No. of state real estate test-takers drops by 57% - Nashville Business Journal:

No. of state real estate test-takers drops by 57% - Nashville Business Journal:

The number of people taking state exams to be real estate agents has dropped 57 percent and Nashville area real estate schools are seeing enrollments cut in half.

Those signing up to use the Middle Tennessee Multiple Listing Service has also declined, down 43 percent from last year to 477 from 843 in the first quarter, according to Real Tracs.

Fewer are getting into the industry and there's been an increase in Realtors getting out, says Harold Crye, CEO of Nashville's largest real estate company Crye-Leike Realtors Inc.

Jason Murphy, administrative manager with Crye-Leike, says the romance is over.

London Home Sells for $230,000,000

A MANSION in London is set to sell for £117million - making it the world's costliest home. The palatial residence, on a street dubbed Billionaires' Row, is believed to have been bought by Britain's richest man, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.

He is believed to be close to exchanging contracts with owner Noam Gottesman, 47, a US-born financier.

The home in Kensington Palace Gardens, West London, Princess Diana's former street, is being sold furnished and with an art collection. It works out at an astonishing £8,000 per square foot.

Mr Mittal, 57, who denies being the buyer, has been looking to splurge some of his £27.7billion fortune on a home for son Aditya, 32. Mr Mittal moved into the half-mile, tree-lined private avenue four years ago after paying £67million for a 12-bedroom home.

Home price index posts largest-ever decline - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com

Home price index posts largest-ever decline - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON - U.S. home prices posted their sharpest first-quarter decline since the government began tracking the data 17 years ago.

The Washington-based Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said Thursday that home prices fell 3.1 percent in the first quarter compared with last year. The index also fell 1.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, the largest quarterly price drop on record.

'The large overhang of real estate inventory awaiting sale continues to force price declines in many areas, but particularly in places that had seen very sharp appreciation,' Patrick Lawler, the agency's chief economist, said in a prepared statement."

Prices fell in 43 states, with California and Nevada showing the biggest declines. Home prices dropped by more than 8 percent in those states.

The government index is calculated by tracking mortgage loans of $417,000 or less that are bought or backed by the government-sponsored mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Legislation enacted in February temporarily raised the limit to as much as $729,750 in high-cost areas.

The government index focuses on less expensive properties and includes fewer houses bought with risky home loans that have gone sour over the past year.

Martin Luther King and Hume Fogg rank 23rd and 24th in the Nation

Martin Luther King and Hume Fogg rank 23rd and 24th in the Nation in the new Newsweek rating of the the top 1300 best Public High Schools.

The next highest Tennessee schools - Brentwood at #187, Hillsboro at #390, and Ravenwood in Brentwood at #465, plus 10 more ranked in the survey.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380?GT1=43002

NASHVILLE HOME SALES DECREASE; PRICES RISE IN APRIL

HOME SALES DECREASE; PRICES RISE IN APRIL; CONDO SALES AND PRICES DOWN

There were 2,135 home closings reported for the month of April, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors®. This represents a decrease of 28.5 percent from the 2,989 closings reported for the same period last year.

Year-to-date closings are down compared to last year with 7,898. That is a 28 percent decrease compared to the 10,979 closings reported through April 2007.

"While home sales are down, the decrease is running on par with previous months. That means the Greater Nashville market is performing with some consistency, even in these time of change. That can work to the advantage of buyers and sellers because they can adapt to the changes, and with the help of a real estate professional, make educated decisions," said Mandy Wachtler, 2008 President of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. "At this time, Nashville area home sales are comparable to 2001, which is much better than some markets around the country which are experiencing home sales and prices comparable to what they had 15 or 20 years ago."

There were 2,342 sales pending at the end of April, compared with 3,339 sales that were pending at the same time last year. The median residential price during April was $180,000 and for a condominium it was $162,000. That compares with median residential and condominium prices at this time last year of $177,900 and $163,900 respectively. The average number of days on the market for a single-family residence was 80 days.

Inventory at the end of April was 24,670. That compares with an inventory of 20,129 at the end of April 2007.

http://www.gnar.org/mlsrelease.htm

Sunday was the 38th Anniversary of Kent State

White Haired Ladies from Nashville for Obama