Home sales are supposed to be weak during a presidential election year, but Nashville-area home buyers apparently haven’t heard that bit of conventional wisdom. The market is stronger than it’s been in years.
August 2012 real estate trends for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
September 2012 residential real estate transactions for Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties, as compiled by Chandler Reports.
REALTY CHECK
Happy days are here again for developers, renovators and, as a result, sellers in various areas around town, including 12South, Hillsboro Village, Hillsboro West End, Green Hills, Belle Meade Highlands, Forest Hills, Oak Hill, Sylvan Park, East Nashville and a few other pockets. Owners there can now sell their houses for more than they are worth.
TERRY McCORMICK
The one element of the Tennessee Titans season that has been dependable thus far this season has been special teams.
NEWSMAKERS
Regions Bank has purchased Story Capital Group, LLC, and hired James Story as employee benefits consultant. In his new role, Story will lead business development efforts, maintain client relationships and consult with bank customers regarding employee benefits including health, life and disability insurance.
GUERRILLA MARKETING
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This principle from author Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People has the power to solve an industry-wide sales challenge – under-developed listening skills.
THE WORLDLY INVESTOR
Oct. 9 marked the five-year anniversary of the record closing high of the S&P 500. With the S&P 500 getting within 3 percent of that closing high last week on a total return basis, many investors wonder if this current equity bull market has any legs left.
SMART STUFF 4 WORK
Have you ever accidentally, or perhaps purposely, kicked the top off an anthill? If you have, you have some idea of what it would look like if you could visit New York City and somehow magically lift Madison Square Garden and observe what’s going on below it.
I SWEAR
When I first read James H. Boren’s 1972 classic, When in Doubt, Mumble, I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever read. Forty years later, having read hundreds, maybe dozens, of books purporting to be (a) humorous and (b) about law, business, government, or politics, I still believe Boren’s work is the cream of the crop.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - Jason Aldean leads the list of top country music stars set to perform on the American Country Awards.
MIDSTATE
MURFREESBORO (AP) - Two fired Rutherford County property assessor employees have filed a federal lawsuit against their former boss claiming sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Embattled Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester has decided not to seek a third term in charge of the state party.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Two University of Tennessee researchers are being honored for their work in turning ideas into products and businesses.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times Co. reported a sharp decline in its third-quarter net income on Thursday and said revenue fell below analysts' expectations amid weakness in print and digital advertising.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose only slightly, suggesting sales may level off in the coming months after solid gains in the past year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies remained cautious in September and held back on orders for long-lasting manufactured goods that signal investment plans. Weak business investment has contributed to slower economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment aid fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 369,000, a level consistent with modest hiring.
NEW YORK (AP) — A weak showing in home sales and more disappointing earnings reports are sending stocks lower on Wall Street, extending a weeklong slide.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is up slightly after earlier gains of more than 1 percent evaporated.
LONDON (AP) — British publishing and education company Pearson PLC says it is in talks with German media group Bertelsmann SE over merging the firms' Penguin and Random House publishing operations.
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is celebrating the imminent release of the company's Windows operating system after two years of work.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Add former Gov. Winfield Dunn to the list of prominent Tennessee Republicans maintaining a careful distance from embattled U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais following revelations the congressman once urged a woman he had an affair with to seek an abortion.
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Christian sister trio Barlowgirl is retiring after nearly a decade of chart-topping success.
AUTO INDUSTRY
PARIS (AP) — The extent of the European car industry's troubles was laid bare Wednesday, when France's government tossed a financial lifeline to the continent's No. 2 automaker, Peugeot Citroen, and Ford said it would shut a plant in Belgium, cutting 9,500 jobs.
NASHVILLE (AP) - German automaker Volkswagen AG is considering the introduction of a new midsize SUV for the North American market, and its existing Tennessee plant is a contender for building it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cars that drive themselves may hold the potential to save thousands of lives, an Obama administration safety official said Tuesday, as the government prepares to launch a research initiative to determine the safety and reliability of automated driving technologies.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Food banks are hurting as a federal economic stimulus program that helped provide surplus food is coming to an end.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest federal lawsuit over alleged mortgage fraud paints an unflattering picture of a doomed lender: Executives at Countrywide Financial urged workers to churn out loans, accepted fudged applications and tried to hide ballooning defaults.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of new homes jumped last month to the highest level in more than two years, further evidence of a sustained housing recovery that could help lift the lackluster economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two weeks before a U.S. election focused on the economy, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that its help is still needed to increase growth and lower unemployment.
NEW YORK (AP) — The steep losses finally stopped Wednesday as the stock market turned calm, a day after one of its biggest sell-offs of the year. Indexes ended with slight losses after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy still needs support.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell Wednesday after the U.S. reported an unexpectedly large increase in crude supplies.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gasoline across the U.S. is cheaper after a week of rapid price declines. But it still isn't cheap.
DALLAS (AP) — US Airways says it earned $245 million in the third quarter, its best profit ever for the 3-month period that covers much of the peak summer vacation season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. says its third-quarter profit nearly doubled mostly due to the increasing value of its fuel contracts.
NEW YORK (AP) — The flow of customers into AT&T's wireless stores slowed further in the latest quarter, putting the company far behind rival Verizon Wireless.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) - The pharmacist who co-founded a Massachusetts specialty pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak has voluntarily surrendered his license in Tennessee as state health officials report an increase in people sickened.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam said meetings with three credit agencies this week went well and he is optimistic about the outcomes.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance has decided not to penalize Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett for discrepancies in his campaign filings.
NASHVILLE (AP) — State officials say church-sponsored child-care programs such as parents' day out, must either obtain licenses or limit their programs to no more than two days a week.
KNOXVILLE (AP) — Technology experts in government, private business and academia will be gathering in Knoxville this week for the eighth annual East Tennessee Cyber Security Summit.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Nobody was expecting this round of corporate earnings reports to be great. But companies' underwhelming results are still rattling investors.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. oil output is surging so fast that the United States could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook is reporting a loss for its third quarter, though revenue rose by nearly a third. The results exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell to a three-month low as big corporations cut earnings forecasts, raising concerns about economic growth and oil demand.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. is refusing to compete on price with its rivals in the tablet market — it's pricing its new, smaller iPad well above the competition.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22
MUSIC INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) - On Taylor Swift's new album, "Red," there's a song where the 22-year-old superstar sings about a fictional one: a famous singer who spends years under the glare of the spotlight, then ditches her uncomfortable fame for a life of solitude.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Garth Brooks promised he'd be emotional during his Country Music Hall of Fame induction. But the tears started before he made it all the way into the building.
STATEWIDE
NASHVILLE (AP) — The federal Making Home Affordable Program will be offering free help for homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure.
NASHVILLE (AP) — A recent audit of Tennessee's parole and probation system found officers failed to properly supervise sex offenders, sometimes allowing them access to children.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is waiting for the presidential election as much as anyone.
Oil hit a three-week low as a major North American pipeline got set to reopen.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Caterpillar says the global economy is weaker than previously thought, and it's cutting its profit and revenue guidance for 2012.
Greg Smith wrote the essay that echoed across Wall Street like a thunderclap.
NEW YORK (AP) — National Geographic Society has chronicled scientific expeditions, explorations, archaeology, wildlife and world cultures for more than 100 years, amassing a collection of 11.5 million photos and original illustrations.
NATIONAL POLITICS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama isn't talking about it and neither is Mitt Romney. But come January, 163 million workers can expect to feel the pinch of a big tax increase regardless of who wins the election.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
STATEWIDE
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Aspen Dental Management and the private equity firm that controls it illegally operate dental clinics across the country and engage in aggressive, misleading profit-driven practices that cause patients economic harm, claims a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in New York.
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's unemployment rate decreased slightly in September.
NASHVILLE (AP) - Attorneys for two Memphis voters told a panel of the state Appeals Court they should strike down a new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls because it disenfranchises voters.
NASHVILLE AREA
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's chief medical officer says the rate of new infections from a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak appears to be declining in the state where it was first discovered.
NASHVILLE (AP) - The number of Tennessee cases of people sickened by a rare fungal meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections is now 63.
MIDSTATE
NASHVILLE (AP) — National Democratic groups have begun to target a Tennessee race rocked by revelations that the Republican incumbent, a doctor, once discussed abortion with a patient who was his mistress.
NASHVILLE (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Tennessee on Friday.
NATIONAL BUSINESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes fell in September after hitting a two-year high in August, in part because there were fewer homes available for sale.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has presided over a heyday for the gun industry despite predictions by the National Rifle Association four years ago that he would be the "most anti-gun president in American history."
NEW YORK (AP) — Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.
The price of oil is falling after TransCanada reaffirmed its plans to restart a pipeline this weekend that carries crude from Canada to the Midwest.
NEW YORK (AP) — General Electric Co.'s net income rose 49 percent in the third quarter to $3.49 billion as its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis continues.
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — McDonald's says third-quarter net income fell nearly 4 percent as the stronger dollar hurt international results and the chain faced tough competition in the U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gasoline prices have finally begun their seasonal slide.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to near its record low set earlier this month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election.
AUTO INDUSTRY
NASHVILLE (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. announced Friday it will add a third shift at a vehicle assembly plant in Tennessee, adding more than 800 jobs.
DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety regulators are investigating complaints that Jeep Patriot SUV engines can stall without warning at highway speeds.
CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Volkswagen officials underestimated emissions from the paint shop at the company's auto assembly plant in Chattanooga.
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors will hire 3,000 workers from Hewlett-Packard, part of a push to bring most of its computer technology in-house.