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Like the rest of the nation, we saw a dip in Rutherford County’s housing market last year, but the feel among Realtors is that the market is coming back. An article in today’s Daily News Journal, a daily newspaper based in Murfreesboro, confirms the perception of agents.
Across the nation, existing home prices have declined more than 10 percent, according to Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The drop represents the steepest decline since the organization’s 1988 data.
However, prices are up in Rutherford County, according to Roberts. Numbers from MTAR show the average sale price was $183,511 in February of this year compared to $180,564 in February 2007.
The national market is hinting at a recovery… our local market is already in one!
Here’s the latest backpage ad for American Lifestyle magazine that comes out in May. What do you think?
Shopping for a home is more complicated than buying milk and bread.
Negotiating sales contracts, counter-offers, addendums, home inspection repairs, financing, and making sure there is a clear title to a home can be challenging.
Buying or selling your home doesn’t have to be complicated when your Realtor eliminates the surprises and potential pitfalls.
Call Butch or Kathy by May 15th to enter a drawing for a $50 Kroger shopping card. You get the milk and bread and we’ll help with the house shopping.
*Kathy and I have teamed up to present the American Lifestyle magazine to our clients.
Your neighbors were great. They moved two or three years ago into the house next door that’s nearly identical to your own. They kept the lawn mowed, their dog didn’t bark too much, and they once loaned you a router to edge the new table you built. However, you learned they had some financial troubles when their mortgage jumped about $400 a month. Normally they could’ve handle the added expense, but gas prices also increased their monthly expenses by another $100 and grocery prices rose as well.
Your neighbors lost their home to foreclosure. The lender just wants enough money to pay off most of the loan regardless of what it’s worth. The house could go for $150,000, but the bank sold it for $125,00 just to get rid of it. When all is said and done, you lost your good neighbors. But you also lost 16% in your home’s value. After several years – if you stay in your home - the value will return. However, if you plan to move soon, you won’t get as much for your house as you would’ve a year ago.
According to MSNBC, foreclosures definitely hurt the neighbors.
In a study of foreclosures in Chicago in the late 1990s, Georgia Tech associate professor Dan Immergluck found that each foreclosure on an urban block lowered property values by an average of nearly 1 percent, and about 1.4 percent in low-income neighborhoods.
The silver lining is that if you sell and move to a new house, you should be able to recover the value of the home you’re selling through the savings of the one you’ll buy.
Although Smyrna was named among the top 10 places to retire in the U.S., I’ve been investigating senior housing options. Recently I moved my elderly parents to this area, but I was unable to find them a true 55+ seniors community simply because there are none in Smyrna. Instead, I found a one-level home in a nice subdivision that suits their needs fine – including brick exterior (no outside maintenance), small yard, and one step up into house (I installed ramps to accommodate my mother’s walker).
A smart developer should consider plans to build a senior community here. I’d love to see one that has a club house for activities like crafts, cards, and other fun. In my Mayberry senior town, I’d also like to see a small retail area in the center of a development that would consist of a unit where different vendors could come in. For example, barbershop and beauty salon three days a week, maybe a small doctor’s office three days a week, and a place for Sunday services. A quaint grocery store with an old fashioned soda shop / cafe would be nice. I’d also love to see a park area with benches and maybe a gazebo.
The outskirts of the community could include an assisted living facility along with a full-fledged nursing home so that residents are still close to home and friends, but have competent care available as they need it.
