I tried to get this out on time, I really did. And then Franken-deal rose from the dead and I had to go into my secret laboratory to try to keep it alive long enough to reach the closing table. Add mad scientist to my every growing job description. So, as usual, some other folks have already given you the rundown, but that’s no reason not to look at the April Home Sales Report numbers the AAKT way.

Let’s start with the good news:

Median condo sales price is up
April ‘07- $139,900
April ‘08- $142,900

Knoxify, the site concerned with all things great about Knoxville, has put together a little list of blogs and sites they think “exemplify who the real Knoxville is.” My humble blog made the cut, and I didn’t even have to pay them anything for it. Yet. Thanks guys!

Check out the other guys who made the list and while you’re there check out the rest of Knoxify - it’s worth your time.

“For be it ever so humble, there really is no place like home, even if it does come with a balloon payment mortgage”

- Dr. Austan Goolsbee, in an editorial last year in The New York Times

This week we’re going down South across the Henley Street bridge to a lovely little neighborhood called Lake Forest.

Lake Forest is a pretty well-kept secret as far as established Knoxville neighborhoods go and chances are you’ve driven right by it on your way down Chapman Highway and didn’t even know it. Located just northeast of Chapman Highway, the neighborhood is bounded by May Apple to the north, Red Bud Road the the west, and Lindy Road to the east. In other words, if you’ve passed Kay’s Ice Cream, you’ve gone too far.

Much of Lake Forest is included in the Chapman Highway Dogwood Trail (see map below). Add reasonable home prices, convenience to downtown and campus, and picture perfect views to that selling point, and you see why Lake Forest a very desirable place to call home.

Online information regarding the history of this neighborhood is scarce, so I would appreciate anything anybody can add in the comments. Thanks!

[original map from dogwoodarts.com]

Here’s Lake Forest by the numbers -

Lake Forest*

Current On-Market Listings - 7
Average Asking Price: $142,871
Median Asking Price: $134,900
Most Expensive: $204,000 (4 BR, 2 BA, approx 2200 sq ft basement ranch)
Least Expensive: $107,900 (4 BR, 1 1/2 BA, 1400+ sq ft foreclosure)

Current Pending Sales -3
Average Asking Price: $141,600
Median Asking Price: $129,900

Closed Sales - Q1 2007 - 0
Average Asking Price - NA
Average Sales Price - NA
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - NA

Closed Sales - Q1 2008 - 1
Average Asking Price - $144,900
Average Sales Price - $144,704
Median Sales Price - NA
Average Days on Market - 171

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/19/08 does not include adjacent subdivisions, condos, PUDS, or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties just give me a shout.

Know of a neighborhood you think is especially NOTW worthy? Don’t keep it to yourself - let me know about it in the comments.

This week’s poll is up (on the left side up at the top), and it involves a topic very near and dear to my heart: open houses. This article says they’re on the way out, but I’m not so sure. Open houses have been around for a long time for some pretty substantial reasons: buyers like to go to them, sellers like for agents to hold them, agents like to get prospects from them, and sometimes someone even buys the house because of them. What do you think?

After you vote, you may still feel the need to click on things. Subscribing to this site or following me on Twitter are both good ways to satisfy that craving.

I have a new website obsession and it’s called Zilpy. Zilpy is like a hybrid of Zip Skinny and Zillow, but specifically geared toward renters and investors. According to their website:

Zilpy is a free online rental market facts and analysis service dedicated to help you make better rental and investment decisions.

We do exactly what you would do if you had to do the analysis yourself – collect data from all available sources (newspaper classifieds, online classifieds, apartment rentals, etc.) and filter the data based on your criteria (proximity, property type, crime rate, population, income, etc). We do all this heavy lifting for you so that you can concentrate on your real goal: find the right rental property.

Zilpy also answers to the following questions:

• - Where are the cheapest 2 bedroom Condos or Townhouses?
• - How much rent can I get at this specific address?
• - What is the rental trend in a specific area, can I see heat maps?
• - What is the demographic structure (population, age, income) of a specific rental area?

Enter a potential rental address in Zilpy and you’ll get a Google map showing other nearby rental properties, complete with their current rents and amenities.; comparable rental properties in the area; and a suggested potential rent for the subject property. You’ll also get other information for the area, such as average renter occupancy, vacancy rates and monthly rent affordability. In addition, Zilpy will pull census information for the area, a la Zip Skinny.

While it’s not perfect, Zilpy seems like a good tool for both renters and potential landlords. It’s also a good way to see how many rentals are in an area you’re thinking about moving to.

Out of curiosity, I entered my home address in Kingston Park and was told that I could rent it for $1,425 - anybody looking for a place to live?

Are HELOCS the new sub-prime? Calculated Risk

Are FHA loans with payment assistance programs the new sub-prime? MSNBC

Are conventional loans the new sub-prime? WSJ

Am I totally obsessed with what may or may not be the new sub-prime?

Another week, another installment of Foreclosure Watch. This week brings a new feature - handy arrows out to the right of the stats, indicating if the numbers are up or down from last week. I am also going to be experimenting with some different kinds of charts in the coming weeks, and I highly encourage your (constructive) feedback.

I have had some requests for more area specific foreclosure stats. For those of you wanting very specific info - a particular subdivision or neighborhood - send me an email letting me know what you’re looking for and I can send it to you on an individual basis. Broader areas, such as North, South, West, and East Knoxville, will be getting their own special installments and/ or charts. I’m still working out how best to do this, and again, any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Remember: I was a liberal arts major.

But enough jibber jabber, let’s look at some bank-owned properties, shall we?

Knox County Foreclosure Property Statistics as of 5/14/08 *

Current On-Market Listings - 147 ?
Average Asking Price: $128,950 ?
Median Asking Price: $87,900 ?
Most Expensive New Listing: $ 469,900 (5 BR, 4 1/2 BA, 5900+ sq ft in Powell)
Least Expensive New Listing: $20,000 (2 BR, 1 BA 750+ sq ft in North Knoxville)
New Honorable Mention: $90,000 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1100+ sq ft in Fountain City)

Current Pending Sales -104 ?
Average Asking Price - $91, 149 ?
Median Asking Price - $74,900 ?

Closed Sales May 7, 2008-May 13, 2008 - 9?
Average Asking Price - $118,432 ?
Average Sales Price - $114,232 ?
Median Sales Price - $105,000 ?
Average Days on Market - 55 ?

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 5/08/08 for Knox County single family residential properties only, and does not include condos or PUDS.

As always, if you have any questions about any of these properties, feel free to drop me a line.

Don’t miss a single Foreclosure Watch update - subscribe to All Around K-Town today!

“There’s no doubt that due to the mortgage crisis, everything has tightened up … A year ago, if you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan.”

- Mandy Wachtler, president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors in an article in The Tennessean

Hat tip to Josh Flory for the article.

Knoxville was robbed. Well, metaphorically robbed, and by our old friend Forbes.com, no less. Remember them? The guys who used to put us on all their lists, calling us the best this and most wonderful that?

Well, Forbes has a new list and although they think that both Nashville and Memphis are among America’s best cities for outdoor living, Knoxville didn’t even make the cut.

The reason? Well, it’s actually only because we’re not one of the country’s 40 largest cities, which were the only cities Forbes looked at when compiling the list. Apparently, size does matter.

So basically, East Tennessee’s natural beauty, the plethora of outdoor activities available here, and the great Smoky Mountains themselves don’t mean a thing because we’re not “large” like Memphis or Nashville. Phooey. We may not be as big as those guys, but we’re sure a lot prettier. Have you ever passed a spring in Memphis? I rest my case.

If you feel like Knoxville was robbed of its spot on this Forbes list due to city size discrimination, why not send a friendly email to the article’s author, Rebecca Ruiz , and let her know? And come back here and let me know if you do. Heh.