The Derosia Team

Moving can be a scary and taunting endeavor. If you are new to the Smoky Mountain area, check out this link for a list of resources in our area.                                                   Community Resource Guide A great place to learn more about the area is to check out the local libraries. Each of our local libraries has tons of resources and activities.  King Family Library 408 High St (865) 453-3532 Pigeon Forge Public Library 2449 Library Dr (865) 429-7490 Seymour Branch Library 137 W Macon Ln (865) 573-0728 Anna Porter Public Library Public Library 158 Proffitt Rd (865) 436-5588 Kodak Public Library 319 W Dumplin Valley Rd (865) 933-0078

WOW, 2012 is in the books.  The question is: How did the Smoky Mountains Real Estate Market end the year?  The Derosia Team has put together some statistics and visual aids to share with our readers. The first category we compared was residential units sold with the residential units listed in the year of 2012. As you can see there were 117 more units sold in 2012 than in 2010.  There were 131 more units sold in 2012 than in 2011. The total units sold are up 10% from 2010 and 12% from 2011. Total volume sold in 2012 compared to the previous years is also showing some positive trends.  While 2012 is down .2% from 2010, it is up 4.91% from 2011. The last category we have compared average list price with average sale price. Average sale price is down, as well as average list price, from the previous years.  This often means it is a buyers market rather than a sellers market. In 2010 the residential units sold for 92.40% of their list price.  In ...

Valentine's Day is approaching quickly and the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is celebrating the entire month of February. On April 10, 1912 the Titanic set sail and it was very apparent that romance and adventure were in the air.  Twelve couples aboard the Titanic on April 10 were on their honeymoon, 9 in first class.  There was also young brides to be setting sail to America to begin a new life.  Of coarse, Rose, the fictional character from the film was apart of that group. Titanic is giving you to experience the power of love during Sweetheart Month.  Titanic is celebrating Valentine's Day all month long to pay tribute to romance and the long lasting love of couples everywhere.  During Sweetheart Month you can renew your wedding vows in elegant style on Titanic's Grand Staircase. Each ceremony is presided over by the ships captain.  Reservations are required.

Tourist destinations are packed full of restaurants; most of them being the well known chain restaurants that can be dined in all over the country.  However, every city has the smaller restaurants that are usually out of the hustle and bustle of the city life.  These restaurants are  local favorites and mom and pop establishments that don't make it into the guidebooks and vacation brochures.  Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and the other surrounding areas of the Smoky Mountains have several well-kept secrets that the locals love.   These establishments in the Smoky Mountains are often a great place to go and learn about the local culture, as well as eat some of the best local food.  Most of the establishments have more reasonable prices than the chain restaurants in town.  The service is above and beyond in these family owned establishments and the food is worth coming back for over and over again. Because there are so...

A half-million more visitors toured the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2012 than during the preceding year. Figures released by the National Park Service showed nearly 9,686,000 people entered the park during last year. That compares with just below 9,009,000 the year before. Park officials said a mild winter and spring during 2012 helped boost tourism in the nation's most-visited national park.  More people were able to travel into the park and be outdoors due to the lack of ice and snow on the roads and trails. The mild weather in the colder seasons and warm summer set the tone for visitation as every month of 2012 saw an increase of visitors over those recorded in 2011. December 2012 Park entries were 480,527 compared with 471,603 as seen in December 2011. This is a 1.9% increase over December 2011. Newfound Gap Road between Gatlinburg, TN and Cheorkee, NC was closed due to ice and snow on all or part of 6 days during December, but the holiday season brought a large nu...

October is here!  In the Great Smoky Mountains this means the leafs are starting to change colors.  This is the time of year where visitors come from all over to view and photograph the beauty the Smoky Mountains can bring. Why are fall colors so remarkable in the Great Smoky Mountains?  The first reason is the parks diversity of trees.  One hundred species of native trees live in the Great Smoky Mountains and the majority of these are deciduous. How do colors change? According to the National Park Service, as the summer comes to an end, the green pigments in leaves deteriorate, giving other colors a chance to shine.  The pigment that makes carrots orange and leaves yellow, carotenoids, are exposed as the green fades.  the reds and purples come from a pigment that is formed when sugars in leaves break down in bright autumn sunlight. The Great Smoky Mountains usually experience an autumn leaf season of seven weeks as the fall colors travel down the m...

Tourist destinations are packed full of restaurants; most of them being the well known chain restaurants that can be dined in all over the country.  However, every city has the smaller restaurants that are usually out of the hustle and bustle of the city life.  These restaurants are  local favorites and mom and pop establishments that don't make it into the guidebooks and vacation brochures.  Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and the other surrounding areas of the Smoky Mountains have several well-kept secrets that the locals love.   These establishments in the Smoky Mountains are often a great place to go and learn about the local culture, as well as eat some of the best local food.  Most of the establishments have more reasonable prices than the chain restaurants in town.  The service is above and beyond in these family owned establishments and the food is worth coming back for over and over again. Because there are so many loca...

Townsend, Tennessee is known as the "Peaceful Side of the Smokies."  Townsend is a quiet mountain community that is a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville.  Townsend is an Appalachian town, full of rich heritage and surrounded by breathtaking nature. Townsend lies in the beautiful Tuckaleechee Cove, a mountain valley at the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Little River descends from the mountains into the heart of town, making it a natural gathering place for recreation.  These waters are very clear and clean and are often used by visitors and locals for swimming, fishing, kayaking, and tubing. Townsend is very conveniently accessible to the Smoky Mountains and is a very popular town for the outdoor enthusiasts.  There is an endless number of ways to enjoy the outdoors around Townsend, from biking and hiking to golfing and fishing. Townsend's surrounding nature looks so pristine and ...

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts visitors to explore the mysteries of the park's ancient landscape. FAST FACTS Established:   The park was established in 1934 to protect the last of the southern Appalachian forest, which once covered more than 4 million acres, but was eliminated by logging and fire. Land Area:  The park is 521,895 acres. Number of Visitors:  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the highest visitation of any national park with more than 9 million people visiting annually. Lowest and Highest Elevations:  The lowest elevation in the park is 870 feet at the mouth of Abrams Creek.  The highest elevation is 6,643 feet at the summit of Clingmans Dome. Plant and Animal Species :  The park's abundance a variety of plant and animal life have earned it the United Nations designation of International Biosphere Reserve. Their are an estimated 100,000 different types of plants and animals in the national park. ...

In the Tennessee Smoky Mountains there is always something to do!   The Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most visited national parks in the nation and is known for its beauty and wildlife.   The mountains are a magical place for the outdoor adventurer.   The Smoky Mountains offer unlimited outside activities. The newest craze to take off with a bang is the action-packed sport of zip lining.   Zip lines give the adventurer the opportunity to hang out among the treetops of a lush, green forest as you glide your way along the path suspended on a cable.   There are many zip line adventures throughout the Smoky Mountains.   Foxfire Mountain Adventures is one company that offers an all-inclusive tour package with exclusive handlebar trolleys that allow you to control your orientation.   Another company, CLIMB Works Canopy, features 13 unique adventures that allow guests to learn about nature and overcome their fears as they make th...

Gatlinburg's summer events calendar is packed full of fun stuff to enjoy with the family.  The City of Gatlinburg will host Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tales and will also offer the Free Parkway Trolley all summer long. Both of these events start this weekend June 15 and will continue through the middle of August. Smoky Mountain Tunes and Tales will kick of its 7th season Friday, June 15 and will run through August 11.  This eight-week nightly event will highlight the past of the Appalachian history and culture.  Tunes and Tales is a summer-long street performance featuring musical performers, storytellers, and craftsmen portraying historical figures from as far back as the 1800s. The performers arrive nightly in the center of Gatlinburg at 6:00 pm.  These talented individuals turn the streets of Gatlinburg into a stage and provided performances until 11:00 pm.  There are at least 12 different performances each night.  This is sure to be a fantastic educat...

The Smoky Mountain Real Estate Market for 2012 is showing positive trends in some key areas over the last year.  We have put together some statistics and visual aids for January - May 2012 compared to January - May 2011. The first category we compare was residential units sold through May. As you can see there were 223 more units sold in 2012 than in 2011.  The total units sold are up 28% from 2011.  As we look at the average days on market we will see a positive trend as well.  In 2012 the average residence was on the market for 36 days less than 2011.   The year-to-date average sale price is also on the rise.  This is up by $56,908. The final category of total volume sold through May has once again shown a positive increase from a year ago.  2012 is up by 7% from this time in 2011. As we continue to plug along into June we look to have the same positive trends continue.  There continue to be some great deals o...

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is set to hold their 8th annual Mountain Hounds gathering on May 31- June 3.  Mountain Hounds is a gathering in the Smoky Mountains of rescued Greyhounds and their owners from all over the country.  Most of the weekends festivities will take place at Mynatt Park and the event is open to the public.  The owners of these Greyhounds love to talk about the joys of adopting their retired racing hounds with everyone they meet.  The weekend is packed full of events such as: a charity walk through Downtown Gatlinburg, Greyhound Games, Bingo, Pizza Party, and Seminars.  The event usually brings in about 250 Greyhounds form as many as 18 states.  If you enjoy the company of dogs and dog owners this event is sure to be fun.  For more about Mountain Hounds and the full weekend schedule click here .

The Derosia Team highly recommends taking a trip into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on your visit to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  The Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the United States attracting more than 9 million visitors each year.  The park emcompasses 522,419 acres which is home to more than 4,000 species of plants, 1,600 kinds of flowering plants, over 130 species of trees, dozens of native fish, more than 230 species of birds, and 65 varying species of mammals.  The Smoky Mountains also have about 150 hiking trails covering over 900 miles of beautiful nature. Here is a list of some of the most popular short trails, along with the distance (round trip), difficulty, and a brief description.   Abrams Falls Distance: 5 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Abrams Falls trail is located inside Cades Cove and begins at the covered bridge over Abrams Creek.  The trail takes hikers on a fairly level course with only a couple ste...

The Smoky Mountain Spring Fest in Gatlinburg, TN is well underway and will continue until June 3, 2012.  The local merchants and the Gatlinburg Department of Tourism join together to celebrate spring with an array of events and activities to entertain children and adults of all ages.  The City of Gatlinburg plants a large assortment of colorful flowers along the parkway.  This coming week there are a number of spring festivities.    The weekend starts off with the 5 th annual Mountain Man Memorial March on April 20 – 21.  This is a 26.2-mile march in Gatlinburg, TN as a tribute to our men and women who serve The United States of America.  There is also a 13.1-mile course.  Civilians and military personal are all welcome to participate. For more information or to participate in this marathon click here .  We have also included a video here to show you a preview of a previous march.  The week continues with the kick-off of E...

The Derosia Team is hard at work and this week we bring you some numbers to look at! June 2008! Current residential active listings: 4332 Sold: 107 Average Sale Price: $210,140.00 Average Days on Market: 143 days June 2007! Current residential active listings: 3881 Sold: 193 Average sold Price: $208,325.00 Average Days on market: 132 So you can see that our number of residential properties for sale are up and the number of places that have sold in the same month are down. Also our days on market are longer! What does that mean! Well you guessed it we have more sellers and not enough buyers! Not sure why though it is a great time to buy prices are down! As for us our numbers are up ever so slightly. Statistics brought to you by Great Smoky Mountain Association of Realtors! This would also cover all of Sevier County including Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Jones Cove, Pittman Center, Wears Valley and other surrounding counties.! Check me out on www.twitter.com Name Smokymtnr...