Gatlinburg Real Estate Blog

Agents started posting sales from last week's end of the month activity and the results are really good. The latest total for the month of March is now 169 residential sales and that will still likely be revised even higher. Here is the latest table:

Agents started posting sales from last week's end of the month activity and the results are really good. The latest total for the month of March is now 169 residential sales and that will still likely be revised even higher. Here is the latest table:

March 2012 was indeed another VERY strong month for for Gatlinburg area residential real estate sales and for the third month in a row one has to go all the way back to 2007 to find a superior result for this month. Obviously, a strong positive trend appears to be at work here with every month in 2012 being sharply ahead of last year. Although the past doesn't ever guarantee future results, it is generally the best predictor we have of the future so it is certainly worth reviewing. In March 2012, the quick value for residential sales is 157, a solid 17% increase when compared to the same month in 2011. As I always remind readers, this instant result will certainly be revised upward as more firms enter their end of the month closings into our Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors MLS database. I expect that the final tally may be as high as 170 which would be the highest value for ANY month since the good old days of 2007 when we actually AVERAGED more than 188 homes being so...

March 2012 was indeed another VERY strong month for for Gatlinburg area residential real estate sales and for the third month in a row one has to go all the way back to 2007 to find a superior result for this month. Obviously, a strong positive trend appears to be at work here with every month in 2012 being sharply ahead of last year. Although the past doesn't ever guarantee future results, it is generally the best predictor we have of the future so it is certainly worth reviewing. In March 2012, the quick value for residential sales is 157, a solid 17% increase when compared to the same month in 2011. As I always remind readers, this instant result will certainly be revised upward as more firms enter their end of the month closings into our Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors MLS database. I expect that the final tally may be as high as 170 which would be the highest value for ANY month since the good old days of 2007 when we actually AVERAGED more than 188 homes being so...

Like any successful team, the Schoenfield Team has team members who are specialists in particular fields and others who are more like utility players who play any position as needed. Our team has three members who specialize in working with Smoky Mountain real estate buyers. They help our clients find excellent homes at good prices and then make sure that the transaction is as smooth and pleasant as possible. Working with buyers every day requires a certain mindset and it isn't the easiest work by any means. Showing property every day demands specific market segment knowledge as well as the ability to understand what a would-be buyer is looking for when sometimes even the buyers themselves aren't exactly sure what that perfect property looks like... It's always nice to hear about when one of our team members has done a particularly good job. Actually, I believe that it happens much more often than I hear about, but people often don't have the time to let us know. Here...

Like any successful team, the Schoenfield Team has team members who are specialists in particular fields and others who are more like utility players who play any position as needed. Our team has three members who specialize in working with Smoky Mountain real estate buyers. They help our clients find excellent homes at good prices and then make sure that the transaction is as smooth and pleasant as possible. Working with buyers every day requires a certain mindset and it isn't the easiest work by any means. Showing property every day demands specific market segment knowledge as well as the ability to understand what a would-be buyer is looking for when sometimes even the buyers themselves aren't exactly sure what that perfect property looks like... It's always nice to hear about when one of our team members has done a particularly good job. Actually, I believe that it happens much more often than I hear about, but people often don't have the time to let us know. Here...

February is typically the coldest month here in the Gatlinburg area but this year it has been a very mild winter. While our February weather was relatively gentle, the pace of Gatlinburg real estate sales has been anything but mild. The members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors combined for 126 residential sales, a 34% increase when compared to the depressed level of a year ago and this is just the preliminary count. The final total will probably be even higher when all of the dust settles and all sales are recorded. This continues the trend that began in January of significant positive comparisons versus the sales of a year ago: There is no doubt that market conditions are starting to improve. Although most hard assets (gold & other precious metals, oil, etc.) have appreciated sharply during the past 10 years, real estate prices nationally are at about the same level as they were almost 10 years ago. Mortgage rates are at long term (if not all time) lows and the...

February is typically the coldest month here in the Gatlinburg area but this year it has been a very mild winter. While our February weather was relatively gentle, the pace of Gatlinburg real estate sales has been anything but mild. The members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors combined for 126 residential sales, a 34% increase when compared to the depressed level of a year ago and this is just the preliminary count. The final total will probably be even higher when all of the dust settles and all sales are recorded. This continues the trend that began in January of significant positive comparisons versus the sales of a year ago: There is no doubt that market conditions are starting to improve. Although most hard assets (gold & other precious metals, oil, etc.) have appreciated sharply during the past 10 years, real estate prices nationally are at about the same level as they were almost 10 years ago. Mortgage rates are at long term (if not all time) lows and the...

Each year, I join a group of about 100 of the most tech savvy, top producing real estate agents in the entire world, the CyberStars. Allen Hainge created this group over 10 years ago to further the use of technology among real estate agents and the group has grown since then. At no other conference I attend will every participant have a laptop or tablet open and most of these people are top producers in the industry as well. Every year, we share ideas about how to serve our clients better and more efficiently. We discuss marketing, management, cost controls, legal and ethics issues and much more. My staff worries that I will come home to Gatlinburg and want to change everything that we are doing in our real estate practice because of what I have learned at this 3 day conference. Fortunately for them, I already like most of what we are doing so I don't anticipate many changes. With over 100 sales personally in 2011, we must be doing something right...

Each year, I join a group of about 100 of the most tech savvy, top producing real estate agents in the entire world, the CyberStars. Allen Hainge created this group over 10 years ago to further the use of technology among real estate agents and the group has grown since then. At no other conference I attend will every participant have a laptop or tablet open and most of these people are top producers in the industry as well. Every year, we share ideas about how to serve our clients better and more efficiently. We discuss marketing, management, cost controls, legal and ethics issues and much more. My staff worries that I will come home to Gatlinburg and want to change everything that we are doing in our real estate practice because of what I have learned at this 3 day conference. Fortunately for them, I already like most of what we are doing so I don't anticipate many changes. With over 100 sales personally in 2011, we must be doing something right...

After a phenomenal November, December's residential real estate sales count as recorded by the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors was a little disappointing. Although I was hoping for a second consecutive positive monthly unit sales tally, (and maybe the beginning of a trend), December just didn't meet my loft expectations. Here is the latest (but not as promptly created as usual) table: Go figure! After the best month in more than 4 years we have the worst December since 2008. This business could make a fellow lose his hair...

After a phenomenal November, December's residential real estate sales count as recorded by the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors was a little disappointing. Although I was hoping for a second consecutive positive monthly unit sales tally, (and maybe the beginning of a trend), December just didn't meet my loft expectations. Here is the latest (but not as promptly created as usual) table: Go figure! After the best month in more than 4 years we have the worst December since 2008. This business could make a fellow lose his hair...

Yesterday, I was asked by a reader of this Gatlinburg real estate blog how many of our Gatlinburg area's November residential sales were foreclosures or short sales. The answer is far, far too many, unfortunately. Out of 158 residential sales (the most in any single month since 2007!!) that were completed during the month by the members of our local board, the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors, 60 were marked as foreclosures while another 15 sales were flagged as short sales. On the other hand, we have to get these distressed properties sold before prices can make any real positive headway. Because banks are still adding a good number of new foreclosures to the market (we have been assigned several new properties this month), the supply tends to remain fairly constant. In fact, we have some very attractive properties coming to market soon, so watch this Gatlinburg real estate blog and our GatlinburgHomes.com website for all of the area's newest listings as they bec...

Yesterday, I was asked by a reader of this Gatlinburg real estate blog how many of our Gatlinburg area's November residential sales were foreclosures or short sales. The answer is far, far too many, unfortunately. Out of 158 residential sales (the most in any single month since 2007!!) that were completed during the month by the members of our local board, the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors, 60 were marked as foreclosures while another 15 sales were flagged as short sales. On the other hand, we have to get these distressed properties sold before prices can make any real positive headway. Because banks are still adding a good number of new foreclosures to the market (we have been assigned several new properties this month), the supply tends to remain fairly constant. In fact, we have some very attractive properties coming to market soon, so watch this Gatlinburg real estate blog and our GatlinburgHomes.com website for all of the area's newest listings as they b...

November was an even better month than we thought! With all of the dust now settled, members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors combined for a very impressive 158 residential unit sales during November. To provide a little perspective, you have to go all the way back to October 2007 to find any month in which more homes were sold here in the Gatlinburg area. Here is the chart that I have maintained since way back in 2005: As I've said for a long time, you have to have an increase in volume before prices will improve. While one month does not a trend make, this is VERY encouraging for our Gatlinburg area real estate market!! There won't be a headline in the paper that says, the real estate market is currently bottoming and prices appear set to increase. Likewise, we won't know until after mortgage loan rates start back up that we missed the bottom. If you have been considering making a purchase of Sevier County real estate, it looks like we are approaching t...

November was an even better month than we thought! With all of the dust now settled, members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors combined for a very impressive 158 residential unit sales during November. To provide a little perspective, you have to go all the way back to October 2007 to find any month in which more homes were sold here in the Gatlinburg area. Here is the chart that I have maintained since way back in 2005: As I've said for a long time, you have to have an increase in volume before prices will improve. While one month does not a trend make, this is VERY encouraging for our Gatlinburg area real estate market!! There won't be a headline in the paper that says, the real estate market is currently bottoming and prices appear set to increase. Likewise, we won't know until after mortgage loan rates start back up that we missed the bottom. If you have been considering making a purchase of Sevier County real estate, it looks like we are app...

Something I've almost NEVER done before is go a full month without a single post to this blog. Unfortunately, that has happened and were it not for today's post I wouldn't have filed a single message in October which sadly is nearly over now. I do have some pretty good excuses that I won't go into but the good news is that the clouds are clearing and I expect to be living a more nearly normal life very soon. Even though I didn't write about it at the time, lots of things have been happening with Gatlinburg area real estate. September turned out to be a very good month for the members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors, far surpassing my expectations for the month.  In fact, 149 residential units were reported sold by the MLS, the best number by far for all of 2011. During September, the average sales price reported was $151,362 which did not set a new low. That statistic wasn't however much above the many year low average sale price which was s...

Something I've almost NEVER done before is go a full month without a single post to this blog. Unfortunately, that has happened and were it not for today's post I wouldn't have filed a single message in October which sadly is nearly over now. I do have some pretty good excuses that I won't go into but the good news is that the clouds are clearing and I expect to be living a more nearly normal life very soon. Even though I didn't write about it at the time, lots of things have been happening with Gatlinburg area real estate. September turned out to be a very good month for the members of the Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors, far surpassing my expectations for the month.  In fact, 149 residential units were reported sold by the MLS, the best number by far for all of 2011. During September, the average sales price reported was $151,362 which did not set a new low. That statistic wasn't however much above the many year low average sale price which was...

Our Gatlinburg real estate office is only 1/2 a mile from the main Parkway (US Highway 441) that goes through the center of town.  It is also apparently becoming a favorite spot for our local black bears to visit.  Unfortunately, black bears become less and less fearful of people and more interested in getting into garbage than foraging for wild berries or nuts.  That isn't good because they can become a threat to people if a mother bear believes her cub is at risk.  This cub (yes, I did put words in his/her mouth - see below) was looking for some easy to score food but apparently isn't yet addicted to nicotine... "These smell interesting and don't seem like as much of a challenge as that big dumpster." "Which non bear-proof container should I try today??" "Doesn't take much to knock one of these over.  Wonder what the prize inside is?" "A little tougher than my normal plastic can but there's the lid!" "Is t...

Our Gatlinburg real estate office is only 1/2 a mile from the main Parkway (US Highway 441) that goes through the center of town.  It is also apparently becoming a favorite spot for our local black bears to visit.  Unfortunately, black bears become less and less fearful of people and more interested in getting into garbage than foraging for wild berries or nuts.  That isn't good because they can become a threat to people if a mother bear believes her cub is at risk.  This cub (yes, I did put words in his/her mouth - see below) was looking for some easy to score food but apparently isn't yet addicted to nicotine... "These smell interesting and don't seem like as much of a challenge as that big dumpster." "Which non bear-proof container should I try today??" "Doesn't take much to knock one of these over.  Wonder what the prize inside is?" "A little tougher than my normal plastic can but there's the lid!"...