Dana Couch-Davis, CRS, GRI, ABR, SRES

When I grew up in Memphis, the island inlets in Mississippi River where the Wolf River converged with the Mississippi River were just barren pieces of land. Nothing much to look at.

But this week I ventured out to Harbor Town. Wow!!!! Much of what has been done at Harbor Town can be credited to legendary Memphis developer Henry Turley! I remember Henry Turley from my teenage years. He has always been a huge promoter of the downtown Memphis area. When everyone else was running as hard as they could from downtown in the 70s, there was Henry Turley steadily working on the downtown area.

I lived in an apartment building downtown in the early 1980s. So much promise but so little done.

Why had there been so little done? Politics. Money is in East Memphis and businesses, like the former Union Planters National Bank, abandoned downtown Memphis and ran as hard as they could to East Memphis. Companies moving to Memphis chose to come to East Memphis rather than Downtown.

But we are seeing a renaissance of Downtown and I'm glad to see it. Well now I'm working in a downtown real estate office ... I'm loving it!

Come check out downtown Memphis, it is more than a place to party but to live!

Since moving my office to Downtown Memphis, I've been amazed at how many wonderful places there are in Downtown to live ... and how nice each of them can be. I've always loved Downtown Memphis ... lived there after Grad School ... but it has matured and grown so much now. The vacant lot where my friends and family used to go to look at the fireworks on the River on the 4th of July and Memphis in May now has elegant townhome living on them. The warehouses where cotton used to be stored now has lofts. The bluff villas (I was so impressed in the 1980s when actress Cybill Shepherd purchased a bluff villa) are a growing complex. It is impressive. There is so much happening in Memphis.

So why not give me a call and let me help you find a downtown condo today.

Yesterday there was a letter talking about the death of Midtown Memphis. In previous posts I have written about this area. While the area has fallen to disrepair I disagree with the premise that Midtown Memphis is dead and that we should have a death march for it today.

Actually Midtown Memphis needs to have a Mayoral administration in the city that will lead it well and lead it to revitaliation. There is so much that Midtown has to offer to the citizens of Memphis. The writer spoke of the last Union Avenue Mansion which has been occupied for over 100 years by the Nineteenth Century Club. Yes the building does need a great deal of repair ... and there have been efforts in the past to bring the building back to life. The building is still a stately old mansion and there is so much that can be appreciated in the building.

My Mom over 40 years ago was very involved with the 19th Centruy Club. They worked hard to maintain the building. The biggest problem that they have encountered over the years. They sold the ballroom years ago where many of a Memhis Prom and coming out party was held. It has been a Taco Bell, a Chicken place and I can't tell you what it is now.

We are losing our history in Midtown but it will come back. I have great faith in Mayor A.C. Wharton to do the right thing for the city. Mayor Wharton, a famiy friend for decades, has demonstrated a love for MEmphis for years and I believe he will do what is best for Midtown.

Good article today about the New Madrid Earthquake fault that is imbedded within 35 miles of Memphis. While as a child Tornado Drills and Fire Drills were more of a happening in the schools and at home, there has always been a lingering preparation for activity from the New Madrid Fault.

I can remember as a 5th grader, in my room doing homework (Yes Miss Sullivan I actually did do the homework the night before) and my Mom being in the Den which was two rooms away from my bedroom. I was sitting there working and all of a sudden the house began to shake. My Mom (always prepared for anything from being a teacher for so many years) ran to the door way between the kitchen and the den with our dog Mr. Beau in her arms and ordered me to get in the doorway between my bedroom and the kitchen. We stood there for only a few minutes until the rattling had ended.

When she felt it was safe we got out of the house very quickly to join our various neighbors who were out on their lawns as well. My Dad who worked for a bank at that time was out-of-town. The first thing the ladies in the neighborhood did was decided who would watch the children and to keep us occupied away from houses, trees, or any other potential debris that might fall on us.

The the ladies went to check on the elderly neighbors to make sure they were ok and to help them leave their homes at that time. Then some of the men went around checking the houses for structural damage, gas leaks, water leaks, and the such. Fortunately there was no damage in our neighborhood that fateful day.

Just a couple of miles away the plate glass windows of a large department store shattered. There was no looting. And the next morning I got up ready to go to school. During the night we did have several aftershocks (tremblors) but my Mom and Mr. Beau kept a steady patrol of the house all night while I slept ... I remember them going down the hall with the flashlight checking on things all night. But when we arrived at school, there was our Director standing outside with a big sign ... No School Today. It seems there had been some structural damage (minor it turned out) to the school.

Now there is a study that says, after the Haiti quake, that the New Madrid Fault seems to be fizzling. There are many skeptics to this theory that the fault may have lived out its life. For those who don't know, the New Madrid Fault has been a very strong and violent fault in the past. In 1811 there was a major earthquake in this region (8 years prior to the founding of Memphis) the results in two events: 1) the creation of Reelfoot Lake in upper Northwest Tennessee, and 2) the Mississippi River running backwards, yes backwards to fill in the new lake.

So based on this report from Northwestern University, some people are advocating lifting the seismic codes for buidlings in this area. I think we should wait. The New Madrid Fault has reared her ugly head every 200 years and right now she may be a little coy about her return in a couple of years.

After all, that day in March 1970 when the earth shook in Memphis, WMPS Radio was playing"I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet" at the exact moment of the quake!

The Memphis real estate market is beginning to show some signs of revitalization, small signs, but good ones for us to be looking at.

Right now housing sales are up for this month about 4.4% yesterday. But the good thing is that inventory is going down as active listings are down. We have struggled for the past few months with almost a 3 year inventory of listings. I have also been looking at the absorption rates in some of the area neighborhoods recently and found that the number of neighborhoods in a declining market is also going down which is good news. Many of them are stable markets at this time.

So while it may be very modest, it appears that we are beginning to see some changes in the real estate market in this area. Something that is very necessary at this time.