Colonial Acres – Value + Location

Seth Godin speech on what is broken – ThisIsBroken.com. This is a good investement of about 20 minutes.

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

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One of the best FaceBook “instructional” videos I have ever seen:

Be sure and visit me on facebook at http://www.spakebook.com

or my facebook business page at http://joespakepage.com
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The Memphis Area Association of Realtors has just released the Sales Stats for March and 2009 YTD.   March sales are down 39.6% for units and 9.7% for average sales price, compared to March of 2008.   YTD sales units are down 29.6% and average price down 10.5% from 2008 (and we thought last year was bad).  The report has an interesting breakdown of existing home sales, new home sales and  foreclosure sales.

I was rummaging through some old books the other day and found How to Lie with Statistics, by  Darrell Huff, which made me think of how sales numbers and other market indicatiors have been massaged since the bubble burst.  I think the sales reports are helpful, but is a growing number of pendings and a reduction in inventory necessarily a good sign? Who knows? And who is going to let any of this data affect them if they are highly motivated to buy or sell?

I prefer to use some softer stats to guage the market, like increasing  hits on my IDX website, more blog readers and more calls about my listings – all of which are happening.  More buyers and potential buyers seem to be realizing that we are in a perfect storm of buying conditions.  Homeownership is still an American Dream (don’t want to sound too much like a NAR commercial here), and those who feel secure in their jobs, and are financially able to buy are coming out of hiding. On the other side of the equation, home sellers are frustrated by the slow market, but seem to be coming to the realization that, yes, there was a bubble, and that if they bought during the inflated highs, they cannot expect a profit.

So look at the numbers.  They are interesting, and the neighborhood breakdowns bring it closer to home.  Interpret and spin as you please.  I am booked with 3 new clients for the weekend and have appointments scheduled every day next week.  Things are looking pretty rosy from this writer’s point of view

Active Brad’s post for today:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1033968/Top-Search-Engines-Reveal-The-Top-Real-Estate-Social-Networks

I posted last month about the failed Horizon Condo project converting to luxury apartments and getting a $10 Million+ Pilot tax break.

Today’s Commercial Appeal reports that another Downtown property, a 204 unit apartment complex on Mud Island, yet to be started, has been granted a 10 year tax…

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In my most recent post on the Joe Spake Blog, I discussed the unrealistic appraisals that many of my Midtown and East Memphis friends and I have received from the Shelby County Assessor’s Office.  Well, you can settle for being irate, and complaining, but remember, if you don’t take some action through the review or appeal process, you will be stuck with your 2009 appraisal, and the resulting adjustment to your property taxes.

Remember, appraisals are supposed to reflect fair market value, which is commonly defined at what a qualified buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept in an arms-length transaction.  If your 2009 value does not meet that test, its time for ACTION!

Snooze and Lose
I just went online to request a review of my 2009 Tax appraisal from Cheyenne Johnson’s Office. Mine jumped 23.5% from the last appraisal, and that figure seems like a low increase compared to those of my Midtown friends, some of whom reported 50%+ increases, and none reported less…

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