This week Neighborhood of the Week stays in West Knoxville to revisit a charming, older neighborhood with some seriously steep hills: Echo Valley.

Located just west of Gallaher View and just east of Ebenezer, and bounded by Gleason Drive to the north Westland Dr to the south, Echo Valley is an affordable West Knox neighborhood that has been built out over three decades. If you come in via Westland Drive, you will be in the newer part of the neighborhood, where most of the homes built in 1980s and 1990s are located. As you go up the (rather steep) hill towards Gleason, you start to see the 1970s portion of the neighborhood, complete with the requisite basement ranchers, tri-levels, and split foyers.

Being an older community, Echo Valley has tons of mature trees and lots of gorgeous foliage come springtime. It also has another advantage of older neighborhoods – roomier lot sizes, especially for the homes built in the 70s.

So if you’re looking for an affordable and conveniently located home in West Knoxville, complete with lots of mature trees, you might want to check out Echo Valley.

Special thanks to AAKT’s in-house photographer, Robert Stockdale. Without him, NOTW would be just a bunch of boring old words. Find out more about Robert’s work here.

Here’s  Echo Valley by the numbers -

Echo Valley*

Current On-Market Listings – 1
Asking Price: $195,000
Details: 4 BR, 2.5 BA, 2400 sq ft, built in 1975

Current Pending Sales - 0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price: NA

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2009 – 2
Average Asking Price – $244,450
Average Sales Price – $233,000
Average Square Ft- 2831
Average Days on Market -45

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2008- 2
Average Asking Price – $200,450
Average Sales Price – $196,750
Average Square Footage – 2857
Average Days on Market – 76

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 08/31/09 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you’d like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either “Current Echo Valley Listings” or “New Echo Valley Listings” in the subject line and I’ll take care of the rest. Ix-nay on the am-spay.

I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting places to feature on NOTW. If you have a suggestion, I’d love to hear about it.

It’s time to check in with how the home sales are doing by looking back on last month’s Home Sales Report from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, also known as KAAR.

While the July numbers don’t seem so great at first glance, when you look at them in context with the earlier part of the year, as Josh Flory recently did, they don’t look so bad. Flory pointed out that although overall sales are down 13% compared to July ‘08, sales have been getting “less bad” as the year has progressed:

January — Down 36 percent
February — Down 33 percent
March — Down nearly 28 percent
April — Down more than 27 percent
May — Down more than 25 percent
June — Down 15 percent
July — Down less than 13 percent

And in the current market, “less bad” is pretty darn good.

And now it’s time to  break down the July home sale numbers the only way that I know how — AAKT style.

You know I like to start with the good news, and thankfully there is some -

Median sales price for 2 or less BR homes is up.
July ‘08 – $74,500
July ‘09 – $82,000

Average sales price for 3 BR homes is the same (yes, this counts as good new in this market).
July ‘08 – $162,400
July ‘09 – $162,400

Average sales price for 2 or less BR homes is (way) down.*
July ‘08 – $146,100
July ‘09 – $88,100

Median sales price for 3 BR homes is down.
July ‘08 – $146,200
July ‘09 – $137,300

Median sales price for 4+ BR homes is down.
July ‘08 – $262,500
July ‘09 – $239,000

Average condo sales price is down.
July ‘08 – $178,200
July ‘09 – $163,700

Median condo sales price is down.
July ‘08 – $160,000
July ‘09 – $144,500

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads back west and way down Northshore Drive to revisit a little lakeside neighborhood with some awfully big homes: Montgomery Cove.

Nestled in the “v” formed by Northshore Drive and Choto Road, Montgomery Cove is a waterfront community that backs up to Turkey Creek.

Residents who don’t live in one of the neighborhood’s lakefront homes can still enjoy the water at Waterside Park, a four acre community area complete with a Stephen Fuller designed clubhouse, a lakeside dock with fishing pier, a 25 meter swimming pool, a gazebo, a playground, and basketball, vollyball and tennis courts.

In addition to its lakefront amenities, Montgomery cove also features sidewalks and streetlamps throughout the neighborhood.

Homes in Montgomery Cove are large and tradtional – some might even say grand – and many have large porches and columned entrances.

Even though Montgomery Cove is way out on the far southwest stretch of Northshore Drive, it is still easily accessible via Kingston Pike and I-40 to the north or I-140 to the east.

So if you’re looking for an upscale and idyllic lakefront community in the upper price range and don’t mind adding a few extra minutes to your daily commute in order to get it, Montgomery Cove might just be your cup of tea.

Special thanks to AAKT’s resident photographer, Robert Stockdale, for the great shots of Montgomery Cove. If you would like to learn more about Robert’s work, please visit his website.

Here’s Montgomery Cove by the numbers -

Montgomery Cove*

Current On-Market Listings – 16
Average Asking Price: $656,194
Median Asking Price: $606,700
Average Square Feet: 4325

Most Expensive: $995,000 (4 BR, 4.5 BA, 4400+ sq ft with lake frontage)

Least Expensive: $485,000 (4 BR, 3.5 BA, 3400+ sq ft built in ‘98)

Middle of the Road: $617,500 (5 BR, 3.5 BA, 5000+ sq ft foreclosure)

Current Pending Sales - 0
Average Asking Price: NA
Median Asking Price:NA

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2009- 2
Average Asking Price – $634,900
Average Sales Price – $590,000
Median Sales Price – NA
Days on Market -102

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2008 – 0
Average Asking Price – NA
Average Sales Price – NA
Median Sales Price – NA
Days on Market -NA

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 8/24/09 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you’d like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either “Current Montgomery Cove Listings” or “New Montgomery Cove Listings” in the subject line and I’ll take care of the rest. No. Spam. Ever.

Know of a neighborhood that’s Neighborhood of the Week material?  Let me know about it and I’ll do my best to feature it as soon as possible.

© 2009 Robert Stockdale Photography, All Rights Reserved.

This week Neighborhood of the Week heads back to the north side of town, a little ways up from downtown, but not quite all the way to Fountain City, to a small historic community known as Lincoln Park.

© 2009 Robert Stockdale Photography, All Rights Reserved.

Lincoln Park is located just north of the Old North Knoxville and Fourth and Gill neighborhoods and is roughly bounded by Sharps Ridge to the north, Atlantic Avenue to the south, Broadway to the east, and I-275 to the west. It is very often lumped in with the neighboring community of Oakwood, and in fact there is a joint Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association. From that association’s web page:

The Lincoln Park community began as a mineral spring resort in 1899 and was probably named for the large Lincoln Park in Chicago. The original Lincoln Park school was located at Atlantic and Kenyon Aves. There were three mineral springs, Epsom, Lithia, and Chalybeate, located where the Lincoln Park Elementary School later stood. An early photograph shows a building with porches on at least three sides with a sign above saying, “Lincoln Park Mineral Springs.” The springs were enclosed so that people had to buy the water and much later were capped. The first school building was erected near the springs by Knox County. The dummy railroad line, which served the neighborhood, became part of the city’s trolley system, following annexation in 1917. Lincoln Park became a part of the city of Knoxville in 1917 along with Oakwood and several other neighborhoods.

The joint Oakwood/Lincoln Park neighborhood association is very active and even has its own clubhouse where neighborhood meetings are held and which residents can rent out for special events.

© 2009 Robert Stockdale Photography, All Rights Reserved.

The homes in Lincoln Park have a lot of character. Many date from at or near the turn of the century and several have architectural characteristics of Victorian and Craftsman style homes. And even though it is a historic neighborhood, Lincoln Park is still quite affordable, especially compared to Old North Knox or Fourth and Gill.

So if you’re looking for a charming, historic, and affordable neighborhood with a strong sense of community that is also convenient to downtown and UT, you might not have to look any further than Lincoln Park.

© 2009 Robert Stockdale Photography, All Rights Reserved.

All Neighborhood of the Week pictures are provided by Robert Stockdale, photographer extraordinaire. You can check out more of Robert’s work at his website.

Note: The stats for this NOTW are only for Lincoln Park. I will be covering Oakwood in a future installment.

Here’s Lincoln Park by the numbers -

Lincoln Park*

Current On-Market Listings – 12
Average Asking Price: $82,967
Median Asking Price: $81,200
Most Expensive: $129,900 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1800+ sq ft built in 1920)
Least Expensive: $25,000 (3 BR, 2 BA, 1200+ sq ft built in 1920)
Middle of the Road: $79,900 (2 BR, 1 BA, 1100+ sq ft built in 1930)

Current Pending Sales - 1
Asking Price: $53,500
Details: 3 BR, 2 BA, 1100+ sq ft foreclosure

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2009 – 2
Average Asking Price – $73,700
Average Sales Price – $69,500
Median Sales Price – NA
Average Days on Market – 68

Closed Sales – 2nd Quarter 2008 – 7
Asking Price – $70,543
Average Sales Price – $68,343
Median Sales Price – $65,101
Days on Market – 62

*Data taken from KAARMLS on 8/17/09 does not include condos, PUDS, adjacent neighborhoods or multi-family units.

As always, if you want any more information about any of these properties, or if you’d like to check one of them out in person, just give me a shout.

If you would like to receive a full list of properties for sale in this neighborhood, or if you would like to be notified of new listings, send me an email with either “Current Lincoln Park Listings” or “New Lincoln Park Listings” in the subject line and I’ll take care of the rest. No unsolicited emails will come your way as a result, scout’s honor.

Feeling left out because your neighborhood hasn’t yet been featured as a Neighborhood of the Week? Don’t keep it to yourself, let me know all about it.