Nashville Real Estate Talk

Nashville Home Showings Reach Milestone in December.

As many of you know we have been tracking Home Showings in Nashville since 2002.  These showings are a barometer of home buyers and can be used to predict home sales in the following months.

Looking at December’s showings we can see that for the 8th month in a row Nashville home buyers outpaced home buyers in 2010.

More importantly, for the first time in almost two years, home showings in Nashville were were not only higher than the year before, but they very nearly passed the number of showings in 2009 as well. (2418 vs. 2462).  Adjusting these numbers for the Christmas holidays which were extended due to Christmas falling on Sunday, we could easily make the case that December 2011 passed both 2010 and 2011 for showings.

Nashville Home Showings for December 2011

Why is this important?

What we are seeing appears to be a trend. We first noted in May that appointments to show homes for sale in Nashville had surpassed the previous years totals.

Home sales immedietly began to rise in the months following May.  Each month since then has surpassed last year in home sales. That became a trend and now we have seen that trend grow.

Nashville home owners who want to sell their homes should take note.  Demand is growing.  Likewise if your shopping for a home in Nashville, you’re not alone.

This week we had home buyers from California  visiting Cathy and me to buy a home in Mt. Juliet.  Out of 6 homes we planned to see, two had offers in and accepted that week.

We still found a great home for them and they left with a contract in hand.  But as a home buyer in Nashville, be prepared to bid competitivly.

To search homes in Nashville, we suggest our award winning site, www.NashvilleHomeSearcher.com .  It provides enlarged pics and googles maps/aerial photos of each home so you can get an accurate picture of these homes.

For detailed information, like Foreclosure lists and Short sales, call us or visit our website at www.CathyWood.com.

Home Buyers Having Trouble Locating 203K Loans in Murfreesboro.

Jim Wood

I received a call today from one of my readers. She was calling to let me know that she had tried unsuccessfully to locate a Mortgage lender in Murfreesboro TN who would provide a 203K loan for her on a foreclosure property she had found.

You may recall we had written about the advantages of the 203K   loan which we had used for home buyers in both Davidson and Wilson Counties over the last year.  These loans allowed the home buyers to make repairs and rehab to some foreclosure homes without suffering the out-of-pocket expenses they would have needed.

After setting her up with a 203K provider in Mt. Juliet who could help her, I looked at the reasons why this home buyer was having this trouble.

First, many mortgage providers are avoiding the 203 K  loan because of the additional paperwork needed. Like any government secured loan these loans add considerable amounts of work to the process.  They  also require the lender to ‘get involved”, helping the buyer to identify contractors to do the work.

The simple fact is that over the last few years lenders grew to expect a quick and easy transaction.  That ship has left the port. Lenders need to be more versatile in this market, offering any and every type of loan.

Secondly, many Realtors are also suffering from “easy money”,  disease and also need to admit, times have changed.  In the case of the Murfreesboro home buyer, she had a Realtor, whom had not even tried to explore 203K with the Listing Realtor.

Lastly, and this is a big one, Lenders are reluctant to provide these govt. loans simply because they have a limits on how much the lender is allowed to charge for the loan.

Since most FHA and 203K  buyers are first time buyers, they do not have the kinds of credit ( or funds) that lenders can use to move them into conventional and more profitable loans.

If you, or someone you know, want to buy a fixer-upper, but you don’t have the money for both the down payment and the repairs, call me.  We’ll be glad to work with you to negotiate a 203K type offer on your dream home. Cathy and I have been helping our buyers secure 203K loans since 2009, we were the first in Nashville with this method and we understand how to make it work for you.

Call us with your 203K questions: 615-347-4424.

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Waiting for Next Year to Sell your Nashville Area Home? Don’t Count on it.

Many of you are thinking about waiting to sell your Mt. Juliet, Brentwood or Nashville homes in 2012 when many people think the market for Nashville homes will improve.   According to a board of 110 economists you may be mistaken.

Although the number of homes sold will improve, prices may not.

Zillow asked those economists to forecast home appreciation over the next 5 years.  They estimated that through 2015 Home Prices will see a very modest 1.1 % improvement ( see Chart below), .  More importantly, the current price slippage is not finished.  As the recent Case-Shiller Price Index  revealed, home prices over the last year have fallen 3.8% nationally.

On top of that, Nashville’s Realtors (GNAR) stated recently that our local home values had slid 5% during that period.

“The median residential price for a single-family home during September was $163,000, and for a condominium, it was $144,900.  This compares with last year’s median residential and condominium prices of $171,820 and $155,000, respectively.”

It appears then that Nashville home prices are sliding at a 30% higher rate than the rest of the country.

Why?

Because the Nashville area has been surprisingly resilient, up to now.  However, the glut of foreclosures and shortsales that have bedeviled the U.S has finally come to Nashville.   And remember, one foreclosure can lower home values by as much as 3-5% in your neighborhood.  So if you have decided to sell your home, don’t wait, get it on the market with a good marketing Realtor and price it to sell NOW!

Macro Markets Report November 2, 2011

Mt. Juliet High School Earns Statewide Honors

Principal Mel Brown

This week Mt. Juliet High School was honored by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), as a school that has dramatically improved student achievement. Mt. Juliet competed against al l High Schools in Tennessee to win this honor.

Mount Juliet Tennessee

SCORE is a nonprofit organization. The Chairmen of SCORE is Bill Frist, former Majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Mt. Juliet High School Principal Mel Brown was presented an award in the amount of $10,000 for use by the school to further improve it’s achievements.

Education is taken very seriously in Mt. Juliet, this award is further proof that the people of Mt. Juliet were forward thinking when they built the new high school over the last 3 years.

If you are thinking about a place to live and raise a family, Mt. Juliet is a good one.

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Nashville Home Buyer Appointments For August Maintain Momementum

As many of you know we track the number of appointments made to view homes for sale in the Nashville area.  Over the last few years this has proven to be a very good predictor of home sales activity.

After declining for 14 months Nashville home buyer appointments rose this summer and of course so have home sales.  In August home buyers made appointments to see listings at a rate 20% higher than August 2010.  Although this is still below the 2009 numbers it means that for the fourth consecutive month home buyer activity exceeded 2010.

Nashville Home Buyer Appointments August 2010

Senior Economist Sees Nashville Home Prices Stabilizing

Dr. Frank Nothaft, Vice-President and Senior Economist for mortgage giant, Freddie Mac,

viisted Nashville on Thursday last and spoke with local realtors including Jim and Cathy Wood.

Chief Economist Likes Nashville's real Estate Future

Dr. Nothaft said he expects Nashville Real Estate prices to stabilize over the next several month.

‘Nashville has seen a 10-13% drop in home prices while the rest of the country has seen a 30% price adjustment. More importantly Nashville  Home prices are stabilizing and will rebound slightly in 2012.”

The economist further noted: ” I would put the chances of a Double Dip Recession at about 1 in 3″.

In regard to the future of housing prices in Nashville he said we should expect to see about 1% increase in Nashville home prices in 2012 and a long slow climb up from there.

The main drag on the home market has been the excess of “vacant” homes.  Dr. Nothaft put that excess at about 600,000 homes nationwide, down from a high 2 years ago of 1 million excess vacant homes.

Charting those vacant homes produces a curve that exactly matches the nationwide home market.

Locally Realtors were bouyed by a very satisfying spurt of sales in August. We had predicted that based on the strong showing of Home Buyer Appointments for June and July.  For the first time in 14 months those home showings had risen above the 2010 figures.

To see the Home Buyer Appointment for August click on this Link:

August 2011 Nashville Appointment Numbers.

Dr. Nothaft noted that the main game changer in Housing is unemployment.  55% of all mortgage delinquencies come from unemployment.  Add to that figure, family trouble (divorce) and secondary loans ( Credit Cards) and you have 85% of the reasons for default on american mortgages.

Nashville home buyers should take away from Dr. Nothaft that housing prices may be at the bottom now. Nashville area home sellers should note that they “may” realize a 1 %  price appreciation over the next 12 months.

For additional information on this meeting and the Nashville Real Estate Market- Email Jim@Jimwood.net

Moving to Nashville?  Three Gotchas to be aware of when buying a Home in Tennessee.

1. Who does your Realtor work for?

Unlike most other states ( 42 out of 50) the state of Tennessee allows a Realtor to act as an agent for both the Buyer AND the Seller in a Real Estate transaction.

This is supposed to allow for a “streamlined” or “simple” transaction.

In reality it is an obvious conflict of interest.

This is especially apparent in new home sales in Nashville where people relocating from other states are casually shifted out of their right to be represented by their own agent.

The result is often a muddy transaction where the buyers don’t know or exercise their right to inspection ( yes Virginia, you need to have a new home inspected and you have the right to it), repairs and negotiations.  You can spot these Nashville home owners because they  are the ones with the nagging problems in their new homes after their warranty is expired and the builders realtor has moved on to greener pastures.

Often the poor consumer is led to believe that having one realtor will lower the price of the home.  A misleading and unethical claim.

If you are moving here from out of state. Take full advantage of the law. demand your own agent, one with no conflict of interest. The builder or Seller pays the commission for your Realtor and you deserve an advocate.

1. Is my Earnest money non-refundable?

No. The law permits the refund of Earnest Money ( down payment) and consumer protection in three ways.

In order for the transaction to proceed to closing, the buyer must be satisfied by a) Home Inspection, b) Appraisal and c) Mortgage ability.

If the home has issues in any of these areas, the deal can be called off by he buyer and his earnest money is refunded.

3.Termite Inspection

This year the Yahoos who run the state legislature lost all sense and placed the responsibility for Termite clearance squarely on the back of the Buyer.  What were they thinking? It’s anybody’s guess.

If your Realtor does not address this, you could be looking at either a delayed closing ( if your mortgage provider wants a Termite clearance in the 11th hour) and/or a bill for anywhere between $60 and $175 at closing for a Termite clearance letter that for the last 20 years has been paid for by the Seller.

Worse yet, the Termite inspection could be overlooked and you might be getting something you hadn’t planned on- Termites in the basement.

A qualified agent is your best bet to a smooth transaction and a fair price on your next Nashville home.  Whether your buying a new or existing nashville area home, know your rights.

Jim and Cathy Wood are Local Nashville Realtors who have helped hundreds of families make Nashville their home. Contact them at 615-347-4424

Nashville area Home Sales up in July for first time in 2011

Nashville Home Sellers are Happy!

For the first time in over a year Nashville area home sales increased  over the same month in 2010.

These numbers are considered reliable because the First Time Buyers Tax credit was in effect last year but expired in June.

However, please be mindful that this increase in no way makes up or the large number, 20,000+ of homes on the market. Thats a 10 month supply, which is 40% too high.

A comparison of sales by category for July is:

For more information about The Nashville Real Estate market, contact me at Jim@jimwood.net.

Nashville home sellers have some reason for optimism as home showings in May 2011 rose for the first time in 14 months.  Home showings had been declining since April 2011.

Despite the rise in showings the actual prices of homes for sale in Nashville declined about 1% in May

.

Our conclusion is that 1. Nashville home buyers are coming out BECAUSE the prices are nearing a bottom, and 2. The average Nashville Home Buyer is looking at MORE homes because has so many to choose from.

The taka away here for Nashville Home Buyers is, look for bargains they are out there. For Nashville area Home Sellers, good looking , well priced homes are still selling. get the help of a professional to asses the market for your home

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