Peter Bales

Our fledgling BNI group has grown to about 6-8 people and become what BNI calls a "pre-core" group. That is exciting for us because we will start using the BNI format at meetings and they will be more involved in guiding us and helping us grow. BNI definitely has the systems to help our group become very successful, we just have to dig in and do it!

Growing is tougher than I expected. When I first heard about the opportunity to join a group I was immediately ready to jump in. I took about 24 hours to research BNI and make sure my wife was on board, but after that I was committed.

I didn't think it would be so difficult to find a bunch of like-minded professionals wanting to grow their business and willing to work for it!

Something that I've learned in real estate is that you can't wait on the business to come. You have to go find it. I'm not great at it yet, but I'm getting better. This rule certainly applies to BNI as well. BNI will work for you, but you have to work for it!

I think it's important to note that BNI involves the kind of work that really enriches your life. Forget about the referrals for a minute. The entire thing is based on relationships and building community. It just so happens that people want to do business with people they know and trust so the end result is more business.

So, I'd love to hear some comments on any creative ideas to grow our group and find energetic professionals that are willing to work to grow their business. Please share any BNI success stories!

(Looking for a BNI group to join in Nashville? Contact me today. We'd love to have you.)

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

In comparing Jan.-Apr. 2007 to 2008, the average home sales price in Inglewood has risen 15.04% compared to only 9.98% in East Nashville. Of course, both increases are amazing considering the bad economic news that we hear daily from the media.

East Nashville is still the winner when looking at gains over the past 5 years, but both have seen an increase in average home price of over 40% since 2004, with East Nashville closer to 60%. This means that if you bought an ‘average' East Nashville home in 2004 for $119,647, that home would be worth $191,221 today! Not bad at all. Here are the numbers:

For those unfamiliar with the area, Inglewood is on the northeast side of downtown and directly north of East Nashville, just up Gallatin Rd. Both communities are extremely convenient to interstates and downtown activities. Far from boring, each contains a varying collection of neighborhoods from streets lined with Victorians or Bungalows from the early 1900's to homey subdivisions from the 1940's full of brick Tudors.

Development is in full swing in East Nashville, where mixed-use condos, shops and unique restaurants pepper the intersections and attract all kinds of people hungry for the local flavors. Inglewood development is happening on a smaller scale, though signs of momentum can be seen at the vibrant new Riverside Village, or the soon-to-open Home Depot on Gallatin Rd.

As far as home prices go, both East Nashville and Inglewood remain very affordable when compared to other downtown neighborhoods. It's exciting to be a part of these communities. Hopefully we can continue to buck those downward national trends.

Remember that property values are very local. If you'd like me to run some reports for your neighborhood please give me a call. (Peter @ 513-2447)

-Peter, www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Whenever I hear the phrase "housing crisis" I'm thankful to live and work in Nashville where the panic is much more subdued. For most neighborhoods, the average home prices are holding steady or continuing to increase. The market has changed, but has proved to be quite resilient so far.

I know some people are tired of Realtors trying to put a positive spin on the market. I sincerely don't want to do this, but instead just take an honest look at what is happening. When we examine the numbers, we see that the past year or two have provided some challenges, yet most areas are still seeing increases in sales prices, and the trends over the past 5 years are still fantastic.

One way that the market has changed is that fewer homes are selling. For example, East Nashville had 163 homes sell last year, to this year's 115. Crieve Hall had 42 last year, to this year's 28. In this way, our market has cooled. Listings are piling up and there are less buyers out there looking at homes.

However, the good news is that even with less homes selling, the overall Nashville market is holding strong. The graph to the left tracks average home sales for some of Nashville's popular neighborhoods. I wanted to look at both the change from last year (2007) and the changes from 5 years ago (2004).

For each neighborhood, I selected a geographic area and took an average of all the home closings from Jan-April of the selected years.

Please note that there are, of course, other factors at play here, such as renovated homes. For example, a great deal of the amazing appreciation in Germantown is due to so many homes being renovated or newly built over these five years. The average sales prices are so much more, because the average quality of home is so much better, as well as increased demand for downtown urban neighborhoods, etc.

When selling a home in this sort of atmosphere, it becomes even more important that your home stands apart from the competition. This translates to pricing the home right and getting it in the best condition possible. Buyers have more homes to choose from, so yours has to stand out- or be priced accordingly.

Remember that property values are very local. If you'd like me to run a report for your specific neighborhood please give me a call. (Peter @ 513-2447)

-Peter, www.NashvilleCityHomes.com