By: holiday_travel_tips

holiday_travel_tips — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:56:11 +0000

I'm so love this blog, already bookmarked it! Thanks.

By: Grant Hammond

Grant Hammond — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:08:29 +0000

Hi Tommy, no the developers were not counting on out of town investors to buy these condos. In fact, the story is quite the opposite of that. The lenders who where onboard to finance the successful bidders were expecting local, primary residence buyers. When local investors bought, that caused one, Met Life, to pull out of that commitment two days after the auction.

By: Grant Hammond

Grant Hammond — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:08:29 +0000

By: TommyAnderson

TommyAnderson — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:33:06 +0000

I look for the Real Estate Auction Market to heat up in 2010, as lenders scratch their heads amongst piles of REO files and pressure to clear ever mounting inventory. I look for our attorney friends to take more high profile projects into receivorship as 2010 unfolds.Liquidation…What an interesting word.Auctions produce CASH in a timely manner. Talk a little about the state of our fiat currency and whether or not inflation will reappear as in those great 70's years of Jimmy Carter. I am only 46, but remember the local Real Estate Auction Market.here in Nashville..The greatest auction market As it fed, clothed. and educated me and my 4 siblings.Grant… Do you feel many of these developers were counting on out of town buyers of affluence wanting a Nashville unit to add to portfolios of NY,Chicago,LA etc.?

By: anyrand2009

anyrand2009 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:18:19 +0000

To respond to some of your comments:
"6. Higher interest rates at the slightest hint of inflation. You and I both know that the Obama administration will continue to artificially hold interest rates down long enough to burn through our excess inventory in downtown. I don’t agree with this policy, but it is and will continue to happen." Obama isn't in charge of interest rates-the Fed is, and they're not remotely interested in Nashville's excess condo inventory. Ben Bernake has made it abundantly clear he's not going to let inflation get out of hand and they only way to do that is raise interest rates. The question is not whether he will do so, but when.
"8. The universal expectation, and likelihood, that taxes will increase. Insignificant. This is a scare tactic that is not relevant to the Nashville condo market. In fact, most appraisers are predicting lowering these condos’ tax assessed prices which will lead to lower taxes." I was not referring to real estate taxes, which are actually decreasing, but rather income taxes. Increased income taxes will adversely affect everyone and reduce disposable income.
"9. The uncertain, dare I say unstable, economy. Only affects those who feel that their job, stocks or retirement funds are in jeopardy. Most economist agree that the US exited a recession some number of months ago. This morning Greenspan predicted that joblessness would fall to 8.3% by the end of next year – a nearly 2% drop from current levels."I believe the number of individuals who feel their job, stocks, and retirement funds are in jeopardy is quite high, at least if you believe the opinion polls. As for Greenspan, we know in retrospect what a swell job he did. I don't think you're going to see a significant reduction in unemployment until banks start lending again and businesses feel confident enough to start hiring. Count me among those who don't see that happening soon.
"11.The public’s lack of faith in government and its ability to get us out of this mess. Again, insignificant. I don’t buy into any conspiracy theories in this age of information. It is not up to the government to get us out of this mess, it is up to individuals. If you are waiting for gov’t to swoop in and solve all of your problems, you are in the wrong country. Private business has always been a much larger contributor to the bottom line of individual American economic security." The government's incompetence in the last decade is monumental. It has facilitated, if not encouraged, creation of the economic mess we're in now. Let me ask you this: do YOU have confidence Social Security's going to be there for you when you retire? I didn't ask the government to confiscate about 15% of my income (I'm self employed) for SS and Medicare taxes, but having taken my money for 30+ years, I damn sure expect the government to fulfill its obligation re: Social Security to me. If you think political instability doesn't affect investment decisions, you may want to look at South America. I forget which country down there has an inflation exceeding 100%. That's how I see the government solving its massive economic problems: inflate the currency and pay off its obligations in "dollars" worth pennies on the dollar. Call me a cynic.
Regarding your questions to me: I bought a condo near Destin as a second home--I don't rent it out, although I am renting out the condo I bought about 10 years ago but used as a second home until I bought the one near Destin. As for me making a low-ball offer, I didn't make ANY offer once I was informed the Terrazzo developer wasn't accepting anything less than the published prices, revised of course after the auction. I did make what I considered a FMV offer for a unit at Icon, but it was rejected--we were about $60K apart, an impasse too great to overcome. Hey, if Icon and Terrazzo or any other developer can move product at the prices they're charging, more power to them. I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong. But I'm under the distinct impression that units aren't exactly flying off the shelves. As for the banks, I don't think they're pushing the developers YET, particularly after the auctions. At some point, however, something will have to give.
I think we may have a different perspective: I'm a potential cash buyer looking for a low, but reasonable price. The low interest rate is no inducement for me. However, an individual needing to finance a large part of the purchase price may well find it in his or her best interest to pay more for a unit if he or she can obtain financing of favorable terms, and I will grant you that it's unlikely you'll see any better terms than exist now. I want to be the one buying when interest rates increase, no government incentives exist, and unemployment remains high. At that point, I think you may see developers reduce their prices significantly. As long as the market's on life support, I see no pressing need to buy unless you just have too.

Comments on: Nashville Condo Market Debate Continues

By: holiday_travel_tips

By: Grant Hammond

By: Grant Hammond

By: TommyAnderson

By: anyrand2009