Making Progress Toward Recovery

From Charles McMillian
2009 National Realtor Association (NAR) President

There has been a healthy debate among our members about the stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama in mid-February. I'm grateful for the many thoughtful comments I've received from you - both pro and con.

Although there's not one cure for the economic ills we're facing, there's one point on which I think we all agree: To get the U.S. economy back on track, we need a stable housing market. That means reducing inventory in our nation's housing markets, and that has been the driving force behind our advocacy efforts over the past several months.

In November, NAR's Board of Directors asked us to do four things: Push for loan limit increases for high-cost areas to be extended beyond 2008; make the $7500 tax credit a true credit and not a loan; find ways to push interest rates down by 200 basis points; and help provide solutions to the foreclosure/short sale problem.

We're making tremendous progress. For 2009, the loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loans have been raised to $729,750 in high-cost areas. The tax credit has been raised to $8000 with no payback, making it a true credit. And interest rates have come down 125-150 basis points.

Apart from the new stimulus bill, the administration has committed $50 billion from Troubled Asset Relief Program funds toward foreclosure mitigation, and the U.S. Treasury has doubled its commitment to buy mortgage paper from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These actions should help reduce foreclosures and keep interest rates low. In addition, Fannie Mae has agreed to raise the cap on the number of investment properties to eligible for loans, from four properties per borrower to 10.

But we're not finished. We're still working every day to effect changes that will have a meaningful impact on your business. Some of our most important advocacy efforts are about preserving the home ownership benefits that exist. Shortly after we celebrated victory on getting the tax credit and higher loan limits, the Obama administration released a proposal to limit mortgage interest deductibility for high-income individuals. It's a proposal we reject - and we've been working to let Congress and the administration know why we think it would further depress values and derail recovery efforts.

My theme for this year, "United Toward Tomorrow," is an apt one for the times. We're all experiencing this faltering economy together - and together we'll bring about better time. Thank you for your active engagement in the critical debates and advocacy efforts now taking place within this industry, this association, and this country.

Dragon Music Sundays

The Village Fund is a sponsor of a great (and free!) summer concert series put on by the Hillsboro-West End Neighborhood Association. Dragon Music Sundays takes place every Sunday from 3-5:30pm at Fannie Mae Dees Park (aka Dragon Park) now through July 5. This is a great Nashville community event - come out and enjoy!

Village Fund Spotlight

One of our favorite Village Fund recipients is Greenways for Nashville. Greenways are linear corridors of land that are permanently maintained in a relatively undeveloped, natural condition as open space. These linear parks and trails connect many of Nashville's urban neighborhoods to schools, shopping areas, downtown, offices, recreation areas and open spaces. The mission of Greenways for Nashville is to create, develop, protect, preserve and promote the greenways system. Coming soon, there will be a greenway running through The Gulch by Icon and Velocity. Learn more about this Village Fund recipient.

One Left at The Glen

Only one condo remains at The Glen in Hillsboro Village! The last unit is a 2BR/2.5BA with almost 1400 sqft for $329,500. It includes two parking spaces and a private balcony. The developer is offering a $25,000 incentive meaning you can take the incentive off the price or put some of it towards closing costs or upgrades. Contact us for more info or to schedule a tour.

Three Left at West End Station

Homes at West End Station in Sylvan Park have been selling quickly in the last month and we are down to only three single-family homes left: Two 2BR/2.5BA for $259,500 and one 3BR/3BA for $274,500. Each efficiently designed home features granite countertops, sanded-and-finished hardwood floors, large front porches, and was built using eco-friendly green construction techniques resulting in lower energy costs. Contact us to schedule a tour or stop by the open house Saturday and Sunday from 2-5pm.

Open House Blitz this Sunday

Open House Blitz in 12South,Belmont-Hillsboro,& Hillsboro-West End
This Sunday, May 17
2-5pm

Almost all of Village's listings in these neighborhoods will be open and you can easily find them by our recognizable purple pointer signs and balloons. We'll have a list in each home of all the other properties open. Come find your place!

A Study of Showing Activity

We did a study of Village's showing activity over the past few months, and found a positive trend. Showings are up 34% in April over March, and 81% over February. This is good news! It says that there are buyers and they are out and about. But we thought it would be even more interesting to compare the number of showings in these months to the same months in years past. We all know that warmer weather means more activity in the real estate world, so to give 2009's positive trend credability it seemed necessary to look back. Look what we discovered...

2007 2008 2009
February 626 581 466
March 684 650 631
April 738 758 844

Yes, February was down slightly in 2009 compared to the previous years, but March was practically right on target, and April had even more showings this year than in the past two years! What a pleasant surprise to learn that despite the down market, even more buyers are out trying to find their place.

What to Do with an Old Laptop

Bring it to the Public Electronic Equipment Recycling Day at LP Field!

Saturday, May 16
9am - 3pm

This is an opportunity for free, safe and environmentally sound and friendly disposal and recycling of "eWaste". Materials accepted at the event include:
CRT Monitors
LCD Displays
CPUs
All-in-Ones
Laptops
Servers
Switches
Hubs
UPS Systems
Keyboards & Mice
Speakers
Hard Drives
Optical Drives
Wires and Cables
Cell Phones
Pagers
PDAs
Televisions
DVDs
VCRs
Stereos
Cameras
Radios
Game Systems
Fax Machines
Photo Copiers
Printer Scanners
Surge Protectors
Telephones
Microwaves

10 Great Green Houses

If you know the CityLiving Team and Village, you know that we love green. The color is ok, but we mean we love eco-friendly anything. Eco-friendly building techniques, eco-friendly products, eco-friendly modes of transportation, etc. So of course we thought this posting on a cool web site called Mother Nature Network was pretty great. Check out these impressive green houses and let us know what you think. Can you see yourself living in one of them?

10 Great Green Houses

1032 1st Ave N

Check out this renovated top floor condo we are listing at Riverfront Condos downtown for $169,900. This 1000 sqft flat has two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms and overlooks the Cumberland River. It also has hardwood floors, a kitchen with maple cabinets and solid surface countertops, new ultra quiet windows, a fireplace, a deck, and the community even has a swimming pool. Want to know more? Email us.

Property Reappraisal 2009

The front page story in the Tennessean yesterday...

Nashville Homeowners Skeptical of New Property Values
Metro Reappraisals Buck Real Estate Downturn
By Michael Cass

Click here to read the full story on the Tennessean web site.

Twittering

We're twittering! We decided it was time to jump on the bandwagon and start sending out some tweets. We're having too much fun keeping up with the twitterers we are following.

Follow us on Twitter! Then you'll really be the first to know about new listing and other CityLiving tidbits.

1006 Petway Avenue

Check out this great listing we have in East Nashville at 1006 Petway Avenue [map]. This Craftsman Bungalow is only $149,900! It has beautiful hardwood floors, a renovated kitchen with granite countertops that opens into the den/office or dining room, a master bedroom with a walk-in closet and stackable washer/dryer, a woodburning fireplace, tile bath, french doors, and a deck overlooking the fenced yard. Interested? We can give you more details, just email us.