One of the MLS entry choices for “type” of home is “Victorian”. Choice of style is up to the listing agent’s discretion. There seems to be a pretty wide range of opinions among Memphis agents as to just what a Victorian house is. Here are some examples of Victorian houses across the USA, as well as descriptions of the various Victorian styles.

These are current Memphis real estate listings tagged as Victorian style:

(note: this is a dynamic display – re-visit this post for updated listings)

To search for your favorite home style, or any other criteria go to the local Detailed Search  or contact me at joe@spake.com.  I will be happy to help.

Victorian style homes for sale in Memphis is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Last weeks most interesting real estate stories from a variety of sources:

• FHA may relax condo rules soon
• Does Celebrity Influence Price?
  Do stars’ homes fetch more money and more avid buyers?
• The REALTOR Rally and the Desperate Need For A New Political Action Paradigm
  Interesting insights on the recent Realtor Rally for the American Dream, by Rob Hahn
• Realtor Code of Ethics Video Series: Chapter 1
• Funny Real Estate, Where To Begin? via AgencyLogic PowerSites
  Real estate you can laugh at.
• Couple discovers the home they just bought is the wrong address
• Housing: The Return of Multiple Offers

All my curated real estate links are archived at http://delicious.com/joespake/realestate

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Interesting real estate links for week ending May 22, 2012 is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Last weeks most interesting real estate stories from a variety of sources:

• Obama Calls for Changes to Make Refinancing Easier
• House panel considers HUD subpoena over wasteful spending
• Consumer sentiment marks post-recession high
• How Low Will Mortgage Rates Go?
• Market Value – Memphis Daily News
  The Memphis housing market
• April, 2012 Memphis are real estate sales show solid increase over 2011.
• Flood Insurance: Don’t Give Lenders One More Reason to Say ‘No’
• Piano Man Billy Joel Movin’ Out of His Miami Manse?log=out
• Moms Share Their Advice for Real Estate
• American property: The great realtor rip-off | The Economist
  Interesting point of view on Realtor compensation, compared to agents in England.

All my curated real estate links are archived at http://delicious.com/joespake/realestate

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Interesting real estate links for week ending May 15, 2012 is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Subscribe to this blog via email

Sometimes you just don’t have time to go looking for the latest post from your favorite blogs.  If you are using an RSS reader, and you are like me, you probably have hundreds of posts to wade through to get to what you really want to read right then.  I haven’t been a big advocate of blog mail subscriptions in the past, but one of the features of WordPress‘ Jetpack Plugin lets readers easily subscribe via email.

Sign up to the right to have new posts emailed to you

So, “big deal,” you might say, “I have always been able to subscribe to blogs by email.  Yes but major handlers of  post subscriptions  like Feedburner usually only email post once a day, so by the time you get them they are old news – already made the rounds on Twitter, Facebook and the RSS readers.  A WordPress subscription (see illustration above and widget in the far right column of this page) emails you instantaneously every  time the blog posts.

So if you enjoy the The Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog  posts, subscribe by email in the right column.

Get blog posts by email is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

April, 2012 Home Sales – Memphis Area

Memphis real estate is on an upward trend, right?  Well, if you use number of units sold as  your as a measure, things are looking pretty rosy, with  a 15.3% increase in sales  4/12 over 4/11 and a 19.7% increase Year-to-date.

The good sign here, at least for the month of April, is that median prices showed a 13.7% increase, and average prices increased 11.6% over 2011. In my opinion, median prices are all tied in with inventory – if there are more inexpensive houses on the market being sold, it will skew the prices downward; less cheap houses – median prices rise.  Remember that about a third of the residences sold in this area are sold for below $50,000.

Are we out of the woods yet?

This bar graph below shows monthly sales over the past 3 years (2009-red, 2010-green, 2012-blue).  Let’s face it, 2011 was a dismal year. And we are straggling behind 2009 in unit sales.

However, a couple more positive months, and this stalwart bear will be morphing into a guardedly cautious bull.  We all want to know that values are trending up, and we all want to know what these types of stats have to do with us, and our particular situations.   I can’t end this post without saying that All Real Estate Is Micro-Local.  Consult an agent that specializes in your neighborhood and knows what’s happening right there.

Mortgage rates are still great if you are considering a purchase or re-finance.  I would like to write about some of the re-fi programs for underwater owners, but I will leave that to the experts.  There are programs available.  Contact me, and I can get you in touch with the experts.

The stats in this post are provided by the Memphis Area Association of Realtors.  Click here to download  the full report.

Is it too early to call it a trend in Memphis Real Estate? is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Last weeks most interesting real estate stories from a variety of sources:

• Servicers incentivized to bet against homeowners, may hurt housing
• Obama housing scorecard shows mixed results
• House Portrait and Carving – Martha Kelly Art
  We love Memphis Artist Martha Kelly’s house portraits
• Hay – The thick walls of this post and beam home are insulated with stacked bales of hay, a material so effective that no heating system is needed.
  via Jim the Realtor at bubbleinfo.com
• Real estate listing syndication debate continues, reasons begin to vary – AGBeat
  Syndication does have an effect on you, the consumer, too.
• Americans favoring city life, moving out of suburbs
  Now this is the kind of story I like to see.
• 5 New ‘Rules’ to Home Buying
• House Tours: Touring the White House
• Former Beatle’s Home for Sale -
  George Harrison’s home for sale.

All my curated real estate links are archived at http://delicious.com/joespake/realestate

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Interesting real estate links for week ending May 8, 2012 is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Last weeks most interesting real estate stories from a variety of sources:

• Bidding Wars for Homes Are Back
• RealtyTrac: Foreclosures up in more than half of major cities
• Moving with pets [infographic] – via Holy Kaw!
  [object Object]
• U.S. homeownership hits record low: Gallup
• Where Sellers Are Most Unrealistic With List Prices
• Most ‘Peaceful’ Places to Live
  Who couldn’t use a little peace and quiet?
• The Ever Elusive Stock-Market-To-Housing-Market Correlation
• Is 2012 A Good Year to Buy A House?
• REALTOR.com Cracks Down on Listing ‘Scraping’ | Realtor Magazine
• “Motivated Seller” ???
  Motivated sellers are ALWAYS ready to show!
• Report: the tight link between housing costs and school quality
• Real estate search sites: comparing 2007 to 2012
• Nonprofit warns foreclosure prevention scams up 60% in 2012
• Analysis of three types of Realtors: producers, improvers, blamers – AGBeat
  This article is about realtors, but the principles apply to all small businesses and self employed persons.

All my curated real estate links are archived at http://delicious.com/joespake/realestate

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Interesting real estate links for week ending May 1, 2012 is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

• REALTOR.com Cracks Down on Listing ‘Scraping’ | Realtor Magazine
• “Motivated Seller” ???
  Motivated sellers are ALWAYS ready to show!
• Report: the tight link between housing costs and school quality
• Real estate search sites: comparing 2007 to 2012

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Interesting real estate links for week ending April 24, 2012 is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

The Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) has published its two versions of March, 2012 residential sales statistics.

Take your pick

The Report Based on Recorded Deeds

MAAR usually publishes a report based on recorded deeds in Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette Counties (Tennessee) early in the month following the reporting period.

Wow, this report  shows a 21.4 YTD increase in unit sales and a 19.8% increase  Y-O-Y for March. Median and average prices are still trending downward.  That variation between average and median indicates there are still a lot of lower priced properties being sold.  Download the full report for a detailed breakdown of sales info.

The Report Based on MLS Data

Later in the month, MAAR publishes sales data for the prior month from the Multiple Listing Service, which reflects sales from areas  within the 3 county area, but also sales from other parts of west Tennessee,  eastern Arkansas and north Mississippi that MLS members are involved in.  So we are not really comparing apples to apples in these 2 reports.

The MLS report shows a more modest 8.2% sales increase Y-O-Y for March and a 14.9% YTD increase, based on units.  Average and median prices are still in a downward trend for the year, with prices significantly different from the report above. Median price for march could have been skewed by a larger number of high-priced sales or a lowered number of  reported low-priced sales.  I like to track the YTD numbers- monthly can be a bit fickle.  Download the  full report  for much more detailed information.

And there’s another player in the real estate sales numbers game

Daily News/Chandler Reports monthly sales report  is drawn from a totally different data set and has consistently provided residential sales information for many years.   Their headline for the March report read:  Home sales up 18%! - reporting sales unit numbers fairly close to MAAR’s first (recorded deeds based) report, yet with enough variation to warrant some attention.

So what is the consumer, homeowner, real estate agent to make of all of this?  Well it all depends on the data being crunched, and obviously there are at least 3 sets of data out there.  So remember what I say in this post just about every month:

ALL REAL ESTATE IS MICRO-LOCAL

Consult a professional who knows YOUR community.

March 2012 real estate sales – Memphis area is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog

Does your neighbor park his pickup in his front yard, because his driveway is filled with inoperable junk cars?  Does he let his grass grow waist-high?  Does the neighbor down the street have soft drink machine on the front porch?  Does a mechanic operate out of his house and garage on the next block?  These are, of course, egregious examples of neighborhood eyesores and nuisances; but do you know what is legal and illegal according to City of Memphis Code of Ordinances?

Top Ten Code Violations in Memphis

1. Accumulation of junk, trash and debris
2. Open storage of material and furnishings
3. Parking and storing inoperable (junk) motor vehicles
4. Excessive weed, grass, trees, and shrubs
5. Substandard structures and fences
6. Off street parking
7. Special use / recreational vehicles and equipment
8. Commercial vehicles and equipment
9. Abandoned and derelict structures
10. General service and repair shops

How do I file a complaint about a violation?

For non-emergency violations you will probably want to start by contacting the Mayor’s Citizen Service Center at 901-576-6500, or the Department of Housing/Code Enforcement can also be contacted at 901-576-7380 to file a complaint regarding unsafe housing conditions, or inoperable vehicles, or File your complaint online.  Occasionally we hear of  slow or no response by code enforcement.  I encourage you to contact the authorities again and have all your concerned neighbors do the same. In the end Code Enforcement will be held accountable for a resolution

Photos Courtesy of Memphis City Beautiful Commission

Code enforcement addresses neighborhood eyesores is a post from: Memphis Real Estate Buzz Blog