Inspiring Excellence

Another reason....

to love Middle Tennessee Real Estate.

According to Inman News "the rate of single-family existing-home sales in California fell 25 percent in May compared to sales for that month last year, while building permits issued for single-family homes declined 40.1 percent, state Realtor and builder trade groups reported this week."

I enjoy comparing Middle Tennessee real estate with what is happening around the country and here is what I found.  In May this year, we closed 2079 existing residential homes in the immediate middle Tennessee counties as opposed to 2170 in 2006(only a 4% decline).  The average sale price was 7% higher than last year.

Sumner County Market Update

Market stats for June 2007— 5th in a series.  Its time to take a look at the market in my former hometown - Sumner County.  It is also home to one of Bob Parks Realty fastest growing offices.

The market in Sumner County continues to defy national trends contrary to most local and national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.  The following data is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 1349.  This year for the same time we have sold 1184.  This is 12% less transactions year over year.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $202,511 to $213,024 (5%).  The average price per square foot has climbed 7% to $103.  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) suggest an extremely healthy market under $300,000 which currently accounts for 83% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are seeing a buyer’s market, Sumner County is reaping the benefits of a great steady economic climate in Middle Tennessee.

Rutherford County Market Update

Market stats for June 2007— 4th in a series.  Rutherford County is home to Murfreesboro and the original Bob Parks Realty offices.

The market in Rutherford County continues to defy national trends contrary to national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.  The following data is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 2570.  This year for the same time we have sold 2280.  This is 13% less transactions year over year.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $168,354 to $181,510 (8%).  The average price per square foot has climbed 7% to $97.  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) suggest an extremely healthy market under $200,000 which currently accounts for 72% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are seeing a buyer’s market, Rutherford County is reaping the benefits of a great steady economic climate in Middle Tennessee.

Living in the Moment

A friend of mine shared yesterday morning with our class about the "moments" of his previous week.  Bill Lowe took a week of his vacation and gathered another adult and nine youth from two churches and spent the week at Camp Barnabas in Missouri.  It was Term 3 at camp last week for 7-17 year-olds that suffer from developmental disabilities or autism.  The youth that went got the opportunity to share the week (one-to-one) with one of the 150 kids at the camp.

More than once, Bill teared up yesterday as he shared the moments that he got to experience last week.  How often we miss the moments of life as we are busy for ourselves.  Who needs a moment of your time today?  The blessing is yours for the taking...

Market Stats - Maury County

Market stats for June 2007—3^rd in a series. Bob Parks does not have an office in Maury County, but we have several agents that live there and sell out of our Franklin office.  The market in Maury County continues to climb contrary to national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.  The following data is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 642.  This year for the same time we have sold 634.  This is 1% less transactions year over year and is the lowest decrease of any county in my series.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $153,288 to $165,789 (8%).  The average price per square foot has climbed 6% to $92.  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) suggest an extremely healthy market under $250,000 which currently accounts for 85% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are seeing a buyer’s market, Maury County is reaping the benefits of a great steady economic climate in Middle Tennessee.

Market Stats - Davidson County

Market stats for June 2007—2^nd in a series.  Davidson County’s market continues to climb contrary to national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.  The following data for Davidson County is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 4149.  This year for the same time we have sold 3859.  This is 8% less transactions year over year.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $204,779 to $219876 (7%).  The average price per square foot has climbed 8% to $118.  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) suggest an extremely healthy market under $400,000 which currently accounts for 91% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are still seeing a buyer’s market, Davidson County is reaping the benefits of a great steady economic climate in Middle Tennessee.

Bedford County Market Update

As promised, I want to share with you some market stats from the counties that Bob Parks Realty serves in Middle Tennessee.

Bedford County's market continues to climb contrary to national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.  The following data for Bedford County is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Total residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 313.  This year for the same time we have sold 296.  This is 6% less transactions year over year.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $114,919 to $116,714 (2%).  The average price per square foot has remained constant at $72.  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) are still suggesting an extremely healthy market under $150,000 which is 76% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are seeing a buyer's market, Bedford County is reaping the benefits of the great steady economic climate in Middle Tennessee.

Transparency in Real Estate

Check out the following youtube video from Inman News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ArixLn3-k  It is a great mind-spinning thought about what our industry web presence may look like in the next few years.

A driving force in our industry in the future is this: TRANSPARENCY.  We will never loose the "high touch" or relationship part of our industry, but it will only come after we have been transparent with the consumer.

Middle Tennessee - A Market Update

Nashville’s market continues to climb contrary to national media reports that suggest real estate is down everywhere.  The truth can be found in the actual market data.

I have been researching the housing markets where Bob Parks Realty has offices in the middle Tennessee area.  The following data is from the Middle Tennessee Regional Multiple Listing Service and includes the following counties: Bedford, Davidson, Maury, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson.

Residential sales for the first 5 months of 2006 were 11,975.  This year for the same time we have sold 10,767.  This is 11% less transactions year over year.  Prices are up for the same period – the average sales price is up from $222,251 to $247,514 (11%).  The average price per square foot is $118, up from $106 (11%).  Absorption rates (how long it would take to sell our existing inventory) are still extremely healthy in the bottom 90% of all home sales.

While many parts of the country are still seeing a buyer’s market, middle Tennessee is reaping the benefits of a great steady economic climate.

Attitude Check

Next week, I am going to be writing about the real estate market in middle Tennessee.  In the midst of one of the greatest markets in the country, we are experiencing some self-fulfilling prophesies.  Some agents are buying into the national media's attention on the "horrible" real estate market.

Here is the general truth of our market.  Residential sales are off about 10% over last year.  Prices are up about 10% over the same time.  Middle Tennessee will have the 2nd or 3rd best year ever for home sales.  I can't think of a much better place to be an agent or an owner of real estate...

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes." - Charles Swindoll