Knoxville housing market on the rise (Memphis, Oak Ridge: best cities, for sale, real estate market)

[jimlee]

"In a six month analysis of median sales price fluctuations, eppraisal.com ranked the following metro areas. Those areas with the greatest increase in home values are ranked highest."

Eppraisal National Metro Area Rankings

Some counterpoint to the continual "doom n gloom" news the media seems to delight in delivering on an hourly basis.

Knoxville's median priced homes showed a 4.4% increase in price over the past 6 months coming in # 47 out of 88 national metro areas ranked.

[Beretta]

Jim,

Thank you for the information. Do you happen to have any information for Maryville?

Thanks,

SMG

[jimlee]

The numbers used included the whole metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) surrounding Knoxville which would include Maryville, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, and the other near by areas.

Sorry.

[Bob Hamilton]

I agree with Jim ! Knoxville and Maryville are only 9% off from last years record while Fl. and Ca. are 33-34 %. We are 43rd in the nation on best places to live. Business is picking up !

[oldmanbob]

Thanks Jim, I agree also, we are not letting the media ruin our area, and sales are up, and for the Realtors that are wanting to stay busy, are just working more intelligently.

[mmw]

Thanks for the update and positive news regarding the housing market. The media is nothing but gloom, and truthfully, I'm tired of hearing it! Why can't they give something positive???!!

Thanks again, it gives "us" (the ones hoping to make a move to TN very soon), some insight to the real estate market.

[jimlee]

"Why can't they give something positive???!!"

Because apparently readers prefer bad news and doom and gloom over reality and positive happenings.

I was in Atlanta for the annual 4th of July Peachtree Road Race, a 10K race with 55,000 participants and an estimated 250,000 spectators lining Peachtree Road cheering us on. No doom and gloom there, just a huge bunch of excited people cheering for strangers and celebrating the birthday of our nation and its freedoms.

The Atlanta Track Club even had special Peachtree races in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan for military. Because of the time difference they finished over there long before we started and got official Peachtree T-shirts too.

The media loves to talk about the "national real estate market" when in truth there is no such thing as a national real estate market but rather a huge bunch of local markets made up of large metro areas. Each is different and each has its own housing market. Some are good, some are bad.

Knoxville's is not bad right now. It's certainly been better in the past but it has certainly been worse too. Overall we've seen slow, steady growth and appreciation in Knoxville real estate over the past 20 years and I expect this year to be no different.

Here's some good news about Knoxville to think about next time you pick up a newspaper or turn on your television:

• 2008 - Knoxville ranked 4th on the "Best Cities for Relocating Families" list for Mid-Size Markets. Source: Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation May 2008 (http://www.primacy.com/resources/BestCitiesFamily2008.pdf#page=2 - broken link)

• 2008 - Metropolitan Knoxville named No. 10 on the list of Forbes Magazine "Best Places for Business and Careers." Source: Forbes Magazine March 2008 (http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/03/19/best-business-cities-biz-bestplaces08-cx_kb_0319places_land.html - broken link)

• 2007 - Expansion Management magazine named the Knoxville Metropolitan area 3rd among all mid-sized cities in the nation in its annual "Best Metro for Business and Expansion" competition. Source: Expansion Management Magazine August 2007.

• 2007 - Boating Life Magazine named Knoxville as one of the "10 Best Places to Live And Boat." Source: Boating Life Magazine July 2007 (http://www.boatinglife.com/article_content.jsp?ID=52931 - broken link)

• 2007 - Metropolitan Knoxville named No. 5 on the list of the best metro areas for business and careers by Forbes Magazine. Source: Forbes Magazine April 2007.

• 2007 - Knoxville ranked 1st on the "Best Cities for Relocating Families" list. Source: Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation May 2007 (http://www.primacy.com/primacy_americas.asp?Language=EN&ID1=Primacy+Ameri cas+Home&ID2=Primacy+News&CategoryID=1&NewsID=120 - broken link)

• 2007 - Expansion Management magazine named Knoxville one of "America's 50 Hottest Cities," cities that are best places to expand or relocate a business. Source: Expansion Management Magazine February 2007.

[gemkeeper]

It's great to see all of these positive reports on the Knoxville area. Although, I must admit as a buyer, I would like to see them not bounce up too fast!

But, this certainly sounds very encouraging for the Knoxville area. It's wonderful to read something postive and hopeful for a change. It sounds like it is getting close to pouncing time! Thank you, gentlemen.

[901]

Hey guys, coming from somebody who has spent two weekends in June house hunting in Knoxville, I can tell you the markets in both Knox and Blount counties are not in horrible shape. There were houses we looked at that had people outside waiting for us to get finished so that they could have a turn. We were on our way to see a house, & our agent got a call en route that the house had just gotten a contract put on it. I can tell you though, these comments are directed toward houses that are adequately priced. They seem to be getting snatched up right and left. We looked at a lot of homes that weren't updated, some even unclean that had exorbitant prices for what they were offering, banking I suppose on their neighborhood or school district. We saw some wonderful, well cared for houses for sale. And then...we saw some older (I mean from the 1970's, not historic exactly, but getting there!) homes that had incredible potential, but still had their lime green shag carpet and gold appliances. I love a diamond in the rough, but in some parts of west Knoxville, those houses were up to $100000 dollars more than beautiful rehabbed ones that were in different neighborhoods. No, Knoxville appears to be doing well, considering!

[Nancy Minton]

Dear 901: I know that houses in the area are mixed - I showed one the other day and came out covered with fleas! Sometimes homes in wonderful condition and homes in terrible condition are just around the corner and are similarly priced. It's not always easy to tell from pictures - you just have to go look at the house and neighborhood to see if it's right for you.

There are some great buys if you are willing to invest the time to find them and it sounds as though you did. It's hard sometimes to set the price correctly - the market has changed a lot over the last year and even the last few months, and even the most practical seller and his/her realtor have a hard time figuring out "comps."

Hope you found the right home, and enjoy living here in Knoxville area. We lived in Memphis for a few years when going to graduate school, and Knoxville has a very different feel. More neighborly, maybe? We live in Maryville, which, despite some rapid growth over the last couple of years, still has that small town feel. I let my 16 year old go all over town with her friends and don't worry that she will get into big trouble (ok - I may be deluding myself here). It seems like so many people around town know me and my daughter, and I hear it when she does good things (like helping a neighbor unload groceries) and bad things (like getting a little too loud with her friends at the movies).

Anyway, I got off the topic, but bottom line - things are certainly picking up, and depending on the election in Nov, will probably get even better next spring. Enjoy Knoxville and the mountains and hope you find exactly the right home if you haven't already.