Gatlinburg Real Estate Blog

Attention Buyers! All Pro Realtors has some very exciting news for you! We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood that will very soon be available for sale! This residential (cannot be an overnight rental in this great & quiet neighborhood) home that we are currently remodeling offers three bedrooms, three baths, a two gar garage, a full basement, and has ALL city utilities including city water, city sewer, natural gas, high speed cable internet - All of this located only a mile from the parkway in Pigeon Forge! This means that the lucky buyer will enjoy a peaceful area but also have easy access to the bustling tourist spot that the heart of Pigeon Forge is! It is truly the best of both worlds and we cannot wait to show you pictures very soon! Due to the prime location, quality Pigeon Forge real estate is currently very hard to come by! That is why we are so excited about this particular owner/agent home! The anticipated price is $250,000 which is definitely a bargain. ...

Attention Buyers! All Pro Realtors has some very exciting news for you! We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood that will very soon be available for sale! This residential (cannot be an overnight rental in this great & quiet neighborhood) home that we are currently remodeling offers three bedrooms, three baths, a two gar garage, a full basement, and has ALL city utilities including city water, city sewer, natural gas, high speed cable internet - All of this located only a mile from the parkway in Pigeon Forge! This means that the lucky buyer will enjoy a peaceful area but also have easy access to the bustling tourist spot that the heart of Pigeon Forge is! It is truly the best of both worlds and we cannot wait to show you pictures very soon! Due to the prime location, quality Pigeon Forge real estate is currently very hard to come by! That is why we are so excited about this particular owner/agent home! The anticipated price is $250,000 which is definitely a bargain....

Blue, the wonder dog, here! If you live in Sevier County like I do, you have been enduring the recent nonstop rain! I would have thought I lived in Seattle these past few weeks, but my dad Jeff assured me that was not the case! I am a curious dog who loves the outdoors! However, these past few weeks I have been curling up next to the fireplace to stay warm and dry! According to the Tennesse Valley Authority, 2018 and 2019 were the wettest years on record! Be that as it may, it seems to me that 2020 could be even wetter! This could turn out to be a problem for those looking for Smoky Mountain real estate. The recent flooding has been affecting many residents of East Tennessee. Our very own Sevier County had up to 30 roads closed the first week of February this year. Some locals even had to evacuate due to the dangerously high water closing in on many properties in the area. Many businesses closed early on Thursday, February 6, 2020 so that their employees could safely make it back to th...

Blue, the wonder dog, here! If you live in Sevier County like I do, you have been enduring the recent nonstop rain! I would have thought I lived in Seattle these past few weeks, but my dad Jeff assured me that was not the case! I am a curious dog who loves the outdoors! However, these past few weeks I have been curling up next to the fireplace to stay warm and dry! According to the Tennesse Valley Authority, 2018 and 2019 were the wettest years on record! Be that as it may, it seems to me that 2020 could be even wetter! This could turn out to be a problem for those looking for Smoky Mountain real estate. The recent flooding has been affecting many residents of East Tennessee. Our very own Sevier County had up to 30 roads closed the first week of February this year. Some locals even had to evacuate due to the dangerously high water closing in on many properties in the area. Many businesses closed early on Thursday, February 6, 2020 so that their employees could safely make it back t...

The flash number for February Gatlinburg area real estate sales is in (139) and it is a little disappointing. Although these preliminary numbers are always revised upward as more agents get their sales posted the increase usually results in an increase of only 10-15% or so.  When I factor a typical revision in it looks as if we will come nowhere close to the high water mark reached during the boom years of 2005-2007. Tough January weather is probably one culprit that caused February closings to be lackluster. A second factor is that supply is down and prices have begun to come up. This is a good condition longer term but it does take a little while for Buyers to become accustomed to. I normally post a table in this space showing the long term results but can't seem to do that with my smart phone so I will add that here later.

The flash number for February Gatlinburg area real estate sales is in (139) and it is a little disappointing. Although these preliminary numbers are always revised upward as more agents get their sales posted the increase usually results in an increase of only 10-15% or so.  When I factor a typical revision in it looks as if we will come nowhere close to the high water mark reached during the boom years of 2005-2007. Tough January weather is probably one culprit that caused February closings to be lackluster. A second factor is that supply is down and prices have begun to come up. This is a good condition longer term but it does take a little while for Buyers to become accustomed to. I normally post a table in this space showing the long term results but can't seem to do that with my smart phone so I will add that here later.

Although this summer won't officially be over until Labor Day, I have never had a busier time in my life! With my marriage to my Wonderful Wife Whitney (WWW for short!) and our subsequent honeymoon in Alaska, my middle daughter's commencement from graduate school in Chicago, a couple of church trips, and a family vacation at the beach, I simply haven't had time to post to this blog in over a month. In fact, if it weren't for my wonderful Gatlinburg Real Estate Team, it wouldn't have been possible to have a good summer business-wise but we certainly have! I have been blessed with 90 transactions closed already in 2013 and many more pending, and that doesn't count the other licensed agents that make up our team! Those wonderful Buyer Specialists are Suzy Compton-Hays, Mark Hays, and Michael Cole. Of course all of us sales people would be lost if it weren't for the extremely competent help we get back at the office from Giulia Luzzana (our transaction coordina...

Although this summer won't officially be over until Labor Day, I have never had a busier time in my life! With my marriage to my Wonderful Wife Whitney (WWW for short!) and our subsequent honeymoon in Alaska, my middle daughter's commencement from graduate school in Chicago, a couple of church trips, and a family vacation at the beach, I simply haven't had time to post to this blog in over a month. In fact, if it weren't for my wonderful Gatlinburg Real Estate Team, it wouldn't have been possible to have a good summer business-wise but we certainly have! I have been blessed with 90 transactions closed already in 2013 and many more pending, and that doesn't count the other licensed agents that make up our team! Those wonderful Buyer Specialists are Suzy Compton-Hays, Mark Hays, and Michael Cole. Of course all of us sales people would be lost if it weren't for the extremely competent help we get back at the office from Giulia Luzzana (our transaction coordina...

A dream I have had for a long time has been to provide aerial photographs of our Smoky Mountain real estate listings. Often, the topography of East Tennessee real estate makes getting a complete view of some properties impossible, at least from the ground. This is particularly true of some Gatlinburg, Chalet Village, and Pigeon Forge properties which have what would traditionally be termed the front of the home facing toward the mountain view but away from the road (which inconveniently enough has also been my only possible vantage point). With many of these local area mountainside real estate properties, up until now my choice has been to climb high into a nearby tree or to use a VERY long telephoto lens from across the valley. Neither of these options has been particularly effective and in fact tree climbing can be quite dangerous for older and not-skinny folks like myself. All of this has changed with the newest tool that we have which allows me to now take unique aeri...

A dream I have had for a long time has been to provide aerial photographs of our Smoky Mountain real estate listings. Often, the topography of East Tennessee real estate makes getting a complete view of some properties impossible, at least from the ground. This is particularly true of some Gatlinburg, Chalet Village, and Pigeon Forge properties which have what would traditionally be termed the front of the home facing toward the mountain view but away from the road (which inconveniently enough has also been my only possible vantage point). With many of these local area mountainside real estate properties, up until now my choice has been to climb high into a nearby tree or to use a VERY long telephoto lens from across the valley. Neither of these options has been particularly effective and in fact tree climbing can be quite dangerous for older and not-skinny folks like myself. All of this has changed with the newest tool that we have which allows me to now take unique a...

While we have heard stories for well over a year that Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is coming to East Tennessee, it now does appear that within the next year we will finally have that restaurant here in Pigeon Forge .  If you can't wait that long and want to have your own Margaritaville experience here in the Smokies, check out this great party house on just under 4 acres that we listed yesterday.  With a wonderful private in-ground pool, a luxury custom built bar, and a great game room, you can host the party yourself! Located in quiet Newport, TN which is only about 30 minutes northeast of Sevierville or about 45 minutes northwest of Gatlinburg, you can really have it all here!  The price for this well built and tons of fun home on almost 4 acres of beautiful rolling farm land is only $350,000 - How much is it worth to totally change your lifestyle??

While we have heard stories for well over a year that Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is coming to East Tennessee, it now does appear that within the next year we will finally have that restaurant here in Pigeon Forge .  If you can't wait that long and want to have your own Margaritaville experience here in the Smokies, check out this great party house on just under 4 acres that we listed yesterday.  With a wonderful private in-ground pool, a luxury custom built bar, and a great game room, you can host the party yourself! Located in quiet Newport, TN which is only about 30 minutes northeast of Sevierville or about 45 minutes northwest of Gatlinburg, you can really have it all here!  The price for this well built and tons of fun home on almost 4 acres of beautiful rolling farm land is only $350,000 - How much is it worth to totally change your lifestyle??

After being affiliated for nearly 17 years with the RE/MAX organization, it has become time to end that relationship and move forward. When I first moved to Sevier County in 1995, I had no experience in real estate marketing, no contacts, and very few resources. While I don't want to criticize the RE/MAX organization, it is no longer central in our efforts to assist our clients in effectively marketing or purchasing Sevier County real estate. Neither is it adding significantly to the success of our firm and we can make better use of our resources than the fees and restrictions that RE/MAX imposes. With 64 transactions already closed or pending this year, we are off to an even better start than we had in 2012 which was our best year ever . For this reason it is now time for a new chapter in the life of our company to begin. Effective today, our firm has become All Pro, Realtors, Inc. No longer associated with RE/MAX, but with my team and our support staff that is so VERY capable, ou...

After being affiliated for nearly 17 years with the RE/MAX organization, it has become time to end that relationship and move forward. When I first moved to Sevier County in 1995, I had no experience in real estate marketing, no contacts, and very few resources. While I don't want to criticize the RE/MAX organization, it is no longer central in our efforts to assist our clients in effectively marketing or purchasing Sevier County real estate. Neither is it adding significantly to the success of our firm and we can make better use of our resources than the fees and restrictions that RE/MAX imposes. With 64 transactions already closed or pending this year, we are off to an even better start than we had in 2012 which was our best year ever . For this reason it is now time for a new chapter in the life of our company to begin. Effective today, our firm has become All Pro, Realtors, Inc. No longer associated with RE/MAX, but with my team and our support staff that is so VERY capab...

Odd how the states with the highest taxes seem to often be the ones in the worst financial condition.  Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and California all have very high tax burdens that their citizens must bear and yet they are in no better shape financially (and in some cases much worse) than states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee that have no income taxes.  One of the reasons people continue to retire to Tennessee (and Florida and Texas) is because of our very low taxes.  In Sevier County, we have one of the lowest real estate tax rates in the nation and we still don't have an income tax on earned income.  I expect that even more people will flee Illinois due to their recent sharp increase in their state income tax.  If you are taxed enough already, come to Gatlinburg.  Our low real estate taxes, no income tax, low crime, beautiful scenery, and mild climate are just some of the reasons why more and more people are ret...

Odd how the states with the highest taxes seem to often be the ones in the worst financial condition.  Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and California all have very high tax burdens that their citizens must bear and yet they are in no better shape financially (and in some cases much worse) than states like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee that have no income taxes.  One of the reasons people continue to retire to Tennessee (and Florida and Texas) is because of our very low taxes.  In Sevier County, we have one of the lowest real estate tax rates in the nation and we still don't have an income tax on earned income.  I expect that even more people will flee Illinois due to their recent sharp increase in their state income tax.  If you are taxed enough already, come to Gatlinburg.  Our low real estate taxes, no income tax, low crime, beautiful scenery, and mild climate are just some of the reasons why more and more people are ret...

From the http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/  site: First American CoreLogic reported today that more than 11.3 million, or 24 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages, were in negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 10.7 million and 23 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2009. An additional 2.3 million mortgages were approaching negative equity at the end of last year, meaning they had less than five percent equity. Together, negative equity and near‐negative equity mortgages accounted for nearly 29 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide. From the report: The good news for Tennessee home owners is that negative equity continues to be concentrated in five states: Nevada, which had the highest percentage negative equity with 70 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (51 percent), Florida (48 percent), Michigan (39 percent) and California (35 percent). Among the top five states,...

From the http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/  site: First American CoreLogic reported today that more than 11.3 million, or 24 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages, were in negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 10.7 million and 23 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2009. An additional 2.3 million mortgages were approaching negative equity at the end of last year, meaning they had less than five percent equity. Together, negative equity and near‐negative equity mortgages accounted for nearly 29 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide. From the report: The good news for Tennessee home owners is that negative equity continues to be concentrated in five states: Nevada, which had the highest percentage negative equity with 70 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (51 percent), Florida (48 percent), Michigan (39 percent) and California (35 percent). Among the top five s...

It is abundantly clear to me that Gatlinburg real estate prices will not begin to recover significantly until the deluge of foreclosure properties dumped onto the market each month subsides. Unfortunately, that is not yet the trend and as long as foreclosures of Sevier County properties continue at the current pace prices will continue to be flat at best. Below is a chart showing the number of foreclosure filings (not including time share properties) by month for the past several years. As you can see, August's 135 new foreclosure filings, while less than June's record number, are back above the number we saw in July. This indicates that, as sad as this makes me, we are still experiencing an upward trend in the number of Sevier County real estate foreclosure filings. The market supply of residential properties in our Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors database when compared with sales during the past 12 months is still measured in years, not months. A real estate ...

It is abundantly clear to me that Gatlinburg real estate prices will not begin to recover significantly until the deluge of foreclosure properties dumped onto the market each month subsides. Unfortunately, that is not yet the trend and as long as foreclosures of Sevier County properties continue at the current pace prices will continue to be flat at best. Below is a chart showing the number of foreclosure filings (not including time share properties) by month for the past several years. As you can see, August's 135 new foreclosure filings, while less than June's record number, are back above the number we saw in July. This indicates that, as sad as this makes me, we are still experiencing an upward trend in the number of Sevier County real estate foreclosure filings. The market supply of residential properties in our Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors database when compared with sales during the past 12 months is still measured in years, not months. A real estate ...