Maryville or Blount County relocation (Greenback: for sale, real estate market, 2014)

[linnemj]

I appreciate everyone who provides such good information about the area!

We are a retired couple who love outdoor activities.

My wife and I are planning on moving in early 2014 and we are drawn to Maryville and Blount County areas. We will be looking for a single floor home around 2,500 square feet with a budget of $275K. I would love a mountain view. We have looked at neighborhoods in Maryville and several developments in the county. This week we toured several developments (Majestic Mountain, Smoky View) and saw no new homes built in the last 24 months. Is this because of the many homes for sale in the area?

Any recommendations on where to look? What are the costs and benefits of living in the city?

Thanks!

[Barking Spider]

The economy for the past three years is probably the main reason for not many new homes built in the last 24 months.
You should be able to find something you like within your budget.

[hiknapster]

There is some place in this country that has a lot of homes built in the past 24 months?

[DaveC20853]

If you can live with "not new", here's something with mountain views that meets your other criteria in the city of Maryville: Listing #796196&

Here is the sites main page that you can use for searches. Many ways to refine your criteria. Find Homes By Area

[Barking Spider]

I have inspected a few new homes in Maryville in 2012. They were in the city of Maryville though. What I meant was I haven't seen a lot of sub divisions being developed in the past couple of years - not like 4 years ago.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Barking Spider

I have inspected a few new homes in Maryville in 2012. They were in the city of Maryville though. What I meant was I haven't seen a lot of sub divisions being developed in the past couple of years - not like 4 years ago.

I know what you mean and realize you have a very good understanding of the housing market in the area. I was commenting on the OP's surprise. The recession hit all of the US - and the world - and this area came out of it relatively unscathed compared to most places.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by linnemj

I appreciate everyone who provides such good information about the area!

We are a retired couple who love outdoor activities.

My wife and I are planning on moving in early 2014 and we are drawn to Maryville and Blount County areas. We will be looking for a single floor home around 2,500 square feet with a budget of $275K. I would love a mountain view. We have looked at neighborhoods in Maryville and several developments in the county. This week we toured several developments (Majestic Mountain, Smoky View) and saw no new homes built in the last 24 months. Is this because of the many homes for sale in the area?

Any recommendations on where to look? What are the costs and benefits of living in the city?

Thanks!

You may be looking in the wrong area(s) because there still are new houses being built all around. What isn't happening is the larger scale whole subdivision building of 5 years ago before the national collapse of the real estate market. Builders here were smart enough for the most part to stop building as demand from new residents ceased instead of putting up spec houses hoping someone would buy them. Now builders are adding on a house here and there and lots are still available in many of those subdivisions. Quite a few of those new homes appear to be above your price point though. Location has always come at a premium in real estate and it is no different here. Those mountain views will be easier to find, and less costly, outside the city.

Here are just 2 that fit your requirements of "newness," size, price, single floor and mountain views that I found with a very superficial search in another part of the county:

Listing #822446

Listing #819844

Here's a similar to be built offering: Listing #819908

The cost of living in Maryville City limits is really just the level of taxes, which are very roughly double that of an equivalent home outside the city limits. The benefits are better schools, trash and recycling pickups. Many people with school age kids look to stay in properties within the city limits so generally the housing prices are a little higher and the property size is a bit smaller. Those boundaries can meander quite a bit in places so you can still be fairly close to downtown and be in the county. For someone retiring those benefits are less pronounced since garbage pickup is not very expensive to arrange and recycling is easy to drop off.

Good luck with your search.

[linnemj]

Thanks for your responses! The only advantage that my wife and I can see by living in the city is the availability of the walking trails and being closer to shopping and the library. We are not too sure if paying double the taxes is worth it.

So far we seem to like the southern end of the city and that part of the county as well as out in Walland. Are there any other areas you think we should look at?

[J&Em]

I can't make additional recommendations without knowing what was right or wrong with the first two linked prospects in my last post. I'm not really good at mind reading. Too far out? Not the right sized property? Not close enough to neighbors? House style?

The only additional area that is close to Maryville with some of your criteria might be some parts of Greenback. There are also several subdivisions within a mile or less of the Foothills Elementary school which have lots of spaces to build your own home where I keep seeing new homes going in one at a time but they don't have mountain views.

[linnemj]

The properties that you linked are what we are looking for. At this point, I am not so interested in specific properties as I am neighborhoods or areas to focus on. We are not relocating at this time but would like to narrow our search areas.

My best guess it that we will sell our house in N Mississippi and then end up in a short term rental so we don't have to rush our decision.

We do appreciate all the help and comments made in this forum.