Blog Archives - Page 96 of 128

The Hot Season To Buy Or Sell A Home In Knoxville Is Upon Us!

March 19, 2014 By Troy Stavros

Whether you are in a warm weather market, cold weather market, or a high tourist seasonal market, you will see the hot time of the year to buy and sell a home ebb and flow throughout the year. There will be times of the year that will slow down and others will take off. Locally, we are about to step into the busiest time of year to buy and sell a home in Knoxville. As evidenced by the graphics below, we typically see a drop in sales volume, sales price, and inventory throughout the winter months. Then once we hit February or March, the trend does an about face and the number of homes sold increases, along with the prices of those homes and the number of homes available.

What does this mean for you?

If you are looking to sell a home in Knoxville, there is good news and not so good news. The good news is, the odds of selling your home will increase along with the odds of selling it for a higher price. The not so good news is you will have more competition.
Seller’s takeaway: Get your home on the market as soon as possible, before more competition hits the market alongside of you.
If you are looking to buy a home in Knoxville, the good news is you should be seeing more options hit the market as inventory increases. The bad news is that you will most likely be looking at higher prices and more competition for homes as well.
Buyer’s takeaway: Start looking today and when you find the right home don’t mess around. Waiting too long or submitting low offers will invite additional offers in to compete against you.

If you are even considering buying or selling a home in Knoxville in the near future, contact me, Troy Stavros with Gables & Gates, REALTORS, to sit down and plan out your strategy for achieving your Knoxville real estate goals. I look forward to talking with you!

VIDEO: Historic Homes of Knoxville

March 17, 2014 By Troy Stavros

Knoxville is home to all different kinds of homes and as a REALTOR, I’ve been in quite a few of them. While I don’t always get to know the stories of the families that own the specific homes for sale in Knoxville, the history of a home can make it unique and actually add value. This is one of the reasons I like to have my clients who are selling homes in Knoxville write a “What We Love About This House” note. It gives a potential buyer a glimpse into the history and life of a house that they might not get a chance to see otherwise.

There are some great stories to be found within the Historic Homes of Knoxville. Stories about families, stories about soldiers, history of not only Knoxville but Tennessee and the United States. If you have an opportunity, you should take the time to visit these historic Knoxville homes and learn the rich history that was birthed within them. The video below will give you a good introduction and possibly spur you on to visit in the near future.

What Are The Recent Price Trends For Homes In Farragut?

March 12, 2014 By Troy Stavros

The graphs below show the recent trends in average prices of homes in Farragut, Tennessee. By looking at the trends of active and sold homes in Farragut we can get an idea of whether prices are trending up or down.

This first graph looks at the active homes for sale in Farragut and how their average prices are trending. We can see that prices of homes for sale in Farragut are most definitely trending upwards at a fairly steady pace with the average list price rising significantly over the last year.

861205.18,863728.96,834998.60,849820.01,892761.57,834472.39,887016.22,879162.06,970087.40,973357.85,970080.70,965483.40

This second graph looks at the homes sold in Farragut and how their average prices are trending. Sold prices of homes in Farragut are also up from one year ago, but stayed fairly steady between July and November. The drop in the winter months is typical of the winter months but you can see that prices are gaining fast on the highs from the last year and will most likely surpass them with the hot Spring selling season upon us.

What does this tell us? For sellers, this is good news, as prices are rising. Therefore, it’s a good time to be selling your Farragut home for top dollar. If you are looking to buy a home in Farragut, the time is now, as continuing to wait will most likely have you paying higher prices. Couple this with what economists say will also be rising interest rates and that spells less affordability in the near future. To discuss your goals for selling a home in Farragut or buying a home in Farragut, contact me, Troy Stavros to set an appointment to sit down and plan a strategy.

Knoxville #5 On Forbes List Of America’s Most Affordable Cities

March 12, 2014 By Troy Stavros

Knoxville, Tennessee is once again getting more attention in the national media. A recent article by Forbes listed Knoxville as #5 on their 2014 America’s Most Affordable Cities list. The reasons cited by the article leading to Knoxville’s ranking are:

A median home price of $140,000 (from the 4th quarter of 2013) which makes 77.4% of home affordable to families earning the local median income of $60,700.
Overall cost of living. The dollar goes a lot further in Knoxville. Not only in real estate but at places like gas stations and grocery stores as well. Of all of the cities analyzed by Forbes, Knoxville came in as the most affordable in terms of daily expenses.

Interested in taking advantage of the affordable housing here in Knoxville? Contact me, Troy Stavros to discuss your goals for buying a home in Knoxville.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE FORBES ARTICLE

What Will A 1% Difference In Your Mortgage Rate Save You?

March 11, 2014 By Troy Stavros

If you are in the process of buying a home in Knoxville or at least thinking about it, financing is also on your mind. Unless you are planning to pay cash, you’re going to want to find the best deal and the lowest mortgage rate. Knoxville mortgage rates can vary from lender to lender and also vary widely according to the type of mortgage and the length of the term.

“Although the difference in monthly payment between a 4.5 percent interest rate and a 5.5 percent interest is not as dramatic, your savings in interest paid over the life of the loan is significant,” said Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. “Mortgage rates will likely rise to 5 percent by the end of 2014 due to an improving economy and policy changes by the Federal Reserve. By buying a house while interest rates are still incredibly low, you could end up saving more than $52,000 over the course of 30 years.”

Image by Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Knoxville Makes CNNMoney’s Top 10 Fastest Growing Cities List

March 3, 2014 By Troy Stavros

More positive news for our great city. Knoxville made the CNNMoney Top 10 Fastest Growing Cities list.

The article showed that Knoxville has grown 33.1% in the timeframe between 2000-2010. The biggest factor of it’s growth, as mentioned in the CNN article is that Knoxville currently has the best employment outlook in the nation. Staffing firm ManpowerGroup stated that 25% of the Knoxville area employers said they expect to add jobs this spring.

The second big factor leading to the areas growth is the fact that Knoxville has excellent transportation options for large businesses. The article cited the areas rail system, interstate roads, and the ability for barge traffic on the area waterways.

Other factors stated, that not only make Knoxville grow, but also a great place to live are:

Low cost of living
Low crime
Good public schools
Abundance of outdoor activities (mountains, lakes, streams, etc)

CLICK HERE to read the complete CNNMoney article.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in this great city, just contact me, Troy Stavros to sit down and talk about your goals.