Dotson's to get a facelift?

For those of you who don’t know, one of the staples of Franklin, Dotson’s Restaurant may be getting a makeover! I was driving past the restaurant the other day and noticed a sign on a vacant piece of property that read “Future Home of Dotson’s on the River”. The current site sits on the corner of 1st Avenue and Main Street. The new location is adjacent to the current Dotson’s.

In today’s news, there was an article relating to this story. It stated that in addition to giving Dotson’s a facelift, the developer wants to build a 5,000 SQFT building that consists of office and retail space. Dotson’s would be located in the front of this building.
This would be a huge improvement for Dotson’s in that they would have a larger dining area, front porch-style dining, and customers could look over the Harpeth River. Now I’m all about changes and making improvements to an area, but in a selfish way, it will be sad to see the long time staple, Dotson’s, relocate, even though it will be next door. As the owner of Dotson’s said, “It's a landmark and it's going to stay there, but I'm smart enough to know this old building is getting older.

This will definitely clean up the area near the river and bring in a needed “facelift.” The new building is proposed to match the existing architecture of the current buildings in the downtown Franklin area. There have not been any plans seen at this time and the builder is still meeting with city officials about the proposed site plan.

Williamson County Makes Forbes Top Wealthiest Counties!

Our own Williamson County makes Forbes richest counties! We ranked 16th on the scale, not too bad!

Here is the excerpt from Forbes:

"16. Williamson County, Tenn.
Median income: $81,449
The Nashville metro's two largest counties are Williamson and Davidson, which have very different demographics. Davidson is more densely populated, and thus its median income is lower than that of Williamson, which is home to more affluent suburbs. Listed for $1.1 million, this three-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house in Franklin has 5,970 square feet of interior space and almost six acres of outdoor space. It is listed through RE/MAX Elite."

December wrap up for Franklin, TN

As many of you have heard or seen through the media, the "housing market" was "terrible". Well that's not really the case in our great state of Tennessee. When the media reports this information, they are loking at it on a national level, not local which in turn may hurt the rest of it. Sure last year there were more home sales, but did you realize that this was the 4th best year for our local market? According to GNAR's Mandy Wachtler:

"Ending the year as the fourth-best year on record is very encouraging considering the state of real estate in other parts of the country," said Mandy Wachtler, 2008 President of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. "While our numbers are down compared to most recent years, it would be nearly impossible to keep up with that pace. We set a record for the number of homes sold for six consecutive years. The market was bound to normalize at some point, and it did last year."

This is great news and needs to be looked at in a positive way! Here are some numbers from December from 2006 % 2007:

Tennessee still hasn't hit the housing slump!

According to the Daliy Real Estate news:
"No Slump Here: Some Markets Buck the Trend

While many housing markets across the country are dealing with drops in home prices and sales volume, there are lots of areas that are bucking the trend with healthy gains.

Among them: the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas, says Lawrence Yun, senior economist with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

In Seattle, Coldwell Banker Bain CEO William Riss says single-family homes are in high demand and will appreciate in value by 9 percent to 12 percent this year, following a 12-percent increase in 2006.

Seattle began recovering from a severe economic downturn toward the end of 2004, much later than most other markets, and has a limited supply of inventory due to zoning restrictions. It also is benefiting from the expansion of large employers, including Microsoft, and the exodus of buyers from pricey California into the region.

Another market bucking the downturn is Austin, Texas, where a growing number of reasonably priced townhomes and condominiums are attracting young professionals and empty nesters. Meanwhile, a robust job market and expanding technology sector are fueling sales and price gains in Salt Lake City. "

In addition, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, April home sales were down, but still reamin strong. Here is the article that wil be released to the media:

"Home sales information for April of 2007 is being released to the media today. The information is being provided to you now, in advance of it appearing in print, so you can be aware of market conditions with direct access to the most recent data.

There were 2,989 home closings reported for the month of April, which represents a 7.6 percent decrease from the 3,236 closings reported for April of 2006. Year-to-date there were 10,979 closings reported, a 6.4 percent decrease from the 11,733 closings during the first quarter of 2006. Greater Nashville remains on track for 2007 to be the second-best year on record for home sales. Click here for more information and details."

Williamson County tops population growth!

According to the Tennessean, Williamson County, Tennessee has reached number one for population growth in the state of Tennessee. Some experts say that it is a result of the recent natural disasters such as hurricanes forcing people to move from their homes and cities. In addition to being number one in growth for the state, Williamson County ranks as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. Here is more from that article:

Actual Article:

Thursday, 03/22/07

Williamson's growth among top in nation Rutherford also on list dominated by counties in South

By LEE ANN O'NEAL Staff Writer

Lifelong Franklin resident Wayne Killebrew used to know many of his neighbors.
In recent years, he's had a hard time keeping up.

Williamson County added about 34,000 residents from 2000 to 2006, growing faster than any other Nashville-area county and earning it a spot among the fastest-growing counties in the nation, new census figures show.

These days, to keep pace with his fellow county residents, Killebrew would have to meet and greet about 7,300 new residents a year — or about 20 per day.

"A lot of these people I don't know now," said Killebrew, 60, owner of Rooster Tales, a furniture and home decor store. "They're moving in so fast I can't keep up with them."

Tax to help fund growth
To help pay for the growth, Williamson County recently passed a $1 per square foot tax on new homes, with the proceeds going to school construction, county planning director Mike Matteson said.

Rutherford County is the only other Midstate county to make the list of 100 fastest-growing counties.

Tennessee's population grew from 5.7 million in 2000 to more than 6 million in 2006.
Thirteen of the 20 fastest-growing counties in the country are in the South.

Killebrew said the biggest downside to the area's growth is the "horrendous" traffic.
"They keep building parks around here," Killebrew said. "People need traffic solutions."

Franklin one of few neighborhoods/cities to keep sales strong on the fourth quarter!















As many of you read the post below, 2006 was the best year for real estate yet, with more homes sold thatn any other before. In that same post, you saw that that December was down in sales, which it was from previous months. However, Franklin had more sales than any other city in the area.

Does the media really think home sales were down in 2006? Apparently they did with all the negative talk. Here are some numbers for them to chew on.

Latest Press Release from the GNAR:

Year-to-date closings are 40,056. That total is an increase of 3 percent from the 38,879 closings reported through the same period last year. This represents a new record for home sales in Greater Nashville during any one year.

There were 3,109 home closings reported for the month of December, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors®. This represents a decrease of 7.5 percent from the 3,362 closings reported for the same period last year.

For the fourth quarter of 2006 there were 9,307 closings. That total is down 2.6 percent from the 9,563 closings reported through the same period last year.

"Nashville's real estate market continues a stretch of unprecedented growth," said Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell. "For six consecutive years, the city has set records in home sales, which is not only a tribute to industry professionals, but to the exciting things happening in our city. We look forward to another successful year ahead."

"The Greater Nashville real estate market experienced its most productive year ever in 2006, with more than 40,000 closings for the first time ever," said Richard Courtney, 2007 President of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. "While expecting to break a record every month and every year is unrealistic, it is very encouraging to note that December and the fourth quarter posted the second-highest closings ever during those time periods. This is further confirmation that the Greater Nashville real estate market remains active and healthy."