Come one, come all to the Main Street Festival in Downtown Franklin on April 30th and May 1! 

I am in the process of transfering my blog to another platform.  Please check out my full blog at www.LiveinFranklinTN.com. Shortly, I will transfer the www.FranklinTNBlog.com URL to the other site.  Thanks for reading!

This Spring, and by Spring, I mean, from January 1, 2011, or even from December 27, 2011, has felt very active in the real estate market in Williamson County TN, Franklin TN, Brentwood TN and Spring Hill TN being the largest towns here.  Showings have been up, contracts are being written.  The Fall felt slow, though it was in line with recent years numbers.  The Spring felt busy. 

What do the numbers really say?  Well, February turned out to be almost exactly the same as it has been for the last 4 years.  March has seen some increase though and the volume appears to be similar to 2008, though the median and average price ranges are comparable  and even a bit down compared to last year. 

You can see the documentation for February here.

You can see the documentation for March here.

The February numbers for the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors are here. Their current press release is available here.  The GNAR President Alice Walker has some good reminders to us of the changing loan environment we are still in.  Loan costs, rates, and viable credit scores change all the time.  The government is still changing the home buying environment and that creates a challenging atmosphere for making the best decisions. 

For Buyers - there are still low interest rates, and house prices have opened up more options for your money.  With the fluctuating stock market,  investing in housing is investing in something tangible - that you can live in. 

The title of this blog, 2010 Census shows huge growth in Franklin since 2010, reminds me of some of the articles I read about social issues where the research shows what everyone already knew.  If you don't live in Franklin, you might not know this, but to those of us who have lived here these past 10 years, the only news here are the numbers.  We have watched Franklin grow and grow, in many exciting ways, like the interesting people, new home styles, and great shopping, and in painful ways, like roads, and school rezonings.  There have been many growing pains. 

My overall opinion of the City and County's handling of the changes and growth is...  "Good Job!".  There are always things to still fix, but Franklin remains and continues to grow as a wonderful destination for residents and visitors.  Keep up the good work and thanks for the vision! I am thrilled to live here and gladly welcome the approximately 20,000 new residents since 2000. 

Links for more information about the specifics:

The Tennessean Article

Census Details (This link is a bit more general about TN, but you can fish around in Census.gov)

Franklin is all abuzz with the new marquee for the Franklin Theater.  Tomorrow is the lighting of the marquee.  It is Neon lights and as much like the old one as they could get.  They interviewed long time residents and hunted down some photos to make it as much like the original as possible. 

So the party is on in Downtown Franklin TN tomorrow, Saturday, January 29th to light the Marquee.  There will be stores with Champagne, "Cigarette Girls" handing out goodies.  My daughter will be one of them.  It is very fun to see the next generation get involved in fun events with the town.  Lots of restaurants offering "Happy Hour" type specialties to bring in the huge crowds.  The weather should be nice - what a reprieve that will be.  We are looking forward to seeing friends and neighbors and celebrating the fun that is Franklin!

Come on down if you can.  Party starts at 4pm and the lighting is at 5. 

See these articles for more information

Hanging up the Marquee in Downtown Franklin

Making of the Marquee

Detective Work for the Marquee

The Marquee Party!

We have had our second big snow last night.  One thing we like to do when it snows is go downtown Franklin.  Usually the restaurants are open and we like to go to McCreary's Irish Pub.  They had music there last night, and it wasn't crowded.  The snow and downtown and the few people has kind of a magical feel. 

To further add to the magical feel, I get out of the car in front of the Toy Store.  We have a fabulous toy store in Franklin, with wooden trains and cool puzzles, etc.  In the front window of the store is a Power Ranger.  Not just any power ranger, but a life-size one!!  Very Fun!

And across the street, they have installed the new marquee for the new Theater renovation.  They are going to have a "Lighting of the Marquee" on January 29th.  This is going to be a great benefit to downtown.  Kind of the cap on an already cool place. 

When I leave my house, I often see things happening around town that I didn't expect and that bless my day.  One of the first times I thought this, I was driving downtown Franklin and saw a man riding a unicycle, and that led to several interesting people and cars that turned out to be the leftover of the homecoming parade!  Another day a friend and I were eating lunch at the Mellow Mushroom on the square and here comes the Easter Bunny walking down the street.  It was so funny! 

So this week I had two fun sightings.  Taking my daughter to the Factory on Monday evening, we drove into the normally vacant parking lot to see that the lot was full and roped off and all kinds of hulabaloo going on there.  As we looked for parking in the rain, we could see 9 Tour Buses neatly lined up in a row.  They were filming a CMT (Country Music Television) Special and all the award winnere were there singing.  My daughter was hoping for a peak at Brad Paisley or Carrie Underwood, but in all that rain, there was not a chance.  All we saw were the 9 Tour Buses.  :)

Yesterday, I knew that Sarah Palin was town for a book signing for her new book at the Costco in Cool Springs.  It was almost 2:00 when I was getting some gas at Costco, and I could see a small crowd gathering at a Fire Exit door of the Costco.  Since I happened to have my good camera, I decided to stick around to see Sarah Palin, up close and personal.  I am sharing a few photos below.  She was very friendly, hugging a few fans and giving a short interview to a teenager working a project. 

Since I am not traveling much these days, I take adventure when it comes.  And driving around in Franklin TN will inevitably provide something interesting to see.  If you keep your eyes open.

Nashville has certainly evolved in many interesting ways over the years.  It has been such a privilege to live here and watch the changes.  I can't believe it has only been since the early 1980's that the Second Avenue/Broadway area has been so popular. 

Recently the Metro Arts Commission completed a study showing Nashville to be the 4th Highest City in Cultural Vitality.  They looked at the number of artists in all area, music, design, fine art and the number of businesses and venues related to the arts, and these influences put Nashville 4th behind New York, LA, and Washington DC.  You can see the article here.

In January 2008, www.bizjournals.com ranked Nashville as the No. 3 best city in terms of cultural amenities behind New York City and San Francisco.  It is nice that people are taking note of the tremendous cultural options we have in Nashville; music of all kinds, including the amazing Schermerhorn Symphony Hall; fine art from the Frist to the local galleries; dance; theatre; sports of all kinds.

You can see the list of the many awards that Nashville has recently been awarded here.

I have often heard people who move or visit here talk about the creative vibe, creative culture they feel in this city.  That in their home states or cities, creativity is dead, business is down, and the city feels asleep or without energy.  In the Nashville area, there is large business growth as well as continued entrepreneurial growth.  The vibe is healthy and alive and people are drawn to it. 

Come and join us here in Nashville, TN.  Visit Franklin and enjoy the fun and creative energy here too.

The following article is from Realtor Magazine, reprinted from Forbes, Inc.  Look who is #4!!!  We are!  The Nashville, Franklin, Murfreesboro Area!  And we are still having new businesses move into our area.  

The article is actually discussing the best markets for real estate investing.  Even better!  Good places to invest would be those where you might expect to get a return!  

Here is the Forbes Article. 

Daily Real Estate News  |  September 14, 2010  |  

Forbes magazine turned to real estate research firm Local Market Monitor to figure out which markets have the greatest likelihood of price appreciation because they offer a mix of jobs weighted toward growth industries.

These are the top markets, the research company concludes:

1. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.
2. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
3. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
4. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Colorado Springs, Colo.
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.
9. Springfield, Mo.
10. Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (09/13/2010)

The numbers are looking up!  And up is a good place.  There are still buyers and sellers making deals and moving into their next home. 

For August in Williamson County, you can click on this link for the full picture.  The number of closings was up 11%, Median and Average sale prices are both up and the days on market is a tad longer, but not by much.  Could it be possible that we have hit the bottom and are moving up? 

Let's look at the September numbers. They are up about 5% from 2009.  The Median price is the same and the average house price is down.  The average is really a reflection of whether the luxury houses are selling or not.  It looks like some did sell in August, and not so many in September.  The days on the market are lower.  You can check out those numbers here.

The numbers for the Greater Nashville area are not quite as strong.  The area numbers, while slightly up (3%) for the year, the numbers are down for this quarter.  To read the report from the Greater Nashville Association, click here.

If moving is in your future, there are people buying and good houses on the market.  If a move is in your plan - let's make it happen!

Do you ride a motorcycle?  Do you like Hank Williams III and some rock-country music?  Better yet, do you love animals?  The Happy Tales Humane Shelter in Franklin TN is having a Motorcycle event with a concert by Hank Williams III at the Loveless Cafe!  Saturday, September 18th is the day!  Happy Tales is a no-kill animal shelter that has been serving the animals and people of Franklin for many years.

From the Happy Tales Website:

Riders will register at Harley Davidson Cool Springs in Franklin from noon to 2:00 PM on the day of the ride. Destination is the one and only The Loveless Barn in Nashville. Best of all, Hank III will end the day of music with a concert at 6:00 PM. Tickets for the ride and concert are $40 per rider or $50 for a rider and passenger. Also available are concert only tickets for just $20.00. Join us on September 18, 2010 for a fun-filled day of Rock, Rides and Refreshments.

There is always something fun with great music going on around in Nashville!  Come on out to Ride and Rock!