Memphis' Blog: All Categories

The Tennessee Association of Realtors is working hard to amend septic law.

       As most REALTORS know, in 2006 legislation was passed that made it a criminal activity under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, in advertising a property, to misrepresent the number of bedrooms for which a home's septic system has been permitted by the local health department. The legislative intent in 2006 was to place this requirement on NEW construction only. SB 1205 restores this legislative intent.

       Thus far there has been near universal support for the legislation. The one group that expressed concern with the altered law was the Department of Environment and Conservation who briefly wanted the law to continue to say that it should be a crime if the real…

    ...and your prospective buyers, among others, may feel the pinch!  While offering Memphis real estate investors another avenue for their over all portfolio.

This will and is currently having an immediate impact on the sub-prime market here in Memphis. Memphis has a higher percentage of "credit challenged" buyers than most U.S. cities of similar size. The hardest hit areas are going to be the higher REO areas. These areas will end up having a higher rental property rate than even before. Another product will be the "lease to own" with no credit check at higher interest rates. Because the buyers that were getting in to these properties after investors went in and renovated them, were the folks using the mortgage products listed below.

   Memphis real…

The Conference Board, a private research group, said consumer confidence rose in February to its highest level in more than five years while the Commerce Department reported demand for big-ticket manufactured goods fell by a sharper-than-expected 7.8 percent in January, the biggest drop in three months.

The New York-based Conference Board said its confidence index increased to 112.5 this month, a bigger than expected rise from a February reading of 110.2. The gain reflected increased optimism about jobs and business prospects.

This is good news for real estate in general. With an increase in consumer confidence should come a gradual increase in consumer spending on larger items such as cars and homes, second properties, etc. The impact on Memphis real…

Sales of existing homes rose in January by the largest amount in two years, raising hopes that the worst of the severe slump in housing may be coming to an end. Median home prices, however, fell for a sixth straight month.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes rose by 3 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 3.3 percent advance in January 2005, a time when housing was roaring toward the peak of its five-year boom.

This is hopefully a sign of the bottoming out of the "slump".  I believe we still have a glut in the Memphis new homes inventory, which has a good and bad side to it for the short term. If you are a buyer, you have plenty of choices and in some cases higher than normal…

Memphis has a very high percentage of HUD loans as compared to the rest of the nation, so this news is a very welcomed one.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not seek a zero-down payment option as part of its Federal Housing Administration reform package, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson has told a congressional panel. "We will remove from the legislation the zero down payment," Secretary Jackson told House appropriators. The HUD secretary noted that there is resistance in the Senate to the zero-down option, and he has agreed to maintain a minimum down payment. "Whether it is 1% down or 2% down, there should be something paid down to give the people incentives to make sure they understand what it takes to be a homeowner," Mr. Jackson…

NEW ECONOMIC NEWS ALLOWS MORTGAGE RATES TO SLIP FOR SECOND WEEK IN A ROW

Nationwide, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.18%, for the week ending March 1, down from last week's 6.22%.  Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.24%.  The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 5.92%, down from last week’s 5.97%.  One-year “T”ARMs were unchanged at 5.49% and five-year “T”ARMs averaged 5.93% down from last week’s 5.96%.

"Mortgage rates drifted lower this week largely on the basis of new economic information suggesting a slower economy and lower inflation," said Frank Nothaft , Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Real GDP growth for the last quarter was revised downward to a 2.2 percent annualized rate, compared to the 3.5 percent…

       Bizjournals.com, the Web site of American City Business Journals Inc., identified 100 cities nationwide where the number of residents over 65 has increased rapidly in the last five years. The business-newspaper chain compared 938 markets in eight statistical categories, to come up with a list that includes communities all over the country, from the beaches to the mountains and everywhere in between.

       EIGHT (8) Tennessee markets made it into the top 100 list:

•        Crossville, TN - 4th in the nation!
         Sevierville, TN - 57th
         La Follette, TN - 64th
         Kingsport-Bristol area - 70th
         Harriman, TN - 78th
         Paris, TN - 80th
         Morristown, TN - 84th
         Greeneville, TN -…

       Approximately 100,000 builders descended upon Orlando, Florida, recently for the International Builders Show! [If you're keeping track of numbers, that's FOUR TIMES the size of NAR's recent 2006 Convention in New Orleans!]

       For the first time in 24 years, TWO official showcase homes were unveiled at the how. In addition to The New American Home, which has been a traditional showpiece since 1984, the 2007 show also featured The Renewed American Home. The homes were built on adjacent
lots in a historic district near downtown. Both homes were built on urban infill sites, illustrating how builders could revitalize an older neighborhood.

       To see photos and specs of both homes online, go to: Read Full Post