Knox County - Fox Den.

Located in Farragut, Fox Den is more or less the 70s version of Gettysvue - an upscale golf and country club community that was considered by some back in the day to be the most prestigious neighborhood in west Knox County. It's still pretty swank, and many folks are still willing to pay for the privilege of calling Fox Den home.

Other than age and location, Fox Den differs from Gettyvue in three key ways: lot sizes (bigger), architectural styles (groovier) and prices (lower). Most of the homes were built in the 70s and 80s, and although some still sport custom features like sunken wet bars and sunken avocado green jacuzzi tubs, most have since been updated to 21st century standards. These remodeled homes go for top dollar, while fixer uppers usually go for much less, making comps a tough thing in Fox Den.

So if golf is your game, but you find the Gettysvue price tags a little hard to swallow, Fox Den might be a great choice for you.

Here's Fox Den by the numbers -

Fox Den*

Current On-Market Listings - 18
Average Asking Price: $636,756
Median Asking Price: $586,500
Most Expensive: $1,189,900 (5 BR, 4 1/2 BA, 7000+ sq ft on estate sized lot)
Least Expensive: $317,000 (3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2100+ sq ft on Fairway #6)
Middle of the Road: $574,000 (3 BR, 3 1/2 BA, 3400+ sq ft completely remodeled)

Current Pending Sales -0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 1
Average Asking Price - $529,900
Average Sales Price - $435,000
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 83

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 2
Average Asking Price - $362,450
Average Sales Price - $308,070
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 176

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/016/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Fox Den Listings" or "New Fox Den Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam or sales pitches, never, ever, ever.

Know of a great community that would make an equally great NOTW? Let our voice be heard in the comments.

This Week's Poll Is Up

2008-06-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

Although a little late this week, the weekly poll is finally up and ready. To cast your vote, simply direct your mouse to the upper left hand section of the blog and click away.

This week's topic is home magazines - you know the ones that you get for free at Kroger and Food City? Home sellers certainly want their homes advertised in them and Realtors definitely spend a lot of money to do so , but in this day and age, when everyone and their mother has an online home search, are they still effective, and if so, who do you think they benefit?

And out of curiosity, have any of you out there actually either a) found a home you wound up buying in one of these books, or b) sold your home as a direct result of an advertisement in one? If so, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

An All Around Great Week

2008-06-15T01:08:00.004-04:00

This past week has been a great one here at All Around K-Town. Not only did the Coldwell Banker CEO find my blog, but I also got a little KNS love in today's paper.

Both of these things have brought about another part of this week's greatness: lots of new visitors. If you're new to AAKT, first of all, welcome and thanks for stopping by. If you're a regular, well, you're always welcome and you already know I think you rock, but here, I'll say it again: you totally rock.

This blog is dedicated to bringing you the latest news on the Knoxville, TN real estate market. If you haven't been here before, you might want to check out a couple of my weekly features, Neighborhood of the Week and Foreclosure Watch. They seem to be pretty popular with the regulars and they're chock full of good stuff about Knoxville and the Knoxville real estate market. And don't forget the Weekly Poll - it's always here in the upper left hand corner waiting for your vote.

Another great thing to do while you're here is subscribe to this blog. This will ensure you that you always get the latest updates from this site. You can subscribe in a reader by clicking here or by you can receive new posts by email by entering your email address in the box at the upper right side of the page. If you don't know what a reader is, check out this great article for an explanation.

Twitter is another tool you can use to keep up with AAKT as well as my whereabouts. If you're new to Twitter, check this out. It's a great collection of explanations on what Twitter is and why it's worth using. And if you want to follow me on Twitter, you can do that here.

I hope you new guys like what you find here and really hope all you regulars still look forward to coming back. If any of you have any questions, comments, concerns, or harangues, you can always give me a shout. I'm used to being harangued.

Thanks for stopping by and look for more great things to come on All Around K-Town.

And in case any of you KNS readers are wondering: yes, Lester is the real brains behind this operation.

Find Your Next Home the Wal-Mart Way

2008-06-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is for real:

You can now search for your next home on either Wal-Mart.com or Overstock.com. Really. It's true.

All I have to say is that if Wal-Mart does half as good of a job selling those houses as they did these Chic Jeans, there's no way they can lose.

How the Coldwell Banker CEO Found My Blog

2008-06-12T15:07:00.001-04:00

We interrupt our regularly scheduled real estate blog post to bring you a very cool, and slightly bizarre, example of the power of social media.. It goes a little something like this..

Two days ago I was sitting in our monthly sales meeting, and I sent out this Tweet to Twitter:

In sales meeting - may was best month since July 2007

This tweet prompted the following exchange between me and Michael Silence, or as he's known on Twitter, @MichaelSilence:

MichaelSilence: That's great news. Are you putting up details at your blog?

suzytrotta: hmmm, I hadn't thought about it, but that's not a bad idea

MichaelSilence: Shoot me a link if you do, please

So, I did write about it that evening and I sent Michael Silence the link.

Wednesday morning, he posted about my article on his blog, No Silence Here, that he writes for KNS.

Wednesday afternoon, my managing broker forwarded me an email from our business representative at Realogy, the parent company of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC:

Everyone,

Please read the blog written for the Knoxville New Sentinel indicating how the market in going in this area. The blog was written by Susy Trotta, who is ... affiliated with Wallace & Wallace in Knoxville.

Way to go Susy!

Our business director had apparently read Michael Silence's post on my post. She was a little confused, however - I don't write this blog for KNS - although KNS blogger Michael Silence does regularly link to it and quote from it. And also, I don't know anyone who spells their name "Susy." That's just silly.

All confusion aside, it was a very nice pat on the back and I was as pleased as punch. As I was feeling all warm and fuzzy, I looked at the list of people she'd sent the original out to and realized that the "Everyone" she was addressing in this email referred to all the top brass at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, including Jim Gillespie, President and CEO.

Crikey!

A few minutes later, one of my owning brokers forwarded me an email he received from our CBRE, LLC Regional Direcotor:

Charlie Young [CBRE, LLC Marketing VP] forwarded to me the blog written by your own Susy Trotta. The blog was well written and as was already pointed out, she represented her company very well. Please let her know that I appreciate her for stepping out there and for doing such a good job!

Double crikey!

So basically, as the result of one Tweet, a bunch of Coldwell Banker folks all over the country, who didn't know me from Adam's house cat a few days ago, now know about me and my blog (and think it's pretty cool to boot). How sweet is that?

Now, I'm a commission only independent contractor, so none of this means much to me in terms of career advancement or actual moolah. That much is true.

But that's not the point. The point is that this time last year, as far as I was concerned, tweets and Twittering were something that birds did. I wasn't involved in any type of social media or blogging at all. If something interesting happened in sales meeting back then, I would have told my husband about it and that would have been that. This year I hear something intriguing in sales meeting, and the next thing you know, Jim Gillespie knows my name (even if he doesn't know how to spell it). See the difference between then and now? I think it's pretty huge.

And even though my brokers already knew about my blog from a few articles in the real world KNS, I don't think they understood what I was doing or the impact that blogging can have. I think they kind of get it now.

So, if anyone from Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC or its parent company, Realogy, is reading this, welcome and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your time and kind words.

And if any of my brokers are reading this, remember that nothing tells me I'm appreciated quite like my own office on the ground floor of the West Town building :)

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-06-11T19:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to Foreclosure Watch. Things are eerily quiet here at Foreclosure Watch HQ this week as on-market listings are staying put at 148, pendings only slightly climbed to 104 and sales dropped just a tiny smidge to 8. I guess no news is better than bad news, right?

Now for the breakdown:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 6/11/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 149 ▬
Average Asking Price: $134,639 ▼
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▲
Most Expensive New Listing: $199,900 (4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2000+ sq ft in Sterchi Hills )
Least Expensive New Listing: $9 ,900 (2 BR, 1 BA home in need of major repair in Mechanicsville)

Notable New Listings:
North: 3 BR, 2 BA, 1200+ sq ft in Halls
South: 3 BR, 2 BA, 1900+ sq ft brick rancher off of John Sevier Hwy
East: 4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2000+ sq ft in Holsto n Hills
West: 3 BR, 1 BA, 900+ sq ft on Conco rd Rd

Current Pending Sales -104 ▲
Average Asking Price - $84,746 ▲
Median Asking Price - $68,400 ▲

Closed Sales June 04, 2008-June 10, 2008 - 8▼
Average Asking Price - $99,975▼
Average Sales Price - $96,756 ▼
Median Sales Price - $96,750 ▲
Average Days on Market - 61 ▼

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/11/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest.

Ever wonder what the heck I'm talking about when I ask you to subscribe to All Around K-Town? Check out this great explanation from Casey Peters at Knoxify on what this RSS subscription stuff is all about.

A Possible Light at the End of the Tunnel

2008-06-10T22:15:00.006-04:00

The first Tuesday of every month is Sales Meeting in my office. That's the day we all file into the conference room and hear about who sold what the previous month. This involves a lot of Power Point slides, coffee, donuts, giggling and smart ass comments. It's a good time.

Some meetings are good, because the company made its goals the previous month in terms of listings taken, pending sales turned in, and closed sales.

There haven't been a lot of those good meetings lately.

But just as we were all on the brink of despair, thinking those graph lines on the Power Point slides were doomed to only go down and not up, something amazing happened last month: business picked up. We actually had our best month since July 2007, making our goals for both pending and closed sales. Even better, the number of pendings and closings for this May was only slightly down, 5% or so, from May of last year.

Listings taken were way down, but as someone in the crowd pointed out, most of the houses in Knoxville are already on the market anyway, so what's left to list? Hehehe. Yes, we have some budding comedians over at West Town. Actually, our inventory is about the same as it was this time last year - it's just that houses are taking a lot longer to sell, if they sell at all.

So, the question is this: are our numbers an indicator of what's going on in the rest of the Knoxville market? Unfortunately, my crystal ball is broken, so the answer to that question will have to wait until the May Home Sales Report comes out in a few days. For now, I'm just happy to have caught a glimpse of a possible light at the end of the real estate tunnel.

Neighborhood of the Week: Old North Knoxville

2008-06-09T19:05:00.000-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads to the north side of town and steps back in time by way of Old North Knoxville.

Old North Knoxville is a historic neighborhood just north of downtown and 4th & Gill. Built from the 1880s to the 1940s, the neighborhood is roughly bounded by Central Street and Woodland Avenue to the west of Broadway, and Cecil Avenue, Sixth Avenue, and Glenwood Avenue to the east of Broadway.

Like 4th & Gill and Island Home, Old North Knoxville was originally one of Knoxville's streetcar suburbs. From the Old North Knoxville, Inc. website:

Old North Knoxville was developed as a streetcar suburb between the 1880's and the 1940's. Streetcar suburbs had a strong pedestrian orientation. Most people walked to their homes from the street car stop. The automobile did not have a major influence on Knoxville until the 1920's, so there are few driveways or garages in the neighborhood. Some carriage houses remain behind the oldest houses, but most people did not own a horse and carriage. They depended on the streetcars for transportation and used the neighborhood sidewalks to reach the streetcar lines.

North Knoxville was incorporated on January 16, 1889. Larger than the current Old North Knoxville neighborhood (several original subdivisions make up the current Old North Knoxville Historic District), it was a desirable residential area and grew rapidly. North Knoxville provided a water supply, improved streets, fire protection, a city hall, and a school for approximately 100 students. Electric lights were installed in 1899 and a city sewer system was planned but not built due to annexation in 1897.

Architecturally, Old North Knoxville is very diverse:

Late 19th century styles found in the neighborhood include: Queen Anne, Queen Anne Cottage, Eastlake, Shotgun, and Folk Victorian. Early 20th century architecture include: Craftsman and Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, American Four Square, Minimal Traditional, and French Eclectic.

The neighborhood was made a historic district in 1922 and restoration and renovations have been ongoing since that time. Old North Knoxville, Inc. and Knox Heritage have both worked to save homes in the district which would otherwise have been demolished.

Geographically, Old North Knoxville is very convenient to downtown and UT and is easily accessible via I-40, I-275, and I-640.

If you want a home in a historic neighborhood with lots of sidewalks and trees, a strong sense of community and a commitment to preservation, Old North Knoxville might be just what you're looking for.

Here's Old North Knoxville by the numbers -

Old North Knoxville*

Current On-Market Listings - 13
Average Asking Price: $191,346
Median Asking Price: $184,900
Most Expensive: $285,000 (3 BR, 3 BA, 2700+ sq ft Southern Colonial Revival home)
Least Expensive: $84,900 (3BR, 1 BA, 1000+ sq ft Craftsman)

Current Pending Sales -4
Average Asking Price: $105,425
Median Asking Price: $114,950

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 9
Average Asking Price - $120,422
Average Sales Price - $118,733
Median Sales Price - $95,000
Average Days on Market - 47

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 9
Average Asking Price - $124,600
Average Sales Price - $115,500
Median Sales Price - $112,50
Average Days on Market - 77

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/09/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either "Current Old North Knoxville Listings" or "New North Knoxville Listings" in the subject line and I'll take care of the rest. No spam or sales pitches, I super pinkie-swear promise.

I'm always on the lookout for places to highlight in Neighborhood of the Week, so let me know if there's a community you'd like to see featured here sometime soon.

This Week's Poll Is Up

2008-06-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

The weekly poll is ready and waiting for your voting pleasure - you know where to find it. This week's topic goes out to those of you who take the time to read my humble blog: what is your living situation? Are a renter, homeowner, or something else entirely? Cast your vote and/or let your voice be heard in the comments.

Whether you rent, own, or even rent to own, you can still subscribe to All Around KTown or follow me on Twitter - no credit check required.

Link Round-Up: Creative Financing Edition

2008-06-07T22:47:00.001-04:00

Here's how to:

... owe $416,000 on a home you only paid $153,000 for. - The Housing Bubble Blog

... make money by walking away from over $3.9 million worth of home loans. - New York Times

... have a negative net worth and buy a home without even realizing it (and still manage to make the payments on it). - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

How We Used to Get All Around K-Town

2008-06-06T14:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday over at KnoxViews, I saw a very cool map, showing Knoxville's public transit lines circa 1931. The map includes the city's now defunct street car lines.

If you zoom in on the larger image, you can see where the lines went to various "street car communities," such as 4th and Gill and Island Home.

It looks like the line ran as far north as Fountain City and as far east as Chilhowee Park. If you wanted to head west, you apparently had to take something called the "Electric Coach Line. " Since there's also a separate listing for the "bus line," I'm a little stumped as to what an "electric coach" is. Any ideas?

If automobile traffic is more your style, check out Michael Wender's post on Knoxify comparing the I-40 of 1960 with the present day version. My how things how changed.

Half a Chance

2008-06-05T23:30:00.004-04:00

My company, like probably every other real estate company, keeps track of listings taken vs. listings sold. Today I had a chance to review our averages for the last few years and the trend is startling. Check this out:

Percentage of Listings Sold By Year

2005 - 80%
2006 - 70%
2007 - 50%

These numbers are rough and rounded off, but there's a definite trend there, no? I would hazard a guess that the percentages for most other area companies are roughly the same (even though I'm sure a lot of companies don't want to admit to it). If this trend holds up for 2008 (and keep in mind this is totally hypothetical and purely unscientific), that means that at least 50% of the homes we have listed this summer simply won't sell. That's tough.

But that also means that - hypothetically - 50% will sell. So, who will make the cut? The extremely motivated: the folks who are willing and able to get their homes in pristine condition and who are also willing and able - you knew this was coming - to lower their listing price. Because the fact is that there are buyers out there, lots of them, they're just not that motivated. A few years ago, low interest rates and the prospect of getting rich fast motivated them. Today their biggest motivation is price, namely the lowest price they can get. This doesn't mean you have to give your home away, but it does mean that your home must be competitively priced. Now is not the time to get rich. Now is the time to cut your losses and move on if you have to move.

If you do have to sell, get a good agent who will market your home like crazy. Make sure it's getting lots of internet exposure and multiple photos on Realtor.com. And then listen to your agent. If they are doing their marketing and the home is still not showing, that price may have to come down and/or the condition of your home may need to be improved.

If you're not that motivated to sell, and you really want to get more money when you sell your home, now may not be the time to put your home on the market. I know that's hard to hear - heck, it's hard for me to say, considering I'd love to list and sell your home this summer - but it's the truth.

The good news is that homes are still selling. They really are, I promise. And just like everything else in life, this market shall pass - it just may not pass as quickly as a lot of us would like.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-06-04T21:01:00.004-04:00

What's up Watchers? This week Knoxville's on-market foreclosure listings and sales are down, while pending sales are up. And although closings are down this week, I have a feeling that as the weather gets warmer, we may be seeing more and more pendings and closings as banks finally get willing to take less money for these properties that are only weighing them down. What do you think?

But enough about the future. Here's the current breakdown -

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 6/04/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 148 ▼
Average Asking Price: $137,784 ▲
Median Asking Price: $89,450 ▬
Most Expensive New Listing: $520,000 (New 5 BR, 3 1/2, 4200 sq ft home off of Northshore)
Least Expensive New Listing: $34 ,900 (2 BR, 1 BA home in Mechanicsville)

Notable New Listings:
North: 4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2400+ sq ft home in Halls
South: 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1700+ sq ft in Colonial Village
East: 4 BR, 2 BA, 1400+ sq ft 85 yr. old brick home off of Magnolia
West: 3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2500+ sq ft in Cambridge

Current Pending Sales -100 ▲
Average Asking Price - $80,611 ▼
Median Asking Price - $67,400 ▬

Closed Sales May 28, 2008-June 03, 2008 - 10▼
Average Asking Price - $111,320▼
Average Sales Price - $106,671 ▼
Median Sales Price - $73,950 ▲
Average Days on Market - 65 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/04/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest.

Why put off til tomorrow what you could do today? Go ahead and subscribe to All Around KTown while you're here.

Many Realtors Broke, Lost, and Camera-less

2008-06-04T11:45:00.009-04:00

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just put out their 2008 Member Profile, a survey of their more than 1.2 million members. As usual, there are some interesting stats:

- 2007 median income for a Realtor was $42,600.

- 2007 median income for a Realtor with 2 or less years in the business was $10,500 (ouch).

- Median transaction sides (closings) for 2007 was 8.

- 5% of members are also involved in mortgage brokerage (yikes!).

- Only 5% of Realtors choose real estate as their first career (duh).

- 60% have a personal website (hmm...).

- Only 27% own a digital camera (wt...?).

- Only 19% own a GPS device (the other 81% are still lost somewhere in Karns).

And because it's NAR, you have to pay for the privelige of reading the full report - $125 to be exact. If you don't feel like ponying up that kind of cash, you can read a lot of the highlights here.

Knoxville Sidewalk Talk

2008-06-03T22:10:00.001-04:00

Why haven't I heard anything about this anywhere else? According to WBIR, a group of concerned Fountain City residents are "pushing hard for a new citywide ordinance that would force developers to add sidewalks to any new or refurbished development" in Knoxville. Huh.

Knoxville City Councilman Bob Becker is apparently behind the proposed ordinance and says:

"Making the whole city more pedestrian-friendly changes the dynamic... It moves us from being a very good city into being a great city."

The city council is going to have a workshop on the issue on June 12th. Maybe someone should send them the link to WalkScore before then?

Neighborhood of the Week: Whittington Creek

2008-06-02T20:26:00.000-04:00

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads back into Knoxville to a little 300 acre community off of Northshore Drive called Whittington Creek.

Much like Gettysvue, Whittington Creek is as much a lifestyle choice as it is a place to live. Billed by the develop ers as an "upscale living community," the subdivision itself consists of eight separate neighborhoods, each with its own name and private entrance.

The community as a whole prides itself on being very walkable, and all of the neighborhood's recreational amenties, including Olympic size pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, playground and clubhouse, are easily accessible via Whittington Creek's numerous sidewalks.

The first homes were built in the 1990s, but construction has been steadily continuous since then, and there are still lots available for building.

If you're looking for an upscale neighborhood with lots of amenities that is convenient to the Pellissippi Parkway in West Knoxville, Whittington Creek might be a good place to call home.

Here's Whittington Creek by the numbers -

Whittington Creek*

Current On-Market Listings - 28
Average Asking Price: $866,464
Median Asking Price: $799,700
Most Expensive: $1,575,000 (6 BR, 5 1/2 BA, 7800+ sq ft on a 2 acre lot)
Least Expensive: $519,000 (4 BR, 3 1/2 BA, approx 3300 sq ft)

Current Pending Sales -2
Average Asking Price: $581,725
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 8
Average Asking Price - $710,127
Average Sales Price - $696,827
Median Sales Price - $632,500
Average Days on Market - 109

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 6
Average Asking Price - $682,550
Average Sales Price - $670,000
Median Sales Price - $640,000
Average Days on Market - 144

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 6/02/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

Neighborhood of the Week takes requests, so let me know what part of K-Town you'd like to see here next week and I'll try my best to make it happen.

This Week's Poll Is Up

2008-06-01T21:07:00.001-04:00

This week's poll is up on the blog's upper-left corner. You know the spot I'm talkin' about.

The topic this week is trust. Trust is incredibly important in a real estate transaction, and yet I constantly meet people who say they don't (or didn't) trust their Realtor. What's up with that?

So my question is this: did you trust the last real estate agent you worked with? If not, why did you stay with them through the transaction? I'd love to hear about any juicy details in the comments.

And remember, even if you don't trust your Realtor, you can trust that subscribing to All Around Ktown is a smart move. Following me on Twitter is an equally wise decision.

Trulia Snapshot Brings Sexy Back to Real Estate

2008-05-31T23:10:00.003-04:00

Trulia's new toy, Trulia Snapshot, is the coolest, most gorgeous real estate search ~~toy~~ tool I have ever seen.

You simply have to give it a whirl to know what I mean. If you like pretty, shiny things, go play with the Knoxville listings and come back and let me know what you think.

NAR & DOJ Are Now BFFs

2008-05-30T19:23:00.004-04:00

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have finally reached a settlement over the display of Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listings on Virtual Office Websites (VOWs). Whew! That's a lot of acronyms for saying that online only brokerages that don't exist in the brick and mortar world can put MLS listings on their sites.

A lot of people are saying this is the end of real estate as we know it and things are going to seriously start changing in the real estate marketplace.

Um, except that during the 3 years it took NAR and the DOJ to reach this settlement, a lot has already seriously changed in the real estate market, especially when it comes to transparency and online information. From The Real Estate Bloggers:

The opening of the MLS systems to online and virtual real estate companies has long been over. The bigger battle will be the viability of maintaining an expensive MLS in the age of Trulias and Zillows.
Think about it, the lawsuit was to force the brokerages to allow online real estate agents to post their homes. Now we have the major real estate firms signing deals with Zillow to post their listings directly bypassing these online agents.
So essentially the National Association of Realtors has spent their dues not on developing better systems to grow the business of their members, but to fight for the right to have the monopoly on buggy whips.

Ouch.

Hey, NAR? Can I have my last three years worth of dues back now? I have a $60 tank of gas to buy to drive clients around who found a bunch of homes to look at on Trulia last night. Thanks.

Blogging Their Way to a New Home

2008-05-29T19:45:00.004-04:00

2 bloggers
+ 1 Friendship
+ 36 house showings
+ 4 Swiss Cake Rolls
__________________
Home Sweet Home

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-05-28T21:38:00.002-04:00

It may be two more days until the weekend, but the wait is over for this week's installment of Foreclosure Watch. This week, on-market and pending listings are down, while closings have more than doubled. Hey, have you guys been out there buying these things without me?

Also, this week: pretty new charts, one of which tracks the list price vs. sales price of the closed foreclosures. Enjoy!

Now for the breakdown -

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 5/28/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 160 ▼
Average Asking Price: $131,504 ▲
Median Asking Price: $89,450 ▼
Most Expensive New Listing: $229,900 (4 BR, 2 BA, 2700+ sq ft art & craft style home off of Alcoa Highway)
Least Expensive New Listing: $24,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft, 100+ year old home in East Knoxville)

Notable New Listings:
North: 3 BR, 2 BA, 1500+ sq ft off of Whittle Springs
East: 4 BR, 2 BA, 1800+ sq ft turn of the century home on E. Fifth Ave.
West: 4 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 1800+ sq ft in Gulf Park

Current Pending Sales -92 ▼
Average Asking Price - $84,416 ▼
Median Asking Price - $67,400 ▼

Closed Sales May 21, 2008-May 27, 2008 - 17▲
Average Asking Price - $140,391▲
Average Sales Price - $126,776 ▲
Median Sales Price - $108,900 ▲
Average Days on Market - 63 ▲

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/28/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email with "Foreclosure List" in the subject line, and I'll do the rest.

Get in with the Knoxville real estate in-crowd - subscribe to All Around KTown today!

Coolest Tool Yet: PolicyMap

2008-05-27T21:15:00.001-04:00

OK, I've shared some websites with you before that I thought were pretty cool. And at the time I shared them, they were. But that was before @Admore tipped me off to PolicyMap.

PolicyMap is a brand new monster research tool that you really have to play with to believe. According to the developers:

... [PolicyMap] combines sophisticated technology and the best analytical tools to deliver a new level of accessibility to data. And we mean all kinds of data – more than 4,000 indicators related to demographics, real estate markets, money and income, education, crime and more.

They're not kidding about that data, either. PolicyMap provides you with information you find on sites like Zipskinny and Zilpy and then some - everything from residential energy consumption to campaign contributions by geographical area. You can search by state, county, city, or even by congressional and school districts. In addition, PolicyMap has tons more crime statistics for the Knox County area than SpotCrime.

And that's not all. PolicyMap doesn't just give you data, it goes even further by allowing you to create your own layered "heat maps," tables and reports from the data it provides. Now that's cool.

Unfortunately, there is a "but" in all of this: some of the information on the site is for subscribers only, and subscriptions don't come cheap - $2,000 per year for the standard package alone. Ouch.

But even without that extra level of data, PolicyMap is a still an awesome resource that I've only scratched the surface of here. Go check it out for yourself, and then come back here and let me know what cool stuff you find. Happy hunting!

Neighborhood of the Week: Concord Hills

2008-05-26T22:51:00.001-04:00

So far, Neighborhood of the Week has been all around K-Town, from the north to the south and the east to the west. But there's one place NOTW hasn't yet stepped foot in: Farragut. This week it's time to remedy that by taking a look at Concord Hills.

Concord Hills is a large, established community located just off of Concord Road in Farragut and is very convenient to I-40 at either Lovell Road or Campbell Station. One of the best features of the neighborhood, besides the great homes, large lots, well manicured lawns, and numerous trees, is the community recreation association. This association includes a newly remodeled pool and tennis courts, as well as community swim and tennis teams. Concord Hills also has a very active homeowners association, and their website lists numerous neighborhood activities that take place in the community throughout the year.

If you're looking to live in a very well-kept, conveniently located, established neighborhood with a strong sense of community in Farragut, Concord Hills might just be right up your alley.

Here's Concord Hills by the numbers -

Concord Hills*

Current On-Market Listings - 15
Average Asking Price: $445,447
Median Asking Price: $424,900
Most Expensive: $874,900 (5 BR, 6 1/2 BA, 7000+ sq ft)
Least Expensive: $274,900 (4 BR, 4 BA, 3700+ sq ft)

Current Pending Sales -2
Average Asking Price: $279,900
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 2
Average Asking Price - $349,900
Average Sales Price - $342,900
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 87

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 1
Average Asking Price - $419,900
Average Sales Price - $415,000
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 97

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/26/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

Is there a neighborhood you'd like to see here next week? Make a wish for it in the comments, and it might just come true.

Cool Lake Front Homes You Can't Afford

2008-05-25T23:01:00.001-04:00

Like most Sundays, I did an open house today. To get to this open house, I had to take Northshore Drive from Ebenezer to Concord Road, which meant I passed lots of people playing and having fun on the water. In a matter of moments my thoughts went from, "Hey! I want to play and have fun on the water, too," to "I just need to buy a place on the water."

Unfortunately my meandering thoughts do not always check in with my bank account.

While, it is occasionally possible to find a Knox County waterfront home for less than 7 figures, that is certainly not the rule. And anyway, if you're going to dream, dream big, right?

So, in honor of Memorial Day, I thought I'd take you on a short tour of cool Lake front homes you can't afford. Enjoy!

First stop is a brand new 4,900+ sq ft home lakefront home in a gated community right off of Westland. This year's Parade Home winner, this home features lake views from nearly every room. List price is $1,939,000 - only $392 a square foot.

Next up is a 7600+ sq foot custom built home with 4 BR, 5 full baths, and 2 half baths. Features include century-old hardwoods, lakeside in-ground gunite pool, and a 4 car garage. List price is $2,700,000 - that's right around $352 per sq ft.

Right around the corner off of Toole's Bend is a 4 BR, 4 BA, 5000+ sq ft basement ranch on 1.5 acres. Features include an infinity pool with new pool house, boat house, and boat dock. List price is $2,400,000. For those of you keeping track at home, that's $472 a sq ft.

Finally, we come to this 5 BR, 5 BA, 5900+ sq ft lake front home in Sequoyah Hills. Features include marble walled and floored bathrooms in every bedroom, gourmet kitchen with Thermador appliances, boat dock with lift, and jet ski dock with lift. List price is $1,575,000 - that's a water front bargain at only $264 per sq ft.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour. As for me, as much as I love to dream of living on the water, for now I'm going to have to stick with something more in my price range , like a baby pool or a slip and slide in the backyard. Hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

Happy Memorial Day!

Weekly Poll

2008-05-25T00:38:00.010-04:00

This week's poll is ready for your voting enjoyment on the top left and this week's topic is the state of the Knoxville housing market.

Nationally, some people say the housing bust is over and others say it's not.

I don't know about other places, but here in K-Town, I've been seeing a ton of activity in the real estate market over the last few months. Granted, it's totally crazy activity (super low-ball offers, deals pieced together MacGyver style with little more than paper clips & chewing gum, financing that would fall over if you breathed hard on it, etc), but after the dead silence that was August - December, 2007, I'll take any activity I can get my hands on.

What do you think? Is the Knoxville market chugging along like the little engine that could or is it seriously derailed?

Another Cool Tool: SpotCrime

2008-05-22T23:38:00.000-04:00

Another question we real estate agents aren't allowed to go anywhere near is "is this a safe neighborhood?" Sure, we know, and no, we can't say anything. Lame. That's why I was psyched when I saw a write up on TechCrunch about a website called SpotCrime.

Go to SpotCrime, select your city, and you'll be shown an interactive Google map that will show you at a glance where crimes such as arson, assault and theft have occurred within a time period of your choosing. You can also search specific addresses to check out crime on a neighborhood level.

TechCrunch says that for most areas, SpotCrime gets 90% of its information from police reports, but only if that information is made public. From looking at the Knoxville map, it looks like Knoxville is one of the areas where they are only pulling information from local news stories. While this is better than nothing, I'd love to see a fully functional version for our town.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-05-21T22:02:00.001-04:00

Yay, more numbers! If the April Home Sales Report wasn't enough to satisfy your need for Knoxville real estate statistics, hopefully this week's episode of Foreclosure Watch will do the trick. This week sees the number of on-market foreclosure listings take a pretty big jump, while median and average closed prices, as well as average days on market, take a plunge.

This week I'm also trying out another new feature - new & notable foreclosure listings by area: north, south, east and west. Let me know what you think.

Now for the breakdown -

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 5/21/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 185 ▲
Average Asking Price: $127,839 ▼
Median Asking Price: $89,900 ▲
Most Expensive New Listing: $759,000 (5 BR, 6 1/2 BA, 7800+ sq ft on C herokee Blvd)
Least Expensive New Listing: $29,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 800+ sq ft in East Knoxville)

Notable New Listings:
North: 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1400+ sq ft off of Whittle Springs
South: 3 BR, 2 BA, 2000+ sq ft off of Magazine
East: 3 BR, 2 BA, 2000+ sq ft in Holston Hills
West: 3 BR, 2 BA, approx 1500 sq ft with in-ground pool in Farragut

Current Pending Sales -102 ▼
Average Asking Price - $94,428 ▲
Median Asking Price - $76,225 ▲

Closed Sales May 14, 2008-May 20, 2008 - 8▼
Average Asking Price - $73,659 ▼
Average Sales Price - $71,758 ▼
Median Sales Price - $47,000 ▼
Average Days on Market - 46 ▼

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/20/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line. If you'd like to receive new foreclosure listings automatically, just send me an email letting me know, and I'll do the rest.

Keep up to date on the Knoxville real estate market and be inadvertently entertained at the same time - subscribe to All Around KTown today!

April Home Sales Report

2008-05-21T19:52:00.000-04:00

I tried to get this out on time, I really did. And then Franken-deal rose from the dead and I had to go into my secret laboratory to try to keep it alive long enough to reach the closing table. Add mad scientist to my every growing job description. So, as usual, some other folks have already given you the rundown, but that's no reason not to look at the April Home Sales Report numbers the AAKT way.

Let's start with the good news:

Average condo sales price is up.

April '07 - $161,000

April '08 - $164.3

Median condo sales price is up
April '07- $139,900
April '08- $142,900

Now for the not so great, but not so totally unexpected news:

Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is down.
April '07 - $104,000
April '08 - $90,900

Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is down.

April '07 - $82,000

April '08 - $79,200

Average sales price for 3 BR homes is down.
April '07 - $168,300
April '08 - $163,600

Median sales price for 3 BR homes is down.

April '07 - $152,000

April '08 - $149,000

Average sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.

April '07 - $327,000

April '08 - $283,700

Median sales price for homes with 4 or more bedrooms is down.
April '07 - $274,400
April '08 - $240,000

Total number of single family unit sales is down.

April '07 - 1416

April '08 - 1144

Total number of condo unit sales is down.

April '07 - 157

April '08 - 147

Days on market is up.

April '07 - 85

April '08 - 100

And here's the "FHA may not be the new sub-prime, but it sure is curiously popular" news:

Number of FHA loans is way, way up.
April '07- 47
April '08- 162

Finally, here's my totally unscientific analysis:

1. The Knoxville condo market would probably survive a nuclear attack and still manage to show decent appreciation.

2. Residential sales are still soft*.

3. The upper price bracket homes are taking the hardest hit.

4. As conventional loan qualifications continue to tighten up, more and more buyers are going FHA.

5. Knoxville buyers are getting some totally sweet deals this spring.

*No need to freak out. Lower average sales price and lower median sales price do not necessarily mean that your personal home has depreciated.

Knoxville, Actually

2008-05-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

Knoxify, the site concerned with all things great about Knoxville, has put together a little list of blogs and sites they think "exemplify who the real Knoxville is." My humble blog made the cut, and I didn't even have to pay them anything for it. Yet. Thanks guys!

Check out the other guys who made the list and while you're there check out the rest of Knoxify - it's worth your time.

Quote of the Day

2008-05-20T19:17:00.002-04:00

"For be it ever so humble, there really is no place like home, even if it does come with a balloon payment mortgage"

- Dr. Austan Goolsbee, in an editorial last year in The New York Times

Neighborhood of the Week: Lake Forest

2008-05-19T20:48:00.001-04:00

This week we're going down South across the Henley Street bridge to a lovely little neighborhood called Lake Forest.

Lake Forest is a pretty well-kept secret as far as established Knoxville neighborhoods go and chances are you've driven right by it on your way down Chapman Highway and didn't even know it. Located just northeast of Chapman Highway, the neighborhood is bounded by May Apple to the north, Red Bud Road the the west, and Lindy Road to the east. In other words, if you've passed Kay's Ice Cream, you've gone too far.

Much of Lake Forest is included in the Chapman Highway Dogwood Trail (see map below). Add reasonable home prices, convenience to downtown and campus, and picture perfect views to that selling point, and you see why Lake Forest a very desirable place to call home.

Online information regarding the history of this neighborhood is scarce, so I would appreciate anything anybody can add in the comments. Thanks!

[original map from dogwoodarts.com]

Here's Lake Forest by the numbers -

Lake Forest*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $142,871
Median Asking Price: $134,900
Most Expensive: $204,000 (4 BR, 2 BA, approx 2200 sq ft basement ranch)
Least Expensive: $107,900 (4 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1400+ sq ft foreclosure)

Current Pending Sales -3
Average Asking Price: $141,600
Median Asking Price: $129,900

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 0
Average Asking Price - NA
Average Sales Price - NA
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 1
Average Asking Price - $144,900
Average Sales Price - $144,704
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 171

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/19/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

Know of a neighborhood you think is especially NOTW worthy? Don't keep it to yourself - let me know about it in the comments.

Weekly Poll

2008-05-18T21:31:00.004-04:00

This week's poll is up (on the left side up at the top), and it involves a topic very near and dear to my heart: open houses. This article says they're on the way out, but I'm not so sure. Open houses have been around for a long time for some pretty substantial reasons: buyers like to go to them, sellers like for agents to hold them, agents like to get prospects from them, and sometimes someone even buys the house because of them. What do you think?

After you vote, you may still feel the need to click on things. Subscribing to this site or following me on Twitter are both good ways to satisfy that craving.

Neighborhood Rental Information

2008-05-16T14:19:00.002-04:00

I have a new website obsession and it's called Zilpy. Zilpy is like a hybrid of Zip Skinny and Zillow, but specifically geared toward renters and investors. According to their website:

Zilpy is a free online rental market facts and analysis service dedicated to help you make better rental and investment decisions.
We do exactly what you would do if you had to do the analysis yourself – collect data from all available sources (newspaper classifieds, online classifieds, apartment rentals, etc.) and filter the data based on your criteria (proximity, property type, crime rate, population, income, etc). We do all this heavy lifting for you so that you can concentrate on your real goal: find the right rental property.
Zilpy also answers to the following questions:

- Where are the cheapest 2 bedroom Condos or Townhouses?
- How much rent can I get at this specific address?
- What is the rental trend in a specific area, can I see heat maps?
- What is the demographic structure (population, age, income) of a specific rental area?

Enter a potential rental address in Zilpy and you'll get a Google map showing other nearby rental properties, complete with their current rents and amenities.; comparable rental properties in the area; and a suggested potential rent for the subject property. You'll also get other information for the area, such as average renter occupancy, vacancy rates and monthly rent affordability. In addition, Zilpy will pull census information for the area, a la Zip Skinny.

While it's not perfect, Zilpy seems like a good tool for both renters and potential landlords. It's also a good way to see how many rentals are in an area you're thinking about moving to.

Out of curiosity, I entered my home address in Kingston Park and was told that I could rent it for $1,425 - anybody looking for a place to live?

Link Round-Up: Deep Thoughts Edition

2008-05-16T13:53:00.000-04:00

Are HELOCS the new sub-prime? Calculated Risk

Are FHA loans with payment assistance programs the new sub-prime? MSNBC

Are conventional loans the new sub-prime? WSJ

Am I totally obsessed with what may or may not be the new sub-prime?

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-05-14T22:37:00.001-04:00

Another week, another installment of Foreclosure Watch. This week brings a new feature - handy arrows out to the right of the stats, indicating if the numbers are up or down from last week. I am also going to be experimenting with some different kinds of charts in the coming weeks, and I highly encourage your (constructive) feedback.

I have had some requests for more area specific foreclosure stats. For those of you wanting very specific info - a particular subdivision or neighborhood - send me an email letting me know what you're looking for and I can send it to you on an individual basis. Broader areas, such as North, South, West, and East Knoxville, will be getting their own special installments and/ or charts. I'm still working out how best to do this, and again, any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Remember: I was a liberal arts major.

But enough jibber jabber, let's look at some bank-owned properties, shall we?

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 5/14/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 147 ▼
Average Asking Price: $128,950 ▲
Median Asking Price: $87,900 ▼
Most Expensive New Listing: $ 469,900 (5 BR, 4 1/2 BA , 5900+ sq ft in Powell)
Least Expensive New Listing: $20,000 (2 BR, 1 BA 750+ sq ft in North Knoxville)
New Honorable Mention: $90,000 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1100+ sq ft in Fountain City)

Current Pending Sales -104 ▲
Average Asking Price - $91, 149 ▼
Median Asking Price - $74,900 ▬

Closed Sales May 7, 2008-May 13, 2008 - 9▼
Average Asking Price - $118,432 ▲
Average Sales Price - $114,232 ▲
Median Sales Price - $105,000 ▲
Average Days on Market - 55 ▬

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/08/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

Don't miss a single Foreclosure Watch update - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

Quote of the Day

2008-05-13T21:11:00.004-04:00

"There's no doubt that due to the mortgage crisis, everything has tightened up ... A year ago, if you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan."

- Mandy Wachtler, president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors in an article in The Tennessean

Hat tip to Josh Flory for the article.

Knoxville Robbed, Size Apparently Matters

2008-05-13T20:05:00.001-04:00

Knoxville was robbed. Well, metaphorically robbed, and by our old friend Forbes.com, no less. Remember them? The guys who used to put us on all their lists, calling us the best this and most wonderful that?

Well, Forbes has a new list and although they think that both Nashville and Memphis are among America's best cities for outdoor living, Knoxville didn't even make the cut.

The reason? Well, it's actually only because we're not one of the country's 40 largest cities, which were the only cities Forbes looked at when compiling the list. Apparently, size does matter.

So basically, East Tennessee's natural beauty, the plethora of outdoor activities available here, and the great Smoky Mountains themselves don't mean a thing because we're not "large" like Memphis or Nashville. Phooey. We may not be as big as those guys, but we're sure a lot prettier. Have you ever passed a spring in Memphis? I rest my case.

If you feel like Knoxville was robbed of its spot on this Forbes list due to city size discrimination, why not send a friendly email to the article's author, Rebecca Ruiz , and let her know? And come back here and let me know if you do. Heh.

Neighborhood of the Week: Gettysvue

2008-05-12T23:04:00.000-04:00

So far Neighborhood of the Week has only focused on older, historic Knoxville neighborhoods, but it's time to see how the other half lives. This week, I'm going to do a 180 and look at a community of newer, bigger, and more expensive, homes: Gettysvue. I think it would be fair to say that Gettysvue is more than a residential community - it's a lifestyle.

A country club community, Gettysvue includes an 18 hole golf course; polo facilities; two swimming pools and it's own swim team; tennis courts complete with tennis pro; a clubhouse with fitness center and restaurant; various children's camps; and numerous social events throughout the year.

A lot or home purchase in Gettysvue gets you an automatic social country club membership, but golf memberships, though varied, are extra. You can learn more about country club amenities and memberships at the Gettysvue Country Club website.

And while there are condos in Gettysvue, I'm only going to be looking at the houses, and then only on the Polo and Golf side, not the Racquet Club side. With that said, here's Gettysvue by the numbers-

Gettysvue*

Current On-Market Listings - 16
Average Asking Price: $1,346,225
Median Asking Price: $1,294,500
Most Expensive: $2,295,000 (5 BR, 6 1/2 BA, 10,000+ sq ft custom built home with 8 fireplaces)
Least Expensive: $748,500 (4 BR, 4 BA, approx 3700 sq ft, overlooking 11th green)

Current Pending Sales -1
Average Asking Price: $987,500
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 3
Average Asking Price - $1,004,933
Average Sales Price - $947,700
Median Sales Price - $890,000
Average Days on Market - 142

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 3
Average Asking Price - $1,015,667
Average Sales Price - $930,333
Median Sales Price - $1,055,000
Average Days on Market - 150

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/12/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

Think your neck of the woods is Neighborhood of the Week material? Let me know and you might just see it here next week.

What's Your Neighborhood's Walk Score?

2008-05-11T22:01:00.000-04:00

Is your neighborhood walkable? I don't mean taking an afternoon stroll walkable, I mean being able to walk to the grocery store and to restaurants walkable. If you're curious how a neighborhood ranks on the walkability scale, check out Walk Score.

The setup is simple: you enter your address and Walk Score will rate the walkability of your location on a scale of 1-100. Here's the breakdown:

90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

My home address scored a miserable 14, making it a driving only area. My work address, however, right next to West Town Mall, got a much higher 75.

Unfortunately, one thing Walk Score does not take into account is how pedestrian friendly an area is. For example, in order to walk to some of the businesses that are very close to my office, I would have to cross very busy and very non-pedestrian friendly streets such as Kingston Pike and Montvue - not something I relish doing.

But all walking aside, Walk Score is also simply a nifty way to scope out nearby shopping, parks and restaurants when moving to a new area.

So check out Walk Score - enter your own address and then come back and let me know how walkable your neighborhood is in the comments. Walk on!

Weekly Poll + Super Special Bonus Question

2008-05-10T23:18:00.001-04:00

This week's poll is up for you to enjoy at the top left of the page.

And as an extra special bonus this week, I'm asking you guys to answer another, more open-ended, question:

If you could live anywhere in Knoxville, where would it be? A part of town? A specific house? A certain neighborhood? Maybe just a really nice street? Tell me all about where and why in the comments.

And don't forget that while subscribing to All Around K-Town is both fun and free, following me on Twitter is equally cheap and enjoyable.

(Really) Tiny Homes

2008-05-09T13:54:00.005-04:00

No, seriously, they're tiny. Like 100 sq ft tiny. And sure, they're environmentally friendly, but I got so claustrophobic watching the video, I had to turn it off. Now I'm getting light headed just thinking about watching it. So go ahead, you try to watch it. I dare you.

A lot of these are portable, so they'll build them and send them out to your little corner of the woods. Just don't invite me over, k? K.

Knoxville Foreclosure Watch

2008-05-08T13:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome back, fellow Foreclosure Watchers and thanks for your patience with yesterday's technical difficulties. We're a day late, but not short on foreclosures. Although listings are roughly the same and pendings are down, closings are way up. Oh, and average DOM is way up too. Let's get to the numbers:

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 5/08/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 157
Average Asking Price: $128,732
Median Asking Price: $89,900
Most Expensive New Listing: 4 BR, 2 BA, approx 2400 sq ft in Seven Springs off of Middlebrook
Least Expensive New Listing: 2 BR, 1 BA, approx 1200 sq ft in Mechanicsville
New Honorable Mention: 3 BR, 3 BA on 1.6 acres with 4 car garage in Fountain City

Current Pending Sales -95
Average Asking Price - $94,927
Median Asking Price - $74,900

Closed Sales April 29, 2008-May 6, 2008 - 17
Average Asking Price - $106,929
Average Sales Price - $102,897
Median Sales Price - $97,000
Average Days on Market - 55

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/08/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

I've had some great suggestions on ways to improve Foreclosure Watch - look for some new features and additional FW posts in the very near future! Have your own suggestions? Let me know in the comments.

Don't miss a single Foreclosure Watch update - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

Yes, We Have No Foreclosure Watch Today

2008-05-07T22:55:00.006-04:00

Due to technical difficulties on KAARMLS (Knoxville Area Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service), I will not be able to gather stats for Foreclosure Watch this evening. Tune in tomorrow, and remember, good things come to those who wait.

A Hidden Home You Can't Afford

2008-05-06T23:47:00.003-04:00

Did you know there was a 1929 mediteranean style villa on 6+ acres, complete with guest cottage and gated entry less than a mile from West Town Mall? Well don't feel bad, because neither did I and I live right up the road from it.

For those of you who are interested, it's just gone on the market, and can be yours for the low, low price of $975,000. Me thinks that price has more to do with development potential than the 1 1/2 total bathrooms in the place, but take a look and decide for yourself.

If anybody knows any history behind this place, I'd love to hear about it.