In Murfreesboro, TN "property values (are) up 10 to 15%", according to the local newspaper, The Daily News Journal. That's what the headline said anyway. If you take the time to read the article, it goes on to say that the increase is a prediction made by the Property Assessor, Bill Boner.
As a real estate agent, it's misleading headlines like that one which make my task difficult in an already tough market. When it comes to selling a home, I am honest and realistic with homeowners. I bring many facts and statistics about current market sales to my listing appointments so the seller can make the best decision possible for him regarding the sale of and pricing of his home. When he sees it printed in the paper that "property values are up", he wonders what I've been showing and telling him. I had a seller email me today excited that she had read that property values were up, and I had to explain to her that, indeed, property values are not up from that last 4 or 5 years. To say that a $300,000 home built in 2006 has increased to $345,000 in value is just not true. It's not even close to the truth. In reality, that homeowner would be lucky to sell his home today for what he bought it for.
I guess my point is, don't believe everything you read. And it would certainly help if the DNJ would check the facts before they print, particularly if it's going to be on the front page.
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