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The development that has been put in to the River Tower Condominiums is remarkable. A complete overhaul of the old building with amenities and upgrades all done in first class. The North building was demolished to enhance the view of the North side units. The exterior was redone and painted; they have installed new elevators, done massive improvements to the landscaping over looking Tom Lee Park & the Mississippi river.

Wonderfully located at the South End near the South Bluffs and adjacent to Tom Lee park and the mighty Mississippi River. Easy access to the interstate system going North, South, East or West. Close to dinning and entertainment such as the FedEx Forum, with out being so close as to having traffic or parking issues.

The River Tower is 14…

We will be taking time to doing research and evaluations on various Memphis Condos with an initial emphasis on the Downtown Memphis Condo selections. We have been receiving many inquiries on numerous developments in the downtown area, especially at or near South-end.

There are an array of older, eclectic and some times historical buildings in the process of being renovated in to luxurious condo units. A flavor for every taste. From newer modern facilities with loads of amenities, to older warehouse eclectic, brick condo units with support beams running through them. Some have pools, sometimes indoor (as with the case with the Waterford Plaza); some have underground or covered parking and others do not. You can choose one with a recreational or BBQ area…

Memphis MLS Upgrade Set for April 2007

The Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) is going to upgrade to a new and enhanced MLS system called MLXchange. Originally scheduled for installation in December 2006, the new installation date is now April 2007. This extension will help to ensure a smooth transition among all of the systems that “talk” to the MLS like MAARdata, Homes for Sale™ and SentriLock.

The long and short of it is this will be a much better system. From integration and custom-ability to a much higher level of service capabilities for the general consumer. There will be a test period and then full integration. 

As the new home market continues to grow in Memphis and the surrounding areas, so does the Homes For Sale™ magazine.  Beginning in the first February issue, the addition of the “New Homes and Developments” section will consist of advertisements for new construction developments, new home listings or services pertaining to the sell of new homes and developments.  The new section will immediately follow the classified section and is to be sorted by the same location specific areas with a display ad layout.

This is a long over due feature, but well worth the wait. A certain percentage of buyers  are in the market specifically for a new home and should have easy access to a publication (or part of one) that specializes in the subdivision and new homes…

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       Consumers are greeting the new year with a lot more confidence than they've had in months, which could be good news for the housing market.

       The RBC Cash Index, created by the international polling firm Ipsos, showed U.S. consumer confidence at 95.3 in January. That was up from 86.9 in December and was at its highest since February of 2006.

       The "expectations" index soared to 83.8 in January from 55 in December. This reading was at its highest in more than two years.

       Consumers continue to feel particularly good about the job market. The January reading came in at 126.3, virtually unchanged from December's 126.5, the highest on record.

       "A lot of the fears people had about the economy seem…

        A new article, published last week by CNN and MONEY Magazine
("Tech trends rock real estate world"), would appear to focus on
technology. The real thrust of the article, however, is the way in
which consumers are reshaping the real estate business!

       The recent Real Estate Connect NYC 2007 Conference highlighted a number of Internet-related trends (such as blogs and sites where consumers actually rate REALTORS)  ...demonstrating the growing impact - and power - of real estate consumers:

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       "The rules have fundamentally changed," said Brad Inman, the host of Real Estate Connect and publisher of Inman News. "Social networking is lifting real estate and in the next 12 months it's going to overwhelm real…

The Tennessee Real Estate Commission has postponed their update of broker supervision rules, but removal of the prohibition against cash rebates is expected to move forward.

The second issue still facing the Tennessee Real Estate Commission is the removal of the rule that prohibits the paying of cash rebates to non-licensees. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to threaten that they will sue the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Real Estate Commission if this rule is not removed.

The Justice Department argues that this rule is "anti-consumer."
TAR's position continues to be that the rule is, in fact,
PRO-consumer as it increases the professionalism in the industry.

OK, I throw in the ever loving proverbial towel on this one. I have written…

As of January 31, 2007 mortgage insurance companies will no longer provide MI (Mortgage Insurance) for 100% loans to buyers with scores under 575.  This will impact My Community Mortgage and other programs that allow buyers with no credit scores to get 100% financing.  Final word is not in yet but some MI companies are indicating they will allow only 85% LTV, others 95% LTV and some on the fence as to what they will allow.

This will go a long way to curve and eliminate a great many of the foreclosures that are occurring on a national level at the moment. A great many of the foreclosure properties that are in the pipe line as we speak, are from these type of loans. Of course this does not hinder the 80/20 type loans, but it is my understanding that the…