It's a Long Time Until April!

A friend who is a local's local, born and raised here in the Gatlinburg area commented to me recently the title of this post. What he was referring to is that many individuals (and businesses) here in the East Tennessee Smoky Mountains rely on a cash surplus built during the more profitable summer months to survive the much slower winter season. This is particularly true of lodging businesses, retail shops, and restaurants. The April to October period is MUCH more profitable for these operations than the November to March time frame and in fact many of these businesses generate the lion share of their revenues during the summer months when families with children can freely travel. Sadly, the economy's blues have impacted Sevier County this summer and most of our area's attractions are reporting receipts down 30-35% when compared to last year. This is especially true of Pigeon Forge's Dollywood which , with it's high priced tickets, is off dramatically from their plan. for the businesses and their employees that haven't had a great summer season, the idea of a typically (or worse) slow winter period is not at all welcome. Fortunately, the real estate business here in the Smokies is not as seasonal as it once was and we have had an excellent summer. In fact, the Gatlinburg foreclosure real estate opportunities continue to be excellent and we are in the process of setting sales records at our real estate firm. For businesses (and individuals) that haven't enjoyed this sort of success it may be a long winter indeed...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Smoky Mountain Water Wells but were Afraid to Ask!

Unlike more urban communities, many Smoky Mountain homes still have water supplied by individual underground wells. The fact is that only a relatively small (but ever growing) portion of our area is served by municipal utility water. This is rarely a problem as wells here in the Gatlinburg and surrounding area usually produce clear and good tasting water for significantly less cost than utility water once the one-time expense of drilling the well is covered. In fact, while there are certainly exceptions, our area is known for exceptionally clean and good tasting well water. More than one brand of bottled water is actually drawn from underground sources right here in the Smokies. What can go wrong you ask? Unfortunately, plenty! In those relatively rare cases where a well’s iron or sulfur content causes the water to be unsuitable, a water filtration system can generally be installed to remedy the situation. Water filtration can be as basic as a very inexpensive cotton string filter th
Read more

Comments Please!

I have had this blog since 2003 but didn't really get serious about regularly writing here until the beginning of 2007. I do truly enjoy the opportunity to share my thoughts about our local Gatlinburg area real estate market including the surrounding communities of Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Seymour, Kodak, and Cosby. The only problem with writing any type of blog is that you really aren't sure just how many people are reading much less care about what you are pontificating about. If you are reading this blog, regularly or for the very first time, PLEASE comment me. It's easy, painless, and won't leave any sort of mark. In fact, you can even remain totally anonymous but yet let me know that you are out there. Like the age old question of "If a tree falls in the forest with nobody there to hear, does it make a noise?", a blog writer could wonder "If I write something meaningful but nobody reads it, does it matter?". If you like, you can even tel
Read more

Comments Please!!

Just wondering how many folks are out there reading this Gatlinburg real estate blog.  Please comment with your home town - You can even stay anonymous if you wish. If you want, tell me more about yourself (if you already own property in Sevier County or are just considering doing so, what you would like me to write about in the future, etc.).  Thanks in advance for your comments, whatever they might be!!
Read more