Why You Shouldn't Believe the Headlines

I just read an AP story about how new home prices are at an 13 year low. It was mostly bad news and then I got to this paragraph:

Sales dropped the most in the Northeast, falling by 40.6 percent. Sales were also down in the Midwest, dropping by 6.4 percent, but posted gains in the South of 5.7 percent and 0.7 percent in the West.

After finding out how bad the Northeast is doing, it says the SOUTH WAS UP 5.7%.

That's good news for us southerners and it helps explain why it doesn't feel like the market is tanking here, in spite of the negative headlines that we see everyday.

So the lesson is:
1. Don't believe everything you read.
2. All real estate is local.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Where Few Homeowners Dare to Tread

In 2003 my family moved into a scary fixer upper in East Nashville. The 1920's bungalow had potential, but it was under many layers of bad remodeling and neglect.

Determined to do things right, I went where few homeowners dare to tread- Metro Codes.

Yes, I actually applied for the appropriate permits and had all the inspections done. Having passed my final inspection, today was the glorious day to go pick up the Use and Occupancy permit that says that the house is ready to be lived in.

It's a great feeling, but I must take a moment to make a couple observations:

1. Most homeowners will not have the stomach for the process. It's not that it's so difficult, it's just unknown- What do you need a permit for? What is 'up to code' anyway? What inspections will I need to have? How do I order the inspections? Who can I call to ask questions? The system seems obviously designed to dissuade homeowners from acquiring permits, but probably doing the work anyway, right?

2. The inspections are somewhat lacking. I'm not necessarily complaining here :) , but I stayed awake a night going over the renovations in my head hoping I had done everything right and then the inspector barely took a look before passing my work. Again- It's fine with me, but it's very easy to see how shoddy work can get through the system, especially if it looks good on the surface.

3. One good thing to mention- The codes dept. has greatly improved their accessibility. When first got my permit in 2003, it was impossible to reach anyone by phone. You just had to go downtown to ask even a simple questions. Now, they have posted phone numbers for everyone in the department online so you can usually reach someone by phone. The couple of times that I've left messages, I got calls back the next morning, which is great.

At the end, I'm glad I jumped through all of the hoops. Since I was selling the home, I certainly didn't want anything to come up later about me not having all the right permits for the work I did. It also helped my confidence along the way.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

A Special Moment in Real Estate

I was recently at a walk through for a condo that a father was buying for his son to live in. These were great clients and I had really enjoyed getting to know them a little over the process of purchasing it.

Anyway, we were looking over the condo just before the closing to make sure everything looked right. It was fine and the father kept remarking about certain things to his wife that their son would really enjoy about the place. I remember him saying something like, "It will be really good for him, won't it?"

It doesn't come across in the text, but as he said it, I could feel the love that this dad had for his son. It gives me goosebumps as I write this. It was indeed a special moment.

Buying a home is more than just the mechanics of the transaction. It's about living life to it's fullest. I'm so honored to be part my client's lives and help to find them a wonderful home for their next 'season'.

I'm also blessed to relate to this father-son love. Something that I share both with my dad and now with my own son.

Life is good.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Hope Gardens Snapshot

I just finished a Home Value Report for a home in Hope Gardens and thought that some of the information was worth sharing.

Hope Gardens is a small area just north of downtown Nashville. It's across from the Farmers Market, west of 8th Ave and south of Jefferson Street.

It has seen some revitalization that seems to have finally tipped the scale as of late. A couple notable developments have been anchors in the area including Park Place Court and the Row 8.9n which won a 'Grand Award' from Builder Magazine.

Single family home prices have averaged around $143 per square foot over the past 6 months for a renovated, and probably historic-looking home. The neighborhood is filled with a mix of renovated homes from the early 1900's and brand new infill homes of similar character.

So, purchasing a smaller 3 bedroom / 2 bath would probably cost you around $200,000. Larger homes sell up to the high $300k's.

Driving through the area today, I was impressed with the architecture which seems almost distinct to Hope Gardens or at least North Nashville. Reminiscent of homes in New Orleans, many of the homes feature large two story porches on the front of a narrow but deep home. The newer ones usually have an open floor plan on the first floor with bedrooms upstairs.

It's an area that's really shaping up and leading the way in the revitalization of North Nashville.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Pictures of WHAT, exactly?

When you're selling your home, most people agree that great pictures are essential, even if many Realtors overlook this. (One of my pet peeves.... )

The question is, WHAT do you take pictures of?

I just saw a new listing of a fabulous historic home. I'm sure it's wonderful, however, most of the photos were close up pictures of smaller details. I saw the grand piano, the fireplace, the outdoor trim and the stairway spindles. They were incredible, but what about the rooms?

The details are important, but I think that buyers want to see wider pictures of rooms. How do they lay out? Is there room for my furniture? Often the quality of a home is fine, but the layout is the deal breaker. At the minimum, you want a mix of the two.

Here's a secret: Usually the absence of room photos makes people there is something wrong with those rooms. Of course, everyone knows that if there is no picture of the front of the house, there is a funk problem. The same applies if there is no picture of the kitchen.

I see two easy solutions to this:

1. Put a couple combo pictures that show details, but leave most of them for the virtual tour.

2. Hire a professional photographer with an incredible wide angle lens. This is my opinion, but I believe that home marketing begins with fantastic photos!

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Fear Hurting the Markets?

On my way home after an appointment with some fantastic clients, I turned on the radio and caught Neal Cavuto being interviewed about the economy. Cavuto has always seemed like a fairly level headed fellow to me so I was interested to see what he thought of things.

Cavuto offered an insightful perspective on some of the economic dynamics going on right now. He said that the problem was NOT because banks don't have the money to loan- they do. They are just afraid of making bad deals so they've tightened their qualifications and really limited the mortgage options available, especially to 'less qualified' buyers.

He also said that the problem also is NOT that qualified home buyers aren't able to get the loans either- they can! Instead of buying, many buyers are waiting, scared to buy a home that may go down in value.

Bottom line- FEAR is hurting our economy right now.

I tend to agree with this insight. Not that there aren't other issues going on (and plenty of things to be afraid of!), but so much of the strength of the economy is based on perception or our confidence in it.

Instead of screaming that the 'sky is falling' Cavuto talked about our economy working in cycles and that certain 'corrections' are to be expected. He said that people should simply not expect to keep seeing home prices increase at 30% a year without some sort of correction. However, while these times can be painful, the overall economic slope is strong and is historically resilient.

Note: I am no economist. I'm a Realtor. :) However, I'm seeing the trickle down effects of this:

1. My investor clients are having a little more difficulty qualifying for loans that were easy just a year ago.
2. Builders are halting projects as new construction loans are drying up, waiting for new home inventories to decrease.
3. Buyers that aren't relocating are taking their time to find a home. Demanding more for less money. They've got the leverage right now.

Of course there are many opportunities out there right now- if you know where to look.

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Sprawling East Nashville

From my quiet table at Portland Brew Coffee, I just overheard some folks raise their voices and talk about how East Nashville is "sprawling". She was saying how the increased demand started in Lockeland Springs (North of Shelby & South of Eastland), but now it includes the surrounding areas as well.

I'm not sure what they're discussing now, but this statement got my attention.

As East Nashville home prices have increased over the past few years, especially in the historic neighborhoods like East End and Lockeland Springs, many buyers in the lower price ranges have struggled finding something affordable within these boundaries. So, they've turned to the areas immediately surrounding these more expensive areas.

Eastwood Neighbors seemed to be one of the first to make the leap so that these days home prices there are rivaling those a few blocks south in Lockeland Springs.

Now areas like Rosebank, Shelby Hills, Maxwell Neighbors- and more recently- Cleveland/McFerrin Park have all seen notable improvements. Not only are homes throughout the area getting renovated and rebuilt, but larger projects like condo/commercial developments are forming as well as city improvements like new sidewalks and historic-looking street signs.

I love it all. It's exciting to see things improve, especially when old historic homes that have been neglected or 'remuddled' are given a new life and restored.

Back to my coffee...

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Marketing By Fax??? Naaaah

No, I'm not an advocate of Fax Marketing. However, I'm in the early stages of redesigning my website and have been digesting a lot of different ideas for marketing. One of my favorite marketing guys is named Seth Godin, who I learned about when my wife gave me his book "Free Prize Inside" for Christmas.

From what I can tell, Seth's philosophy comes down to two major points:
1. Make your service remarkable. (Remarkable means that your customers are amazed by it and have to tell others.)
2. Don't shout your message. Seth leans away from traditional marketing like advertisements that clamour for your attention, but instead suggests 'permission marketing', where you build a relationship with your customer over time and earn their trust.

I really like his ideas. I've never felt like a 'salesman' type that could persuade people to work with me. I'd much rather provide remarkable service and build relationships. It's more fun to work with people I know, anyway!

Anyway, I picked up Seth's book eMarketing from way back in 1995 where he devotes an entire chapter to Fax Marketing. It may have been the latest idea then, but I'm not sure it would be as effective now! That is, if it was ever that effective... :)
-Peter

www.nashvillecityhomes.com

Listings Now Online Everywhere With KWLS.

When 'house fever' hits, buyers are turning to the Internet.

But where to search?? There are many options with each website offering a new slant on the home search. My personal favorite is the Interactive Map Search, which is why I had to have it for my own website.

When you're selling your home, how do you make sure that your home is listed on as many websites as possible? Just being on Realtor.com isn't enough anymore.

My firm, Keller Williams, is a market leader in this kind of technology and we've just started a new service called the KWLS (Keller Williams Listing Service) to give even more exposure to all our listings. Once I've entered the listing it is broadcasted to all the websites listed below and more! Incredible.

Realtor.com
Homescape
Yahoo
Yuvie
Point2Homes
Google
Trulia
Cyberhomes
Geebo
Vast.com
KW.com

My own marketing includes exposure on:
HomeSeekers
HomePages
NashvilleCityHomes.com
CraigsList
Backpage
VisualTour


I'm honored to be part of company that is leading the way in new technologies. You won't find this type of exposure with many of the other firms out there. Of course great Internet exposure is just a piece of the puzzle. If you're interested in the many ways that I'll market your home, please give me a call.

-Peter

REALTOR. City Home Specialist.
www.NashvilleCityHomes.com