Memphis-area home sales last month rose 12.3 percent compared to January 2011, with 850 total sales recorded in the Memphis Area Association of Realtors property database.
But total sales fell 5.3 percent from December.
The average sales price year-over-year fell 7.1 percent to $113,270. Inventory slipped 5.1 percent from the previous month, with 6,828 units listed for sale. Sales volume climbed 4.3 percent to $96.3 million compared to January 2010.
“It’s nice to see sales up more than 12 percent from this time last year,” MAAR president Carol Lott said. “Hopefully, there is some momentum beginning to build as buyers recognize the good opportunities out there.”
Hotel business to grow
Recovery of the Memphis lodging market slowed last year, but a local industry consultant believes it will make up some lost ground this year.
“We trailed the U.S. growth statistics in all categories,” including supply, demand, average daily rates and occupancy in 2011, Chuck Pinkowski told the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel Lodging Association Friday.
Speaking at the annual lodging industry update at Hilton Memphis, Pinkowski predicted a 3.5 percent increase in occupancy, to 60 percent, and a 3 percent, or $7.80, increase in average room rates this year.
Nationally, Smith Travel Research predicts 0.5 percent increases in occupancy both this year and next, and average daily rate increases of 3.8 percent this year and 4.4 percent next year, said Jeff Higley of HotelNewsNow.com.
Pinkowski said the Memphis market covers 241 hotels and motels in Memphis and Shelby County, DeSoto County and Crittenden County.
How to be a filmmaker
Understanding the entrepreneurial side of indie filmmaking will be the focus of “Caravan to Film-Com” presented by the folks at FuelFilm from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 18 at EmergeMemphis, 516 Tennessee.
Described as a primer on the upcoming Film-Com expo that will be held in Nashville in April, the workshop will feature keynote presenter Andy Van Roon, a film producer, screenwriter, playwright and development executive.
Van Roon will offer tips for aspiring filmmakers on how to get financing, develop marketing campaigns and secure distribution deals.
The program is free and open to the public. For more information, go to fuelfilm.org.
Done deal
CB Richard Ellis Memphis brokered the $3.7 million sale of the Grand Panama Office Building in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Grand Panama Office LLC sold the four-story building, anchored by the Royal Bank of Canada, to Corr Properties I LLC. The building contains 37,621 square feet of office condominium space.
The CBRE Memphis Investment Sales team, including Johnny Lamberson, Frank Quinn and Terry Radford, in conjunction with Chris McCall of Counts Real Estate, represented the seller.