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An interesting article caught my eye today on Yahoo Real Estate from Lisa Scherzer with www.SmartMoney.com concerning Memphis real estate. She writes an interesting article on 5-markets she expects to rebound the best in 2010. Memphis (according to her) will be second only to Tacoma, Washington. With her estimated .99% increase in home prices (yes less <1%) in Memphis for 2010 the claim is that our being a major center of transportation business as the reasoning (specifies FedEx). The basi... Read Full Post

In May I wrote a blog entry outlining the current market effects on a Collierville TN subdivision named Halle Plantation. I recently received a phone call from a young lady with the Halle Plantation Neighborhood Association asking if I wouldn't mind updating the data on the real estate activity. I would be glad to oblige and have some wonderful data to boot. At the time I stated that there were 23 active listings with only five solds in the last 90-days or so; but I mentioned that may be mis-... Read Full Post

Pending Home Sales UP in the South Pending home sales in June increased from the previous month in all four major regions, according to the National Association of REALTORS' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI). The 5 percent monthly gain is the largest since March 2004's 6.1 percent increase. The PHSI in the West increased 8.6 percent to 103.6 but was 5.5 percent below June 2006. The PHSI in the Northeast increased 3.1 percent to 96.0 but is 2.4 percent below June 2006. The PHSI in the Sout... Read Full Post

Two-thirds of mothers with children under the age of 12 today are part of Generation X (those born from 1965 to 1979).1 These are today's 28- to 42-year-old parents who are advertising- and finance-savvy — and who typically have a huge say in home purchase decisions. To better understand this market, take a quick look at these insights. Gen-X moms want homes that emphasize comfort, beauty, high quality and "homeyness."2 The average Gen-X mom spends nearly 20 percent more on luxury goods tha... Read Full Post

Signature Building Group is a premier Memphis new home builder and developer. With numerous subdivisions in the Shelby County, Olive Branch and Southaven, Mississippi areas. Founded in June 2005, Signature Building Group is a partnership between Chamberlain & McCreery, Inc. and Compass Pointe Homes, LLC, two of the Mid-South's most respected home builders. Signature Building Group is building its reputation on quality and value – one home at a time – by building 14 new homes in 2005 a... Read Full Post

LONG- AND SHORT-TERM MORTGAGE RATES REACH 10 MONTH HIGHS Nationwide, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.53, for the week ending June 7th, up from last week's 6.42%. The 30-year FRM has not been higher since the week ending August 10, 2006, when it averaged 6.55 percent. The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 6.22%, up from last week’s 6.12%. One-year “T”ARMs were up at 5.63% and five-year “T”ARMs averaged 6.20% up from last week’s 6.19%. "Mortgage rates climbed this wee... Read Full Post

On a more relaxing and hobby note: Everyone needs hobbies, activities and enjoyment in life other than their work, profession or jobs. Of course Katharine and I (Ed Pierce) have five children between the two of us, so there is plenty there to keep us busy. However, we enjoy playing Texas Hold-em in the low limit tournaments, dinning & movies and the like AND competitive BBQ Team competitions like the World Championship, Memphis In May BBQ Festival. The general concept sounds really off th... Read Full Post

The Memphis Area Association of Realtors has begun the soft opening of a dedicated website for listing and searching for open houses in the Greater Memphis area. With the Internet age upon us, open houses have become a less important and affective tool for selling homes. Even when they worked , it had a greater benefit of the listing agent gathering new potential clients then it do to actually sell that particular listing. With all that said; there is still a demand by the public for open hou... Read Full Post

As challenges in the industry seem to increase almost daily for our REALTOR members, the just-released 2007 Profile of NAR Members across the country shows - among other findings - that median income for REALTORS is going DOWN. The typical REALTOR is: -- 51 years old, -- works 40 hours per week, and -- had a median income in 2006 of $47,700 ...DOWN from $49,300 in 2004 (which had ALSO gone down from 2002). Members licensed as brokers earned a median of $73,700 last year, while sales agents ea... Read Full Post

I have been stating that the Memphis area real estate market has picked up in the last few months and appears to have a decent amount of steam behind it. Well, let's take a look at a favorite subdivision of mine located in Collierville called Halle Plantation. The Collierville real estate market is different than the Memphis market, but still will show similar signs in some respects. Currently there are 23 active listings in Halle Plantation ranging from $325,000 to $645,000 and 2600 square f... Read Full Post