Brian R Kelly

Category: Professionals

  • One North Shore Condos in Chattanooga, TN is "Newer" Home Sales Leader

    Corner at 200 Manufacturer's Road
    Corner at 200 Manufacturer’s Road

    One North Shore condos in Chattanooga, TN 37405 at 200 Manufacturer’s Road is the number one selling neighborhood for homes built after 1999 in Hamilton County to date in 2013.  Twenty three condos have sold as of this post with the top price of $374,000 for a 2 bedroom 1,161 sqft seventh floor unit.  The homes sell for more than $220 per square foot.  Some of units overlook the Tennessee River, Chattanooga, river front parks and the downtown bridges.

    The amenities make the complex very popular.  One North Shore has a penthouse Club Room, resort style pool with Cabana, fitness facility and concierges services.  Lauren greeted me at the Concierges office as I waited for inspectors and contractors for a condo I recently sold.  She was coordinating helpers sending packages to owners and food and beverage preparation for a party at the pool Cabana.

    (Confession of an old real estate agent) The lack of imagination in the exterior design was a detraction for me.  What did impress me the most by helping buyers making a decision for downtown living at One North Shore is the owner’s care of building a community with common areas and good services.  The location adjacent to grocery, parks, commercial, and convenient to downtown is a great draw as well.

    Downtown Chattanooga is becoming a draw for home owners.  The second place sales winner goes to Black Creek Mountain in Lookout Valley.  They scored 14 sales so far in 2013.   Black Creek Mountain (former Cummings Cove) is less than 10 minutes from downtown.  Chattanooga is becoming a place to be after work and weekends.  Being close to the city as well as providing “newer”  homes gives the neighborhoods an edge over the competition.

    Kudos to Fletcher Bright and their management and sales team for trumping all Hamilton County neighborhoods for “young” home sales.  One North Shore is realizing it’s potential place in Chattanooga, TN real estate history.

  • Foosball, Zillow and Trulia are not of the devil

    Foosball, Trulia and  Zillow are not of the devil.  The post title is a play on the quote from Mama in the 1998 movie “The Waterboy”.  (Don’t worry if you did not catch the quote, it is one of Adam Sandler’s intellectual type flicks)  {Telling on my movie taste here:  if Adam Sandler or Jackie Chan are not in the film, it could be suspect}  Some real estate professionals may think organizations such as Trulia and Zillow are “bad for business.”  The real estate business as we know it is live and well and God bless Zillow and Trulia for joining the fray.   Here are five observations from this grizzled real estate broker.Zillow App

    1.  Home buyers and sellers love Zillow and Trulia:   Regardless of your opinion of data integrity, value accuracy, etc., there is no disputing that millions of buyers and sellers are using the apps.  They must have some type of value, otherwise people would not download them.  Judging from my experience it is not entertainment value.

    2.  Robots are robots:  Regardless of the power of third parties to influence our customers, they do not have the relationship with local people.  Licensed real estate agents do.  Hint to agents: focus on relationships.

    3.  Zillow and Trulia provide value:  Recent friend of mine used “Make Me Move” application with Zillow.  The buyer that responded had agent representation, so he called wanting me to represent him.  Zillow is not representing anyone regarding their “guess” to square footage, or their “Zestimate” of value.  My license is still on the line with my measuring tape in hand and on the “ground”.

    4.  Agents provide value:  We are paid well for our knowledge,  skill, and trust in relationship in context of fair dealing.  My most recent listing is 12 years old.  The owners purchased a new 2,400 square foot home for $300,000 in 2000.  Over the last decade the owners finished the entire second floor, which added space to a new total of 3,800 square feet.  There is no data that Zillow can pick up that “justifies” a price of $465,000 for the original 2,400 sqft home.  That is local product knowledge delivered by a licensed pro.

    5. Whip’em fair and square:  Groaning agents over competition bore me!  Trulia is a huge wordpress blog that strategically uses agents across the country to add value to it.  Stop!  Build your own blog and put a hurtin on Trulia and Zillow.  Reclaim your territory and bring the fight to your neighborhood.  One million Realtors or two million licensed real estate agents far out number the assets of Trulia and Zillow.

    Zillow and Trulia are not of the devil.  They are products of what current consumers are demanding in knowledge about real estate.  Start a blog, get a Twitter account and let’s serve our customers well!