About Knoxville's Farragut

It’s been listed for 90 days now and not even one showing. What’s the problem?

The number 1 reason I see for homes not selling is most often the price (this could also be reasons 2,3,4 and 5).

It’s a tough new market out there folks; mortgages are tough to get these days, buyers are taking MUCH longer to make decisions about which house to even make an offer on, and the economy is in a shambles with high unemployment.

Even if the recent comparable sales and price points in your area and neighborhood support your asking price your house could still be overpriced relative to the market right now because that’s the market buyers are buying in.

Just because you refinanced last year or even 6 months ago, and got an appraisal equal to or higher than your current asking price, the market right now may be lower than those figures.

Generally the higher up you go on asking price the longer the time on the market becomes. Because of the credit crunch especially on jumbo or non conforming loans (in the Knoxville area that would be a loan over $417,000), large mortgages are even tougher to get than say an FHA loan on a median priced 3 bedroom house in the Knoxville area.

The above graph shows that if your home is listed for sale for over 1 million dollars there is currently a 42 month supply of those homes at the current sales rates. Listed between $100,000 to $150,000 there is a 9 month supply of homes in that price point.

So what’s the answer? Have your agent update your market analysis. Take a look at homes that have sold in your neighborhood, your zip code, and similar homes in other parts of town. What is their list price to sale price ratio? Did those sellers make any concessions to the buyer, i.e. pay some of their closing costs, install new carpet, and any other inducements to get them to buy that house.

If they did maybe that’s something you should consider to get yours sold too but most often it’s the price.

Reason number 2: CONDITION Does your home show like a model home? Has it been “staged” to show in the best possible light to new buyers? Decluttered with overstuffed closets leaned out, excess ’stuff’ packed up and out of the way? CLEAN, with everything including windows, front door, kitchen and bathrooms squeaky clean? Visit my website, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com and click the “Selling” link to get my 40 Free or inexpensive tips can make your home show better, sell faster, and put more money in your pocket at closing.

The better your house shows the more buyers are willing to pay and the quicker it usually sells.

Reason number 3: LOCATION Ok, if this is your problem immediately call Acme House Movers and………of course I’m just joking here but one of the cold hard facts of life are that some locations are more desirable than others and others are less desirable.

If you’re in a location buyers seem to perceive as less desirable for whatever reason the only cure for that condition is to reduce your asking price.

You may enjoy living next to the railroad tracks and look forward to that 100 car coal train that comes by at 3:00 AM every morning but trust me, the average buyer won’t share your passion for railroading that up close and personal.

Reason number 4: ACCESSIBILITY You can’t sell it if buyers can see it. Showings are often requested on short, or sometimes no notice. As a serious seller you need to make your best effort to keep your home in showable condition at all times. I’m continually amazed as I search through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) looking for homes for my buyer clients and find agent notes like: “24 hour notice to show, no exceptions”, “no lockbox, listing agent must be present for all showings” (so what if the listing agent is not available?, and this favorite, “DO NOT GO IN YARD, dogs will bite”

So if I have a buyer that wants to see your house in 2 hours you want them to wait until tomorrow, hope your agent can let us in, and run the risk of being attacked by your darling pit bulls? Guess what, that’s not happening, there are hundreds of other houses for sale that we can see on our schedule and buy today. Which of those options would be best for you Mr. Seller?

Reason number 5: YOUR AGENT Yep, this could be one of your problems.

Even though all Knoxville area Realtors pay the same amount of dues some of them are frankly just better at marketing homes than others. So the first thing you should do is review your agent’s written marketing plan of what they’re going to do to get your house sold. Oh, you asked for their written marketing plan and got that ‘deer in the headlights’ look. Ooops, that could be a problem.

National Association of Realtors statistics show that over 85% of current homebuyers started their home search on the Internet so how is your homes Internet marketing presence? Does it have a virtual tour? Is your home displayed on multiple websites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo, GoogleBase, BirdView, Vast, Homes.com, YouTube (yep, videos), and other websites including your agent’s personal website? If not that could be a problem.

Does your MLS and advertising descriptions paint a pleasing visual picture in a buyer’s mind or does it just say something like: “3 BR, 2 BA, darling, hurry, won’t last long”? Have you ever seen your homes MLS listing? If not that could be a problem.

Does your listing have a minimum of 20, well made and current photos of your house including the interior. Amazingly there are still photos in the Knoxville MLS of homes for sale with snow on the ground. When was our last snow? Buyers like to see lots of photos and if you don’t have them…….that could be a problem.

So here’ s the 5 reasons roundup:

1. Revisit your list price objectively and look at the most recent sales. If it’s not selling then adjust your price.
   
2. Go outside and walk through your house pretending you’re a buyer. Do you like what you see? Showroom condition is key.
   
3. Have a talk with your self about your homes location.
   
4. Make sure potential buyers can get in to see your home and feel safe and welcome while they’re there.
   
5. And finally, call your agent up and invite them over for a visit and review of what’s been done to market your house and what will be done in the future.

Visit KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com for lots of great selling tips, no charge, no obligation.

Please feel free to call, comment, or email any questions.

Started in 1992 by local physician Dr. Charlie Barnett, Flu Shot Saturday has become an annual tradition in the Knoxville area for thousands of local residents to get a free flu shot.

Below is the line outside Farragut High School this morning as hundreds lined up for their annual flu shot.

While the shots are technically ‘free’, donations to the Knoxville News-Sentinel’s Empty Stocking Fund which provides food and Christmas toys to thousands of Knoxville families who might otherwise have an unhappy holiday are encouraged and most flu shot recipients drop a generous donation into the box.

BlueCross BlueShield insurance of Tennessee partially funds the event along with the Knoxville News Sentinel. Local Rotary clubs also help support the event with traffic direction, getting paperwork filled out, and other tasks

Doctor Barnett and his group enlist the help of fellow Knoxville medical professionals to actually administer the vaccine at 5 Knoxville area high schools. This morning Charlotte and I were in line around 9:20 AM on a rainy Saturday morning along with hundreds of others at Farragut High School for a flu shot.

The guy with his arm raised between the two ladies turned out to be my flu shot guy. He was gentle but he forgot to give me my sucker.

Read more about Knoxville, Tennessee and the annual "Free Flu Shot Saturday" at Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate Blog

Knoxville area homebuyers and sellers both have one thing in common. They all want to make either the house they’re selling or the one they’re buying look as great as possible for as little money as possible.

email me for a free, 10% off coupon to any Lower's warehouse store. Good for 10% off any purchases up to $10,000!

Knoxville sellers want to ’spiff’ up their house to appeal to buyers so it will sell faster and for more money.

Knoxville buyers want to upgrade and personalize their new home so they can enjoy living there more.

Here’s 5 tips for both sides:

1. Buy locally. In most cases you will save money by buying things in the greater Knoxville area instead of having them shipped from another location. For big ticket items the savings could amount to several hundred dollars.
2. Use coupons! Knox County School coupons, coupons from places like the Half Off Depot, newspapers, and lots of other sources. I recently bought a Pawley’s Island hammock for way less than half price and I’ve enjoyed it way more than the actual cost. Here’s a great money saving tip for you. I can send you a coupon for Lower’s that is good for 10% off any purchase or purchases up to $10,000! That means you have a potential $1,000 dollar savings; especially great if you’re buying a big ticket item like appliances, a new kitchen, or lawnmower. No cost or obligation, just ask me for one.
3. Shop around Knoxville and compare prices. Often you can find the same thing or a comparable item for much less if you visit a few different stores. Also lots of stores like Lowe’s, Best Buy, and other aggressive retailers will match sales or prices you find at other stores just to get your business. Don’t be afraid to ask.
4. Auctions are a great way to find deals and save money. Don’t want to log into eBay every 2 hours to check your bid? Just sign up for automated notifications on your cell phone and that will keep you updated if someone has outbid you or if you won your item. Auctions are fun too.
5. Credit card rewards. A great but often overlooked source of great items. So far I’ve used a credit card rewards program to get 2 new digital cameras, a Flip video camera, some Bose headphones, and a couple of other things just for using that credit card. I also recommend you pay off balances each month so as not in accrue interest charges.

So there you go, 5 ways to get some great deal for your new Knoxville area home or the one you’re selling.

www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com also has lots of great FREE STUFF to help with your buying or selling, pay me a visit there soon and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

The July sales figures are out from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors so let’s see how the Knoxville area real estate market did last month.

I see a total of 1,044 sales reported in all price ranges, days on market (time to sell) 118 days, the median price of a 3 bedroom home holding pretty steady at $137,300, 4 bedrooms $267,000, and $144,500 for condos.

I was recently interviewed for a real estate website and asked to give some home selling advice in 90 seconds of less.

So for the really, really busy homeowner that’s thinking of selling or in the process of selling now, here are some things to consider that will help, including a piece of advice at the end you’ve probably never heard before.

You can find lots more home selling tips at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com and get a free copy of my eBook “450 ideas to help your home sell faster!” by simply sending an email to: 450Ways@JimLee.com

No charge, no obligation, and you don’t get put on any mailing lists. I’ll only contact you if ask me to.