Your Knoxville Tennessee real estate information source.

Knoxville TN median home prices are on the rise

2008-07-02T17:20:29Z

According to data just released by Eppraisal.com, median home prices are rising is quite a few metropolitan statistical areas (MSA).

The Knoxville, Tennessee MSA is showing a 4.4% increase over the past 6 months earning us a # 47 out of the 188 MSAs calculated.

Quite a change in information from the 'doom & gloom' we're bombarded with hourly from the national media sources.

Your attitude does indeed determine your altitude

2008-07-02T09:26:47Z

I was inspired to write this because of Colleen Fischesser's recent post about getting a grip and a clue about your market.

We all know it's tough to maintain a positive attitude, especially when times are tough (or you think they are).

I was reminded of a post I wrote a couple of years ago about a local radio talk show host, Hallerin Hill (known to us all as Hal) and a chance encounter he had downtown with a 92 year old lady.

Hal had been downtown this weekend to the ice skating rink set up annually on our Market Square Mall. While there he struck up a conversation with an elderly lady watching the skaters.

She told Hal she was there watching her great, great, great grandson skate, was 92 years old and still very vigorous and involved with life; certainly an example to follow.

Hal asked her what advice she had for people who aspired to live long and happy lives.

The main thing she said that stuck with Hal was; "Smile, even when you don't feel like it." and "Always be nice to people."

To me someone that has lived for 92 years is certainly someone worth listening to when they speak about life because they've experienced such a large chunk of it.

I believe this lady offered some great advice a lot of us would be happier (and more successful) if we followed.

Generally people like to be around happy, positive people and real estate buyers and sellers are no exception.

This dovetails nicely with several recent posts about how to be successful; one from Peter Andres and several other dealing with your attitude.

One of my favorite attitude quotes is from Rudyard Kipling: "............Meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same."

My newest favorite quote is: "Smile, even when you don't feel like it."

What's your neighborhood's "Walk Score"?

2008-06-30T07:59:08Z

Here's a quick, easy way to calculate your neighborhood and your home's "walk score". Your walk score is how "walkable" your location is; that is, how quickly and easily you can walk to everyday services such as drug stores, grocery, library, restaurants, dry cleaners, etc.

Visit WalkScore.com to calculate your Knoxville home's walkability index.

Don Anderson, one of my fellow Realtors, crossing a creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a walker/hikers paradise.

We moved to a new home last year and I was delighted to find our new home's walkability was a 66 out of a possible 100 while our former residence only scored an 8. No wonder we used to have to drive so much.

Oakes Daylily Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee

2008-06-28T19:49:50Z

40 acres of blooming Daylilies makes quite a spectacular sight. This past weekend was the annual Oakes Daylily Festival in beautiful Corryton, Tennessee, a charming rural community about 15 miles east of Knoxville.

My wife and I went for a visit yesterday, had a great time, bought lots of Daylilies, and made a few photos.

See more of them here.

Daylilies are the perfect flower for the brown or black thumbed gardener. Easy to grow, hard to kill.

Daylilies like any type of soil, withstand dry or drought conditions well, and are resistant to most insects and plant diseases. I love them and have lots of them planted in my yard and around the house.

Here's a couple of my latest additions we bought yesterday.

This one is called "Prarie Sunburst", a beautiful yellow blossom with a small chartreuse throat.

This is "Red Volunteer", a deep rich red with a yellow throat.

NEWSPAPER AD REVENUE PLUNGES...........Drudge Report

2008-06-22T17:17:18Z

NEWSPAPER AD REVENUE PLUNGES, SPREADING FEAR IN INDUSTRY... DEVELOPING...

Tech Crunch, November, 2007

"Newspaper ad sales continue their long, sad decline, down 7.4 percent in the third quarter."

New York Times, March, 2008

"Newspaper advertising revenue fell 7.9 percent in 2007, the second-worst year in more than half a century, the Newspaper Association of America said on Friday. Those figures include continued growth in online advertising."

Journal Communications, May, 2008

"CHICAGO Journal Communications Inc. reported after markets closed Thursday that its April revenue fell 5.3% to $35.91 million, driven down in part by ad revenue that was off 9.6% at its flagship Milwaukee Journal Sentinel."

Looks like newspaper advertising is still not doing well.Those of you still spending money on newspaper ads might want to take a look at all these stories.

This is for informational purposes only and not a blog so I'm not taking the 200 points for it.

Photoblogging the "Secret City" festival in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

2008-06-21T22:24:28Z

Oak Ridge, Tennessee is a small town about 12 miles northwest of my home.

It's a small town that has done some very big things, i.e. developed and manufactured the atomic bombs that ended World War II, leaders in nuclear research, have one of the 5 fastest supercomputers in the world, and lots of other things we don't know about because a great deal of their work there is highly classified.

Every year they have a festival to celebrate their World War II heritage with the technological advancements that are ongoing within the City of Oak Ridge.

For those non history majors the City of Oak Ridge was only built in 1943 when the United States learned Germany was working on developing their own atomic bomb and knew we had to build one first.

Both the laboratory and the nearby city of Oak Ridge were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in less than a year on isolated farmland in the mountains of East Tennessee. Oak Ridge became a "secret city" that within two years housed more than 75,000 residents. The rest as they say is history.

One of the events in the Secret City Festival is a reenactment of a D Day battle (some great battle footage here) staged by WW II reenactors.

I went over today to watch the action. It was quite a show (noisy show) with about 100 'soldiers' on each side with lots of World War II era equipment including some tanks, half tracks, cannon, and one of the strangest motorcycles you've ever seen.

It was an epic battle that lasted about 45 minutes with lots of blank ammunition being shot, "cannon shells" exploding all around, and lots of great acting.

This is an M5A1 Stuart light tank

Motorcycles like this one carried messages between commanders

This is the grandfather of the current Army Hummer, the Original Jeep

This was the German Army's counterpart to the American Jeep

Some of the "German Army" taking a break between battles.

This is German Army light anti tank cannon

This very strange looking motorcycle is called a "Kettenkrad"; it a cross between a motorcycle and half track. It has a fascinating history. It was abandoned after the war and was used for many years by a farmer in Holland to pull a plow. Tom Arter, a WWII battle re-enactor restored it and rides it in several battles a year.

If you're ever around east Tennessee in late June be sure and schedule a visit to Oak Ridge's "Secret City" Festival; there are event for all ages and the battle reenactment is always a hit. The crowd today was estimated at over 9,000 spectators.

It's not all shooting and war stuff; here's a schedule of events. The headline show this year is a concert by Mary Wilson of the singing group "The Supremes".

Calling all Knoxville area fencesitters; it's time to get down.

2008-06-21T11:05:40Z

Mortage interst rates surged in Knoxville & Farragut Tennessee this past week to a 9 month high of 6.42%.

Some see this as a sign that the Federal Reserve has shifted it's focus from preventing a recession to controlling inflation. Lots of financial gurus predict a rise when the Fed meets again in September.

What does that mean to you as a Knoxville area homebuyer? It means higher payments if you want much longer.

Read all about it here.

Vroom, vroom.......16,000 motorcycles roar into Knoxville.

2008-06-19T12:12:42Z

Yep, that's right, beginning yesterday Knoxville, Tennessee is playing host to over 16,000 motorcycles and their rider(s).

The annual Honda Hoot is underway. the Hoot is an annual party for motorcycle enthusiasts from all over.

However lest that many bikers in one place conjure up visions of Hell's Angels, wheelies, and reckless driving you need to take another look.

The Honda Hoot crowd is more the "born to be mild" set. Their first event of the Hoot last night was an ice cream social instead of a beer bust.

This year's Hoot is from June 18 through the 21st and features lots of events centered around riding your motorcycle somewhere from the nearby Smoky Mountains to the finale, a concert by country music star Wynonna Judd.

Honda Hoot features planned rides every day for all registered attendees. Familiar rides include tours to Cumberland Gap and the "Cherohala Skyway Ride" that climbs over a mile high and snakes through the legendary Deals Gap. New in 2008, the "Bikes and Boats at the Lake" ride will allow attendees to visit Lenoir City for water activities and lunch and the "Capes and Cavern Ride" will provide a day of exploring caves for attendees.

The Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation estimates this year’s entire event will have an economic impact of $23.1 million so Knoxville business owners like the Honda Hoot as does most everyone else in Knoxville.

The “Hoot” was originally for Honda owners but it became very popular very quickly and expanded to include all types of motorcycles. Now you can see Ducatis, Kawasakis, Triumphs, Vespas, and most every other brand of bike ridden today at the Hoot.

Knoxville Tennessee area May 2008 Sales Report

2008-06-16T16:09:34Z

Home Sales Report Beginning 05/01/2008, Ending 05/31/2008

Single-Family Unit Sales by Price
	Bedrooms			Other Statistics
Price	2-	3	4+	Condos Sold	Residential Active	Condos Active
Totals	148	664	258	143	14,650	2,182
Average Price (in thousands $)	88.9	184.7	290.8	165.8	266.1	225.7
Median Price (in thousands $)	77.5	152.4	257.9	144.5	194.9	189.9
Sum Price (in thousands $)	13,161.4	122,659.9	75,030.0	23,710.5	3,898,022.0	492,446.6
$0 - $19,999	9	1	0	0	36	0
$20,000 - $29,999	11	6	3	0	82	0
$30,000 - $39,999	9	16	1	0	161	1
$40,000 - $49,999	9	13	1	2	201	4
$50,000 - $59,999	17	10	0	1	245	4
$60,000 - $69,999	12	15	2	4	348	16
$70,000 - $79,999	8	20	2	4	421	28
$80,000 - $89,999	18	26	1	2	448	57
$90,000 - $99,999	12	18	2	8	455	62
$100,000 - $119,999	12	70	4	28	870	168
$120,000 - $139,999	11	83	14	19	1,238	226
$140,000 - $159,999	9	82	18	20	1,139	214
$160,000 - $179,999	2	86	14	13	1,087	227
$180,000 - $199,999	2	47	23	9	1,036	162
$200,000 - $249,999	1	85	41	14	1,731	336
$250,000 - $299,999	1	29	46	8	1,478	221
$300,000 - $399,999	4	35	42	8	1,597	268
$400,000 - $499,999	1	11	22	2	790	124
$500,000 or Over	0	11	22	1	1,287	64

Single-Family Unit Sales By Days On Market
Time On Market	Units
Units Sold	1,213
Average Market Time	101 Days
1 - 30 Days	237
31 - 60 Days	293
61 - 90 Days	180
91 - 120 Days	136
121 - 180 Days	163
181+ Days	201

Single-Family Unit Sales By Financing
Type	Units
Total

The AFRF (after the fact referral fee) Fairy strike again

2008-06-13T09:12:29Z

After receiving an email from a fellow Rainer about a recent visit she received from the AFRF fairy I thought this might be worth posting again for informational purposes.

You can fight these unjust fees and you can win!

You know the one; that little fairy that flies down just before you close your deal, waves her magic wand, and says: "Excuse me, those are my clients, you own me a 35% (or more) referral fee for the privilege of working with them...............and oh, by the way, if you don't pay me ‘our' clients won't get to collect their relocation benefits."

Congratulations, you've just joined a large and growing group of Realtors who have been forced to pay what is known as an "after the fact" referral fee.

An after the fact referral fee is typically one where a Realtor has either listed the house of a transferring employee or has sold a house to an employee, either a new hire or one being transferred into their area.

Personally I'm OK with paying referral fees if someone actually refers me to either a seller or buyer. However I also believe it's very wrong for the referral fee fairy to swoop down into the transaction at the 11^th hour and demand a piece of the action and often threatening my clients with a loss of their relocation benefits if I don't pay up.

After the referral fee fairy had finally tapped one Realtor too many with her magic wand, some state organizations decided it was time to take action and fight back.

To date I believe around 15 states have enacted some sort of law prohibiting these after the fact referral fees and I'm proud to say I helped get Tennessee's law passed. We were one of the first in the nation to enact a law and have one of the strongest.

In Tennessee it is now illegal for any person or entity to:

Ask or demand any sort of referral fee without "reasonable cause". In order for reasonable cause to exist, the party seeking the referral fee must actually introduce business to a real estate licensee and have a contractual relationship with them or their firm.
Threaten to withhold an employee's relocation benefits because of an existing agency relationship with a Tennessee licensee.
Or, counsel an employee who is currently a client of a Tennessee real estate licensee on how to terminate or amend their agency contract.

After several states got referral fee laws passed the relocation industry decided they needed to get on board for damage control and PR.

The Employee Relocation Council (ERC) http://www.erc.org/ formed a coalition along with the Association of Real Estate Licensing Law Officials (ARELLO) http://www.arello.org/ which has put in place a mechanism where a real esatate licensee can file a no cost, appeal what they feel are unjust requests for referral fees.

All the members of the ERC, which includes large and small relo companies such as: Suddeth, Armstrong, Purdential, PHH, and many others have signed onto the Coalition and agreed to abide by it's guidelines and rulings.

If you feel you've been unfairly or unjustly asked to pay a referral fee for someone you've already been working with you can file a complaint from this ERC website http://www.erc.org/coalition/tax_legal/interchange.shtml which will very quickly be brought to the attention of senior executives of the employee's firm and relocation company management for a resolution. No charge for filing the complaint.

Acccording to their website the new state laws and bad PR they were getting seem to have had the desired effect.

"The results of a Coalition survey of national real estate relocation directors indicated that 63 percent found the number of requests for after-the-fact referral fees had declined in the last year. All those who participated in the survey and had used the Interchange found the results to be favorable. Eighty-five percent of the referral fee grievances that are brought to the Coalition's Interchange are resolved in favor of the complainant. (the complainant would typically be a real estate licensee)

So now if you get a visit from the After the Fact Referral Fee Fairy with a request for part of your upcoming commission you have a means to fight back and protect your hard earned commission.

I'm especially proud of Tennessee for leading the way in getting a law passed to protect our Realtors from this grossly unfair tactic.

This law was passed with RPAC dollars and lots of hard work from a group of Tennessee Realtors so think about that next time someone mentions making an RPAC contribution to you.

5 new rules for today's homebuyers

2008-06-09T09:44:30Z

A recent article in Money magazine lists 5 new rules for today’s homebuyers. After reading the article I found that I agree with all 5 of them.

New rule 1: DO NOT try to time the bottom of this market. We may be there or close already or not. In any instance it’s very unlikely you’ll hit it at the exact bottom. Case in point; several years ago my wife and I decided to refinance our former home in west Knoxville because mortgage rates were falling. I had 5 different mortgage bankers and myself watching the market trying to figure out where the bottom was.

Read the rest of the story here.

Housing bust & Oil boom...both heading for the same fate???

2008-06-07T16:30:30Z

One can only hope.

I just read an article in Fortune Magazine by Shawn Tully, editor at large, who makes a compelling and logical case that oil is headed for the same fall that housing is currently experiening in many parts of the country and for the same reasons; supply and demand.

"So when the economy roared back in 2002 and 2003, builders couldn't turn out homes fast enough for buyers armed with those cheap mortgages. As a result, prices spiked. They no longer bore any relation to the actual cost of buying and improving land, or constructing and marketing a new house (at some reasonable profit margin). Instead, frenzied buyers were setting the price. Because builders were reaping huge windfall profits, they rushed to buy and develop land. And sure enough, those new houses were ready just as buyers were retreating to the sidelines because they could no longer afford to buy a home. That vast overhang of unsold homes is what's driving down prices today. The story is much the same with oil, with a twist."

Very interesting article and worth reading.

I wonder how many will agree with Mr. Tully???

Knoxville preservationist icon honored

2008-06-07T14:24:01Z

Kristopher Kendrick, one the best best known of Knoxville's historical building preservationists, was honored last night at a gathering in downtown Knoxville.

Knox Heritage sponsored the event attended by over 200 Kendrick fans.

Kendrick began buying old buildings in Knoxville and refurbishing them in the early 1970s.

Some of his more notable accomplishment have been Patrick Sullivan's Saloon in the Old City, Kendrick Place Condos on Union Avenue, and the Lord Lindsey Restaurant on West Hill Avenue.

The Lord Lindsey Restaurant & Catering

Knox Heritage President Dorothy Stair said the ordanization will begin offering an annual award for those who preserve local structures of historical or cultural signifance in Mr. Kendrick's honor.

It's "Free Fishing Day" in Knoxville, Tennessee

2008-06-07T13:55:34Z

Ah, fishing.

Just the word conjures up images of sitting under a shady tree along the river bank watching that float for a nibble and enjoying the outdoors.

The only thing that could make that better would be free fishing. That's right, no licenses, no bait to buy, and a free loaner rod & reel if you don't have it.

It's Free Fishin Day in Knoxville, Tennessee. This annual even is sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) at multiple locations all across the state on several weekends this month to introduce kids of all ages to the joys of fishing.

Here in Knoxville The Cove at Concord Park is our location and the TWRA has stocked a huge pond at the Park with hungary catfish just looking for a juicy worm to bite on.

Bait and fishing tackle are supplied at no cost by several area sporting goods stores.

MeMe Reply

2008-06-02T08:58:10Z

1. Who is your favorite musical artist? I have lots of favorites but some 'favorite' favorites are: Elivs (hey, he is the king of Rock n Roll) and The Beatles. I like most every kind of music except rap.

2. Who is your favorite Artist? Augeste Rodin, hands down. I love his "The Thinker" and anyone who would try to cast a piece as big as "The Gates of Hell" has some guts to go along with his incredible talent.

3. Who is your favorite blogger? Besides me? I like Pat Katino and TransparentRE.com.

4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them? Warren Buffett, because he's so often right when others are so often wrong.

5. What did you want to be when you grew up? Lots of things; fireman, policeman, jet pilot, football player, Tarzan, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, my desires changed a lot growing up (which I'm still working on)

6. What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know? For some obscure reason I always found the Pythagorean Theorum fascinating. It's used to ensure right angles in building. The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese both used this theorum in building structures and pyramids.

7. If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why? I like now because there is so much change going on and it's going on so quickly.

8. What is the most interesting job you have ever held? Real estate hands down; it's often too interesting but most every day is still a learning experience.

"txt WHAM 2 555999 411"

2008-05-22T14:40:56Z

"txt WHAM 2 555999 411" means in texting language "send a text message to WHAM at 555999 for information"

At the recent NAR mid-year meetings in Washington I saw several companes that were in the text messaging business geared towards real estate.

www.WHAMMobile.com works like this.

For a show special price of $99.00, good through the end of May, you get a text code number for a listing and a website where you can upload property photos, text descriptions, and most importantly, your contact information.

You then put a sign rider on your listing with a special text code number. The potential buyer in front of the listing texts a code you assign to that listing, i.e. MLS1000 and a text number.

Immediately they get a return text message with photos and information about that listing ALONG WITH your contact information.

The system also captures their phone number so you can follow up with them.

Give it a shot, text WHAM to 555999 and see how fast it is.

Not only is this a way to sell your own listing but it could become part of a powerful seller presentation as a reason why they should hire you to sell their house.

I talked with a nice guy named Seth at www.WHAMMobile, 866-942-6839 who said he would give any interested ARers the NAR show price if you mention my name, so if youre interested tell Seth that Jim sent you.

Texting is now.

Knoxville Tennessee area April 2008 Sales Report

2008-05-20T16:45:56Z

April's figures show a total of 1,144 closed sales in the Knoxville market versus 1,416 sales in April of 2007. That's about a 20% drop in volume.

The median priced Knoxville home this past April was $149,000 vs. $152,000 for the same time period in 2007. That means we're selling more of the less expensive homes.

The average sale price in April of 2007 was $163,600 and $152,000 this April which goes along with the drop in the median sale price.

Read the whole story at: http://www.KnoxvilleTennesseeRealEstateBlog.com

Home Sales Report Beginning 04/01/2008, Ending 04/30/2008

Single-Family Unit Sales by Price
	Bedrooms			Other Statistics
Price	2-	3	4+	Condos Sold	Residential Active	Condos Active
Totals	144	635	218	147	14,579	2,158
Average Price (in thousands $)	90.9	163.6	283.7	164.3	262.7	224.0
Median Price (in thousands $)	79.2	149.0	240.0	142.9	194.9	189.9
Sum Price (in thousands $)	13,093.2	103,862.7	61,843.4	24,153.0	3,829,240.5	483,405.5
$0 - $19,999	4	4	1	0	34	0
$20,000 - $29,999	10	6	0	0	76	0
$30,000 - $39,999	12	15	2	0	149	0
$40,000 - $49,999	8	12	1	0	194	4
$50,000 - $59,999	13	16	1	0	264	4
$60,000 - $69,999	14	19	1	2	350	16
$70,000 - $79,999	12	26	4	6	415	28
$80,000 - $89,999	14	28	3	1	475	63
$90,000 - $99,999	11	31	5	8	459	64
$100,000 - $119,999	13	54	10	29	868	192
$120,000 - $139,999	11	75	15	24	1,215	234
$140,000 - $159,999	6	76	13	26	1,117	205
$160,000 - $179,999	4	57	17	16	1,069	218
$180,000 - $199,999	3	59	11	9	1,058	150
$200,000 - $249,999	7	65	30	12	1,770	325
$250,000 - $299,999	1	48	26	6	1,478	204
$300,000 - $399,999	1	30	38	6	1,558	255
$400,000 - $499,999	0	7	23	1	784	133
$500,000 or Over	0	7	17	1	1,246	63

Single-Family Unit Sales By Days On Market
Time On Market	Units
Units Sold	1,144
Average Market Time	100 Days
1 - 30 Days	253
31 - 60 Days	224
61 - 90 Days	188
91 - 120 Days	130
121 - 180 Days	180
181+ Days	168

Single-Family Unit Sales By Financing
Type	Units
Total	1,144
Cash	146
Conventional	753
FHA	162
Other	59
Owner	1
VA	23

Washington DC, NAR mid-year meetings

2008-05-17T12:30:54Z

The Board of Directors meeting just ended and the annual NAR mid-year meetings are now over.

Your Board of Directors heard committee reports, voted on lots of issues, and honored some of our fellow Realtors both past and present.

The minutes will be available soon www.Realtor.org but until then here's the highlights:

We made some changes in the way we selct canditates for national offices to include more investigation.
Voted to move forward with our National Property Library/Archives and deliver a "Proof of Concept" working model for consideration. Interestingly there was an article about this subject in Inman News yesterday with the same stuff
Support the use of the FHA Mortgage Insurance program to help homeowners refinance their mortgages.
To not prohibit association from establishing satellite offices (service centers) in other association jurisdictions.
Adopted a new, VOLUNTARY MLS policy dealing with short sale compensation to selling agents.
the Professional Standards Committee 'wordsmithed' an amendment to Case Interpreation #12-20, Misleading Use of "MLS" in URL.
The Pro Standards Committee also received the report of the short sale work group and will publish the Short Sale Workflow and Short Sale Blueprint on www.Realtor.org
Increased the number of Directors for the Realtor Information Network (RIN) from 3 to 5. RIN is the NAR owned subsidiary that oversees Move.com and Realtor.com. We (NAR) actually get money from Move.
Hear a report from the Move.com about the new and improved Realtor.com
and a host of other issues covering some 200+ pages of material.

All in all I score this one a successful meeting with lots of good things accomplished.

We also voted not to raise your NAR dues, keeping them at $80.00 a year; I liked that one. ;-)

And NAR adds the following:

Special Report

National Property Repository ‘Proof’ OKd

Directors gave the go-ahead for NAR staff to negotiate with a technology provider to deliver a “proof of concept” working model for a national library/archive of all real estate parcels in the United States.

The library is intended to arm Realtors with a broker-controlled, member-only accessed, one-stop repository of property information to compete against the current availability of such information from a variety of online sources – all of which are accessible to consumers.

Speaking before the Board of Directors, NAR CEO Dale Stinton emphasized that the repository is not a national MLS and, among other things, would not provide offers of cooperation or compensation.

NAR was given approval for start-up funding for the project last year.

The repository would be revenue neutral but may eventually be fee-based to cover operating costs. The association plans to complete the proof of concept as soon as possible, utilizing one or more pilot locations around the country, Stinton said.

Immigration Statement of Principles Approved

To enable the association to represent the interests of real estate as federal immigration issues are debated in Congress, the directors adopted a statement of principles on immigration.

In its statement, NAR takes an interest in immigration issues to the extent necessary to support stable, prosperous, thriving, and secure communities and to enhance the United States as a destination of choice for those seeking to own, transact, lease, and use real property.

In this regard, the association supports the right of foreign citizens to acquire and own real estate and supports the free flow of international capital for real estate and opposes laws that would impede that flow.

The directors also approved support of a federal resolution on securing borders to prevent illegal immigration while allowing for the flow of legal immigrants to accommodate the labor needs of the economy.

On a related matter, the board adopted a policy to support an increase in H-2B Worker Visas to ensure a steady supply of foreign workers to fill employment positions in the United States, particularly the seasonal work needs of resort areas.

Other Federal Policy Positions

The board approved policy positions on a number of federal issues expected to come before Congress. Among them:

*Health insurance: The government should enable affordable coverage that preserves choice without going to a single-payer system or requiring employers to provide coverage.

*FHA mortgage insurance: FHA should be allowed to use its insurance program to help homeowners refinance while safeguarding the FHA mission and minimizing taxpayer risk.

*Environment: Solutions to address pollution and degradation of the country’s waterways should be voluntary, market-based, and supportive of private property rights. Federal water resource policy should take into account traditional state, local, and private water rights and uses.

*Federal transportation funding: NAR set aside specific policies in favor of more board-based goals that are flexible enough to account for changes in travel patterns, shrinking petroleum supplies, and continuing technological innovation.

Association ‘Service Centers’ Permissible

The board clarified that NAR policy does not prohibit REALTORÂ® associations from establishing service centers in other association jurisdictions, nor does it prohibit associations from offering member recruitment dues incentives.

MLS Provisions Recognize Short Sales

In changes to the association’s multiple listing issues and policies, new MLS model rules enable practitioners to alert one another to potential short sales and put them on notice about the sharing of any reduction in gross listing commission required by a lender. MLSs are given the authority to decide whether or not their participants have to disclose reasonably-known short sales.

Another MLS policy change gives MLSs discretionary authority to enable participants to offer cooperative compensation through the MLS as a percentage of the net sale price. The net sale price is the gross price minus buyer upgrades in new construction and seller concessions.

Nominating and Election Process Revised

Among more than two dozen changes to the nominating and election process for NAR leaders, the association will hold a candidates forum at the annual and midyear meetings and create venues for directors to learn about the candidates. Several of the changes require amendments to the NAR Constitution so will come before the NAR Delegate Body at its November meeting. Of roughly two dozen election reform recommendations, only two were defeated by the board: One would have required that when the Nominating Committee interviews more than one candidate and any interviewed candidate who was not nominated chooses to run through the petition process, the committee then must present to the board a rationale for its decision to nominate the chosen individual; the second would have required NAR candidates’ Web sites to include a section for voluntary disclosure of campaign receipts and disbursements.

2009 National Officers Elected

The board elected the association’s national officers for 2009. They are Charles McMillan, CIPS, of Irving, Texas, president; Vicki Cox Golder, CRB, of Tucson, Ariz., president-elect; Ronald Phipps, CRS, GRI, of Warwick, R.I., first vice president; and James Helsel Jr., CRE, CCIM, of Lemoyne, Pa., treasurer.

DSA Recipients Announced

NAR’s 2008 Distinguished Service Award recipients were announced. They are Michael Owen, ABRÂ®, CRSÂ®, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Sally Heimbrook, CRB, CRSÂ®, Beaver, Pa. The DSA recipients will accept their awards at the 2008 Annual Conference in Orlando in November.

Strong RPAC Contributions Reported

REALTORSÂ® Political Action Committee Fundraising Chair Moe Veissi told the board that RPAC was well on its way toward meeting the $10 million fund-raising goal set for this year by NAR President Dick Gaylord. As of April 30, REALTORSÂ® donated $4,559,853. North Dakota is the first state to reach 160 percent of the fair-share goal, Veissi said. Twelve states and territories have already met their RPAC goals.

In a structural change, the board approved the creation of an RPAC Party Coordinating Committee to manage a host of new RPAC efforts, including the Broker Involvement Program and political services to state and local associations. The board also created an RPAC Fundraising Forum to educate and motivate RPAC donors.

Membership Count Expected to Dip

NAR Treasurer James Helsel Jr. said the association has budgeted for a 2009 membership of just under 1.2 million members, a small drop from 2008, and for a 2010 membership of just over 1.2 million members. The association annual dues of $80 will remain unchanged.

REALTOR.COM Changes Create More Value

Errol Samuelson, president of REALTOR.COM, outlined many enhancements to NAR’s official property listing Web site. These include an increase in the number of photos per listing (from one to four) for the basic free listings available to all REALTORSÂ® and neighborhood and school information for each listing. For the fee-based premium listings, practitioners can now get up to 25 high-definition photos and the addition of videos as part of a listing detail page.

Two Legal Cases Funded

The board provided $332,753 to fund two legal cases. One involves the constitutionality of a municipal requirement for a property inspection at the point of sale; the other, treatment of exclusive agency listings by an MLS, including exclusion of such listings from the MLS data feed.

Schwab to Lease Space in Chicago Headquarters

The Real Property Operations Committee reported that a 10-year lease (with two five-year renewable options) has been signed for the retail space in NAR’s Chicago headquarters building with the Charles Schwab Co. This will be Schwab’s flagship location in Chicago.

Report compiled by Robert Freedman, rfreedman@realtors.org, 202/383-1012.

6 Secrets of Internet Home Buying..........

2008-05-10T10:22:15Z

is the title of a great article from U.S. News & World Report posted on Yahoo. Number 6 is my favorite.

Get preapproved before your start looking.
Use the right tools, i.e. search sites. Personally I like my website best for our area searches.
Use several websites to ensure you cover all the homes for sale. My website has all our area MLS listings.
Don't forget FSBOs. Works for me, I typically have a buyer agency agreement so we look at ALL the homes for sale in my area.
Be alert. Some sites offer an RSS feed or email alert for new homes so you don't miss out on a deal. I have that as often as you want to sign up for one.
"Find a good blog. Few resources allow home buyers to take the pulse of the national and local markets like real estate blogs." "By and large, the real estate blogging community understands the dynamics of today's housing market in the way few others do. They've emerged as an important voice on housing issues and a wonderful resource for prospective home buyers."

What a great group of suggestions.

It is probably a good idea to check your websites now and ensure you offer all the features suggested by this article.

10 steps to buying a Knoxville or Farragut Tennessee home

2008-05-01T15:09:23Z

Buying a new home in Knoxville or Farragut Tennessee is easier than you might think.

Find a qualified Buyer’s Representative: Since most of us only buy real estate a few times in their lifetime doesn’t it make sense to have a Buyer’s Representative to provide complete and fair representation for you? The sellers already have a listing agent to look out for their best interests. As an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), I’m qualified to consult with you about buying and represent you in your home purchase.

Read the rest of this information article about buying and request a free "Homebuyer's Toolkit" here

No! No! No! NO!, a thousand times NO!

2008-04-30T16:48:47Z

So yesterday I'm working with a new buyer from out of town.

He was referred to me by his daughter who had bought a home earlier this year.

We looked at about 15 listings and find a great home at what I thought was a great price and are now successfully under contract on this home.

I dropped him at his motel last night and was making sure he had copies of all the documents when he suddenly said: "Oh by the way, Fxxxxxx my listing agent (who is the seller's friend from work and a part time Realtor) told me to give you this and get you to sign it."

Taking the piece of paper I saw it was a referral form asking for a 25% referral fee from me for my sale.

I asked my client if he had read the document and he said no, he had not, his agent/friend just handed it to him and asked him to give it to me.

I then explained how the referral process should work and that his agent/friend had not referred him to me and in fact did not even know my name until my client gave it to him.

I went on to say that his agent/friend was asking for 25% of my paycheck for the privilege of spending the past two days help him find a house. I went on to ask him what he thought of that practice and if he would be willing to do it in my place.

He of course said no, sort of sheepishly took the form back, and said he would return it to his friend/agent and to not worry about it.

I've been asked for "after the fact" referral fees before but this was certainly a new twist.

Photoblogging along the trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

2008-04-28T09:52:27Z

OK, spring fever has finally caught up with me.

For a cure, me and 2 other hiking buds took the day off this past Friday and did a nice 7.5 mile loop trail over in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Cataloochee Valley is a fairly remote part of the park and is tougher to access than most of the rest so it's never crowded. We saw a total of 5 other people all day on the trail. When is the last time you only saw 5 people in 1 day???

Here's a link to my photoblog.

Scenic overlook entering the Cataloochee Valley

Lots of delicate, Painted Trillium was in bloom along a lot of the trail. This a very abundant, springtime flower in the Smokies.

"Double Jeopardy" is not allowed in the NAR Code of Ethics

2008-04-22T21:34:28Z

One of those probably little known facts about how the mechanics of the NAR Code of Ethics enforcement procedures works is that if a grievance is filed against you and the Grievance Committee fails to forward it for a hearing or if you are found to be not in violation by a Professional Standards Committee then you basically can't be subsequently subject to the same (or a substantially similar) ethics complaint.

That "double jeopardy" policy is known as policy # 42 and can be found on page 25 of the 2008 NAR Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual.

Article 5 of the United States Constitution prohibits us from being tried twice for the same offense after acquittal, after conviction, or being subject to multiple punishments for the same offense.

"DOUBLE JEOPARDY - Being tried twice for the same offense; prohibited by the 5th Amendmentto the U.S. Constitution. '[T]he Double Jeopardy Clause protects against three distinct abuses: [1] a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal; [2] a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction; and [3] multiple punishments for the same offense.' U.S. v. Halper, 490 U.S. 435, 440 (1989)."

NAR members can download their own copy here or order a hard copy from NAR for 15 bucks.

Not the most fascinating book I've ever read but certainly a useful one should the need ever arise.

Next..............

2008-04-22T10:42:34Z

I just got off the phone with a very nice lady selling advertising specialty items..........you know, the imprinted pens, key fobs, refrigerator magnets, etc., etc.; all designed to make you tons of money. ;-)

This very nice lady calls me about once a month and has for the past couple of years. I did buy some great pens from her a year or so ago but I'm not what you would call one of her best customers.

This time she was selling keychain flashlights.

"Jim, these flashlights are great and your customers will love them." "You can put 4 lines on them, a lot of my Realtors are putting something like: 'in the dark about buying, call Jim @........', or, 'let Jim light the way to your new........'., you get the idea.

She then went on to say that; "they sell retail in stores for $4.95 but wait, Jim, that's not your price." Your price today is only $2.99 for a minimum order of 75."

I said no.

She then goes on to say if I buy the 75 she'll throw in another 25 FREE bringing my unit cost down to only $2.99 each.

I say no again.

"OK Jim, final offer", she says; "today I do them for only $247.50 including shipping and tax, that's the best I can do."

I say no.

She then says, "OK, you have a great day; I'll talk to you again soon."

Three closes; three "nos", it's time to move on.

The point of me telling you this whole spiel is to demonstrate what a great salesperson this lady is.

Persistent.....yep. Upbeat.......always. Selling.........yep. Presentation........yep, I could visualize the flashlights from her description.

But the best (and most educational) part of her call what that she knew when she wasn't getting the order and disengaged to move on to the next call.

Essentially she said, "Next" and moved on because she realized my business wasn't gettable at that time.

I wonder how much our personal business would benefit if we spent more time developing our "NEXT" skills and learning when to move on because a person we call a buyer will never buy and a seller we thought wanted to sell their house does want to sell but for far more than the market is willing to to pay?

Do you have great "NEXT" skills?

Knoxville Tennessee 1st quarter 2008 sales report

2008-04-16T17:21:26Z

Here's the first quarter of 2008 sales report for the greater Knoxville, Tennessee area

Home Sales Report Beginning 01/01/2008, Ending 03/31/2008

Single-Family Unit Sales by Price
	Bedrooms			Other Statistics
Price	2-	3	4+	Condos Sold	Residential Active	Condos Active
Totals	369	1,493	543	334	18,774	2,636
Average Price (in thousands $)	80.2	158.3	292.4	171.2	256.3	226.0
Median Price (in thousands $)	66.0	144.0	229.9	149.9	189.9	189.9
Sum Price (in thousands $)	29,609.3	236,377.1	158,774.9	57,169.9	4,811,560.7	595,689.2
$0 - $19,999	36	10	2	0	52	1
$20,000 - $29,999	38	22	4	0	152	0
$30,000 - $39,999	31	30	2	0	258	0
$40,000 - $49,999	35	36	2	0	297	5
$50,000 - $59,999	24	40	6	2	376	7
$60,000 - $69,999	29	47	6	5	490	24
$70,000 - $79,999	26	62	10	8	548	36
$80,000 - $89,999	23	56	3	7	586	55
$90,000 - $99,999	25	69	8	14	614	63
$100,000 - $119,999	26	152	24	50	1,160	226
$120,000 - $139,999	22	185	34	56	1,545	276
$140,000 - $159,999	26	196	40	47	1,478	259
$160,000 - $179,999	7	143	37	42	1,343	297
$180,000 - $199,999	5	106	44	23	1,370	196
$200,000 - $249,999	8	160	76	32	2,254	364
$250,000 - $299,999	5	79	66	23	1,858	268
$300,000 - $399,999	2	68	85	20	1,936	333
$400,000 - $499,999	0	21	36	3	957	141
$500,000 or Over	1	11	58	2	1,500	85

Single-Family Unit Sales By Days On Market
Time On Market	Units
Units Sold	2,739
Average Market Time	103 Days
1 - 30 Days	561
31 - 60 Days	519
61 - 90 Days	410
91 - 120 Days	313
121 - 180 Days	489
181+ Days	431

Single-Family Unit Sales By Financing
Type	Units
Total	2,739
Cash	418
Conventional	1,853
FHA	256
Other	140
Owner	13
VA	59