Delicious Christmas Gifts

Hi everyone! My freind Nancy Tice has launched a wonderful new gourmet food business called "SheSheGourmet". Nancy specializes in her special Spiced Pecans with all natural ingredients and the biggest most delicious pecans you've ever tasted!

If you are looking for a great hostess, teacher or client gift for the Christmas, check her out at

http://www.sheshegourmet.com/

Her packaging is beautiful -- a handmade gift and best of all, Nancy does all the work!

Enjoy!

Williamson County Association of Realtors November Numbers 2007

The Williamson County numbers for November are in...

read below an excerpt from the official press release sent yesterday!



"Williamson County Association of REALTORS® Announces November Housing Numbers
December 7, 2007 (Franklin, TN)—The Williamson County Association of REALTORS® today announces the sale of homes statistics for Williamson County, Tn. for the month of November 2007. There were 278 residential and condominium closings reported for the month of November, according to figures provided by RealTracs Solutions, the multiple listing service used by REALTORS® in the Middle-Tennessee area.

Compared to November of 2006, the single family residential closings decreased 20 percent and the median price decreased by 9 percent. Condominiums closings have increased by 30 percent and the median price increased by 16 percent. The decrease in the median price appears to be tied to a decrease in the number of homes in the over $1 million range closing in November. The average days on the market (DOM) for residential homes have increased by 14 days and condominiums have increased by 17 days. Days on the market have been consistent since the onset of 2007, with the days ranging from 58 – 68 days. Median prices have remained consistent since January 2007, ranging from $365,000 to $391,200. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less..."

November 2007

Residential Closings: 247

Median Price: $365,000

Average Price: $427,205.69

Days on Market: 69

Condominium Closings: 31

Median Price: $ 219,990

Average Price:$ 227,241

Days on Market: 40

Back to Work!

I just returned from a wonderful Thanksgiving in the mountains of North Carolina. We stayed in a cabin close to Black Mountain, N.C. with an amazing view of the beautiful fall foliage and the mountains beyond! After hiking for a couple of hours along the Swannanoa River, we enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner all the more!



Friday we visited the Biltmore, "America's Largest Home" with over 250 rooms. Talk about a million dollar view, the home boasts a panoramic view of Mt. Pisgah National Forest with over 100,000 un-populated acres in the viewshed! I especially enjoyed the tour as the home was bedecked for Christmas with over 100 trees including a 35 foot Balsam Fir.



Saturday we hiked the Chimney Rock State Park trails up to the top of the falls and then over a ridge to Chimney Rock itself. After a mile and a half of strenuous and rocky trails, we rode down to the parking lot in the elevator! That night we enjoyed a tour of the Grove Park Inn and the display of the National Gingerbread House competetion winners! Dinner in Downtown Asheville, NC topped off a perfectly exhausting day!



The kids, John and I wish all a belated happy Thanksgiving.



Now, back to work!!!

1031 Exchanges

Did you know there is a perfectly legal way to avoid paying Capital Gains tax on investment property?

Internal Revenue Code 1031 states: "No gain or loss shall be recognized if property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment is exchanged solely for property of like-kind."

I recently attended a class on 1031 Exchanges and learned volumes about the process of exchanging one investment property for another. The "take away" is simple: investors avoid paying profits to the IRS and instead, use them to leverage another investment property. On a $200,000 sale, that can mean a $70,000 difference in capital to invest on the next property!

In a nutshell, prior to selling an investment property, the owner needs to choose a third party "Qualified Intermediary" who walks them through the process of abiding by the Internal Revenue Code. Then, once the property has been sold, the investor has 6 months to close on another investment property that has been identified previously.

For more information check out this web-site: www.1031exchangeeducation.com

Remodeling Choices

I have found that many clients began thinking about selling their houses 90-180 days before they ever called me to market their home. Part of that process includes deciding what home improvement projects will be necessary to get their home ready to market. These projects have become even more costly in recent years and it certainly pays to do some research ahead of time.

The National Association of Realtors publishes the remodeling cost vs. value report each year. Below is the link for 2006 data for our region.

Check it out to find out more about which projects you will recoup the most from by clicking the link below. I will also add this link to my "links list"!


http://www.remodeling.hw.net/content/CvsV/CostvsValue-project.asp?articleID=383141&region=ESC&sectionID=250

As always, I have a list of service providers whom I am happy to refer should you need them!

Lots of Links

Check out my blog's "links" list for web links to many Nashville, Tennessee and Regional web sites that can put you in touch! I've updated this list to provide better access to information for Relocating Clients as well as Local Clients who just need to know where to find information. (To view my full blog page, click the link at the very bottom of this message, then look below my photo for the links list).

Especially helpful is the http://www.tennessee.gov/ site which has links for everything from renewing your drivers license to property tax information!

Also check out http://www.everydayisprecious.com/ to sign an electronic petition to qualify my friends' Marcy and Rob Payne for a home re-do from the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" TV show! Marcy has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and they could really use some updates to make their Williamson County home more accessible. Please take a moment to register!

Happy clicking!

Real Estate Statistics: National and Middle TN

I've been busy this week taking over 20 hours of continuing education! I am getting (one more class to go!) my GRI, Graduate Realtor Institute, designation, which requires 5, two-day courses sponsored by the National Association of Realtors. I also completed my 4 hour Relocation re-certification this week so I am feeling very educated right now!

I pride myself on staying up-to-date on information and trends in the national and Middle Tennessee/Nashville real estate markets so I can keep my clients informed about what is happening

Some interesting facts and tidbits I picked up about the National Real Estate scene, that I'd like to share:

* The typical home buyer in 2006 was 41 years old with an income of $71,800.

* 11% of Buyers in 2006 were born outside the United States.

* First time home-buyers had a median age of 31 and earned $58,300.

* The typical buyer purchased a home that was 1800 sq. ft. and cost $214,000.

* 55% of all homes purchased were located in a suburb or subdivision.

* 75% of all home sales were single family detached and 11% were condos.

Source: National Association of Realtors 2006 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers

Locally, the Williamson County Assoiciation of Realtors released their 2007 September home sales report this week:

September 2007

Closings Median Price Average Price Days on Market

Residential 207 $373,000 $452,549 68

Condominium 57 $199,882 $214,482 49

This represents a 30% decrease over September 2006 for residential closings and a 42% decrease for condominiums.

Despite the slowdown in volume, the Median Price only fell 2% for Residential sales and increased by 8% for Condominium sales. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Race for the Cure

Well I've signed up for my second 5K race: The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which will be held on Saturday November 3rd in Downtown Nashville. Please visit my race web page to sponsor me or to sign up to run/walk as a member of my team. No pressure at all I'll just be happy to finish in under 40 minutes!

When you click on the link below, enter my name Dawne Davis and you will be directed to my race web page:


http://www.nashvillerftc2007.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=232528&u=232528-190


Middle Tennessee Real Estate News...

What is the "net net" from the recent rate cuts? ... Joe Repass, Countrywide Home Loans, Home Loan Consultant Sent the following last week:

"As you may have heard, the Fed cut rates by .5%. It's been four years since the Fed cut rates, so it's been a while since I have had to field questions about how this cut affects mortgage rates. The first misconception is that when the Fed cuts rates, mortgage rates go down as well. Mortgage rates are not established by the Federal Reserve, but the Fed policy has an effect on mortgage rates. The mortgage industry and Wall Street have been anticipating a Fed cut for some time now. The mortgage industry speculated a .25 cut by the Fed; Wall Street wanted .5 cut. Mortgage rates had already priced in a .25 cut, but a .5 cut was generally viewed as a bad thing. Here's why: if the .5 cut gives a boost to the stock market, then investors will move money from bonds to stocks. Mortgages are securities and therefore sold in the bond market, so if people sell and the demand is weakened for bonds, mortgage rates could suffer. So far, this cut has been kind to first mortgage rates and we are holding on to our gains and even seeing slight improvements in areas, but we are cautiously watching the bond market. It appears that both markets are having a party over the good news, so let's hope that this results in some stability in both and we can start selling homes again. The one area of home financing that benefited immediately from the cut are Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs). Since HELOC's are tied to the Prime Lending Rate, they went from 8.25% to 7.75% today. Joe
Joe RepassSales ManagerDirect: 615-309-7950Cell: 615-400-7564Fax: 615-376-5449"
Joe_Repass@countrywide.com
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Welcome To My Blog

Well, I set this account up over a month ago, and am finally sitting down to post! "Life comes at you fast" once summer vacation ends!



I appreciate the fact that John, my husband is picking up the kids at school today so I can take the hour or so necessary for "hands on" blog training.



I will be blogging about Real Estate in the Middle Tennessee area, but also plan to keep you up to date on the goings on of our family and other relevant (or possibly not so relevant) topics.!



I have started several lists which you will find to the left. I am always excited to hear about good new or undiscovered restaurants and books so I hope you will send me recommendations.



Sometimes, I will put a question or hidden picture in my blog and invite readers to be the first to contact me with the correct answer. The winner will receive gift certificates and recognition in the next posting so keep on reading for your chance!



REAL ESTATE NEWS...



The Williamson County Association of Realtors recently announced the August 2007 home sales stats.



There were 462 residential and condominium closings reported for the month, a decrease of 12% compared to August 2006.



Interestingly, condominium closings increased by 18% and the median prices went up 7% for condos.