Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Tennessee > Memphis
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-22-2016, 09:39 PM
 
11 posts, read 18,720 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

We have resumed planning our move to the Memphis suburbs after a 2+ year delay for personal & professional reasons. I have been doing a lot of reading and internet research in an attempt to get myself back up to speed with all the local changes since 2013, primarily regarding the Shelby County/municipal school resolution. I have noted that over the past three years overall Germantown property values have steadily dropped, while Collierville values have seen slight increases year over year. I would like to know why this is occurring, as it is my understanding that Germantown still enjoys the benefit of an established, stable population, a prudent city government and excellent public schools. Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-23-2016, 08:15 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,906,297 times
Reputation: 331
I would pick Germantown over Collierville anyday. Germantown is steady, I've never heard anything about property values declining at all. Where did you read that?


Collierville has more new builds, McMansions - probably raising the prices. Germantown doesn't have much more land to build on.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2016, 10:52 AM
 
188 posts, read 369,641 times
Reputation: 234
Germantown property rates on the western side is going way up because they are all now zone for Houston High. The eastern side may be hurt a little because of that fact. Collierville just keeps going up.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2016, 03:23 PM
 
11 posts, read 18,720 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you both for your reply. I've looked at several sales data aggregators including the MAAR MLS and the FHFA. They show a drop in the sold price of Germantown single family homes of ~2.5-4% over each of the last three years. Collierville has seen a minimal increase of ~1-1.5% per year over the same time. As of today, the average price per square foot remains slightly higher in Germantown than Collierville, but the overall trend is what I am curious about. These numbers reflect total sales citywide, not any particular part of town or price range.
Are you implying that the property values on the eastern side of Germantown are falling, dragging the city average down? It was my understanding that the GMSD high school was now Houston and any child living within Germantown city limits would be eligible to attend.

Last edited by ACKmama; 03-23-2016 at 03:48 PM.. Reason: correction
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-24-2016, 07:30 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,906,297 times
Reputation: 331
Houston High is only for Germantown now. I think the Collierville kids who were already there may have been grandfathered in and allowed to stay, but I'm not positive of that.


I have no clue why property values would be declining, other than it's some fluke or play on numbers. There is absolutely nothing going on and Germantown is still the go-to place to live for people.

The only thing I can think is that many families live in Germantown for 30+ years and own their homes for that long...when they die, the homes go for sale and still have the décor of the 1970's. I see many non-updated homes for sale. Collierville is a much newer suburb and wouldn't have that problem (yet). It could be that there was simply an influx of homes for sale in Germantown the last few years, and because many weren't updated, it caused the overall values to decrease.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-24-2016, 04:47 PM
 
74 posts, read 150,076 times
Reputation: 35
Question WHERE are the railroad tracks in Collierville?

While reading through many past threads, I ran across one that discussed living below the railroad tracks and how bad that is because the area isn't as nice.

Where are the railroad tracks?


Here is an example of the thread:

It's been that way forever. Even in the historic part of Collierville, the better parts of town were north of the tracks. Take a drive just south of square and you'll see the old rundown shotgun houses. Add to that fact, in the larger metro area, everything south of 385 is a bit of a mess, whereas Gtown, to the North, remains very nice. You can scream racism all day long, but it'd be hard to argue that Germantown isn't a lot better than Hickory Hill, and for those of us who've lived here for many years, it's pretty easy to remember watching decline spread from Whitehaven to Hickory Hill to Southwind. That's not to say race isn't a factor, but nobody wants to buy a house what's perceived as a declining neighborhood. I would also add that, to my eye anyhow, South Collierville, while certainly not a bad neighborhood, doesn't look as inviting or polished. They have a big Pepsi Plant and a Harley Dealership and that enormous Carriage Crossing mega strip mall thing. The other side of Cville is more residential and quieter.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-25-2016, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Memphis
120 posts, read 267,068 times
Reputation: 70
In Collierville, the tracks basically run parallel to Poplar. I have no idea what the math says about home values.

I live in a small subdivision off Byhalia north of Poplar. A house listed for sale for $308k (~$95/sq'). It was sold three weeks later. I'm waiting to see when the sale hits the assessor's office to find out what the actual sale price was.

Key is that it was listed and gone in three weeks. I may be overgeneralizing but that does not support the conjecture that real estate prices are declining. A year ago, my, new to me, house was on the market for about that much time before I made an offer. It was built in 1988 and over that span of time has averaged about 2.5%/yr.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-28-2016, 07:29 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,906,297 times
Reputation: 331
The perception that "south of the tracks" is "bad" in Germantown and Collierville is total BS. I don't know how that lie got started in the community, but it's total bunk. I have a feeling some builders started promoting that in order to get their own McMansion neighborhoods to sell quicker and for more money. Or, snobby suburbanites who want people to think they are better than those people "on the other side."
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-06-2016, 08:35 PM
 
11 posts, read 18,720 times
Reputation: 10
londonbarcelona: If you look at any map (of Memphis, its suburbs or anywhere else in the US) railroad lines are indicated very clearly by a single gray line marked with small perpendicular dashes reminiscent of railroad tracks.

pappy35 & Cristen, I - the OP - was curious about the city to city comparison and if their was any broader trend that might explain the differing sales prices for the two towns. A Germantown renovation wouldn't put us off if we were investing in a city that would hold its value over time, but would we be in the minority? We currently live in an area with virtually no new construction, however buyers regularly completely renovate turn-key homes to their taste because they buy for the location. Do people in western Tennessee prefer turn key homes to the point that they would simply move to another city? Collierville tract housing isn't as appealing to us aesthetically, but curious if the property values are holding/increasing as a result of outmigration from the west (i.e. Memphis & Germantown) for whatever reason, and whether that is something we should bear in mind.
See this article: Shelby County Population Continues Its Exodus « Smart City Memphis
Thanks again for your thoughts!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-07-2016, 07:18 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,906,297 times
Reputation: 331
You will always find people wanting the "new and cool" thing. Right now, that is Collierville. People will sense and who aren't trying to keep up with the Jones' aren't following along like sheep with that. There are pros and cons of every area, but any place that sports so much new-build tends to be more of a trend and not a stable area.


Memphis is becoming a really popular place to live, especially midtown. Housing prices are going way up.


Germantown will always be "old money" so I don't see values ever going down. Bigger houses, bigger lots, bigger trees, the best schools, stable old government. I think I mentioned, people who live in Germantown tend to live there for many decades, so you aren't going to see a huge number of house flips. I'm sure people who buy there renovate their own homes, but then they continue to live in them. That's probably why you don't see a ton of "flipped" houses for sale.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Tennessee > Memphis

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top