Monica Neubauer - Franklin, TN REALTOR/Trainer

Come one, come all to the Main Street Festival in Downtown Franklin on April 30th and May 1!

I am in the process of transfering my blog to another platform. Please check out my full blog at www.LiveinFranklinTN.com. Shortly, I will transfer the www.FranklinTNBlog.com URL to the other site. Thanks for reading!

This Spring, and by Spring, I mean, from January 1, 2011, or even from December 27, 2011, has felt very active in the real estate market in Williamson County TN, Franklin TN, Brentwood TN and Spring Hill TN being the largest towns here. Showings have been up, contracts are being written. The Fall felt slow, though it was in line with recent years numbers. The Spring felt busy.

What do the numbers really say? Well, February turned out to be almost exactly the same as it has been for the last 4 years. March has seen some increase though and the volume appears to be similar to 2008, though the median and average price ranges are comparable and even a bit down compared to last year.

You can see the documentation for February here.

You can see the documentation for March here.

The February numbers for the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors are here. Their current press release is available here. The GNAR President Alice Walker has some good reminders to us of the changing loan environment we are still in. Loan costs, rates, and viable credit scores change all the time. The government is still changing the home buying environment and that creates a challenging atmosphere for making the best decisions.

For Buyers - there are still low interest rates, and house prices have opened up more options for your money. With the fluctuating stock market, investing in housing is investing in something tangible - that you can live in.

Franklin is all abuzz with the new marquee for the Franklin Theater. Tomorrow is the lighting of the marquee. It is Neon lights and as much like the old one as they could get. They interviewed long time residents and hunted down some photos to make it as much like the original as possible.

So the party is on in Downtown Franklin TN tomorrow, Saturday, January 29th to light the Marquee. There will be stores with Champagne, "Cigarette Girls" handing out goodies. My daughter will be one of them. It is very fun to see the next generation get involved in fun events with the town. Lots of restaurants offering "Happy Hour" type specialties to bring in the huge crowds. The weather should be nice - what a reprieve that will be. We are looking forward to seeing friends and neighbors and celebrating the fun that is Franklin!

Come on down if you can. Party starts at 4pm and the lighting is at 5.

See these articles for more information

Hanging up the Marquee in Downtown Franklin

Making of the Marquee

Detective Work for the Marquee

The Marquee Party!

We have had our second big snow last night. One thing we like to do when it snows is go downtown Franklin. Usually the restaurants are open and we like to go to McCreary's Irish Pub. They had music there last night, and it wasn't crowded. The snow and downtown and the few people has kind of a magical feel.

To further add to the magical feel, I get out of the car in front of the Toy Store. We have a fabulous toy store in Franklin, with wooden trains and cool puzzles, etc. In the front window of the store is a Power Ranger. Not just any power ranger, but a life-size one!! Very Fun!

And across the street, they have installed the new marquee for the new Theater renovation. They are going to have a "Lighting of the Marquee" on January 29th. This is going to be a great benefit to downtown. Kind of the cap on an already cool place.

When I leave my house, I often see things happening around town that I didn't expect and that bless my day. One of the first times I thought this, I was driving downtown Franklin and saw a man riding a unicycle, and that led to several interesting people and cars that turned out to be the leftover of the homecoming parade! Another day a friend and I were eating lunch at the Mellow Mushroom on the square and here comes the Easter Bunny walking down the street. It was so funny!

So this week I had two fun sightings. Taking my daughter to the Factory on Monday evening, we drove into the normally vacant parking lot to see that the lot was full and roped off and all kinds of hulabaloo going on there. As we looked for parking in the rain, we could see 9 Tour Buses neatly lined up in a row. They were filming a CMT (Country Music Television) Special and all the award winnere were there singing. My daughter was hoping for a peak at Brad Paisley or Carrie Underwood, but in all that rain, there was not a chance. All we saw were the 9 Tour Buses. :)

Yesterday, I knew that Sarah Palin was town for a book signing for her new book at the Costco in Cool Springs. It was almost 2:00 when I was getting some gas at Costco, and I could see a small crowd gathering at a Fire Exit door of the Costco. Since I happened to have my good camera, I decided to stick around to see Sarah Palin, up close and personal. I am sharing a few photos below. She was very friendly, hugging a few fans and giving a short interview to a teenager working a project.

Since I am not traveling much these days, I take adventure when it comes. And driving around in Franklin TN will inevitably provide something interesting to see. If you keep your eyes open.