Yesterday I attended a presentation by Edsel Charles of Market Graphics Research Group; www.mgresearch.net; in Franklin, TN. This is the second largest Market Research Group in the US and provides market research data to the Federal Reserve Bank among others. Among the topics discussed was the fact that Baby Boomers are unable to find what they want to “move-down” into. In an overbuilt market, which is working to correct itself and making some positive strides in that direction, there is no overbuilding in what either seniors moving down or Baby Boomers are seeking. According to the statistics that Edsel presented yesterday, the average Baby Boomer’s dream house would be somewhere between 2700 and 4100 square feet on one level. The most important area of the home would be a social living area/ kitchen that is functional, open, and beautiful (sounds good to me so far). The master bedroom area is another area needing special treatment preferably with an access to outdoor deck and garden area. A private library area for the lady of the house suitable for entertaining was high on the list. And according to Edsel the male Baby Boomer in the family’s fantasy would include an oversized garage with a wet bar, full bath and a dog bath area. Baby Boomers, What do you think? Is this what you are looking for?

Posted By: Frances Garner

If you are considering calling historic Franklin, TN your home, please contact Dianne McKee. She has gathered everything a new-comer should know and more about the area. Dianne and the Bob Parks Realty office in Franklin are located in the downtown shopping area. You are welcome to stop by, or contact Dianne McKee for more information.

For more information about real estate and homes for in Franklin, TN, check out these links:

• Search all Franklin, TN Real Estate
• Search by Franklin, TN Neighborhoods
• Search by Franklin, TN Schools
• Find a Franklin, TN Real Estate Professional

Posted By: Kimberly Fahey

At www.BobParks.com you can search for all homes for in Middle, TN by subdivision name! Check out these links for real estate information and homes for sale in your neighborhood:

• All Franklin, TN Homes for Sale by Subdivision
• All Murfreesboro, TN Homes for Sale by Subdivision
• All Brentwood, TN Homes for Sale by Subdivision
• All Nashville, TN Homes for Sale by Subdivision
• All Smyrna, TN Homes for Sale by Subdivision

Posted By: Kimberly Fahey

The Bob Parks Realty office in Franklin, TN is proud to announce that Loy Hardcastle is their top producing agent! To find out how Loy can assist you in finding your dream home or sell your property, please click here.

Award Winning Home in Historic Downtown Franklin, TN:

• 202 5th Ave S
• $775,000
• 4 Bedrooms
• 1.5 Baths
• Remarks: Award winning incredible renovation; Heritage Foundation winner; Nominated for Governor’s “Green” award; Energy star - certified; First solar powered project in downtown Franklin, One block from Starbucks; Multiple offices; Best of everything plus great location.
• More Photos and Information, click here.
• Contact: Loy Hardcastle at 615-948-3704

Check out all Franklin, TN Real Estate Information and Homes for Sale:

• Franklin, TN Real Estate: $0 to $200K (436 listed)

• Franklin, TN Real Estate: $200K to $400K (551 listed)

• Franklin, TN Real Estate: $400K to $600K (325 listed)

• Franklin, TN Real Estate: $600K to $800K (144 listed)

• Franklin, TN Real Estate: $800K or more (263 listed)

Posted By: Kimberly Fahey

The Bob Parks agent in Franklin, TN raised money to support the relief efforts in Haiti. Donated money and items went toward health kits for the survivors. Each kit contained basic health hygiene items like hand towels, soap, toothbrush, band-Aids, comb, and other items that the people in Haiti desperately need.

A special thanks goes out to Michelle Glass for organizing this awesome event.

Those who helped assemble the health kits: Ray & Vicki Lowe, Kristi Dustin, Michelle Glass, Craig Newby (with Birchfield Home Mortgage), Mark Dobberstein, & Debbie Flack.

For more information about the Bob Parks agents in Franklin, TN click here.

For more information about homes for sale and real estate information in Franklin, TN click here.

Posted By: Kimberly Fahey

The John Herbert House, also known to many as the home of Dr. Walter Morgan, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. The double pen log home is a notable example of home design and a classic working farm in early 19th-century. Sitting on a cut-stone foundation with exterior end limestone chimneys, the main façade sports a one-story porch with Doric concrete columns. West of the house are two outbuildings–a ca. 1900 frame smokehouse and board-and-batten wash house with gable roof and stone chimney. Although this type of construction was very common in Williamson County, very few have survived like the Herbert House.

For nearly 20 years, The Heritage Foundation had high hopes of stabilizing and preserving the historic home for the future. Thanks to a successful partnership with Bob Parks Realty and Drees Homes, they were able to stabilize the historic structure and find a buyer. In addition, Bob Parks Realty and Drees Homes donated $20,000 from the sale of the home to The Heritage Foundation.

The new buyers are Skipper and Debbie Carlisle who are very excited to have this opportunity. Debbie Carlisle states that this has been a lifelong dream and they have been collecting American antiques for years in hopes of finding the perfect home to house them. The John Herbert House will now be the centerpiece of the new Breezeway Development on Clovercroft Road. The house sits on more than three acres and backs up to more than 30 acres making it the perfect amenity to future residents of the new neighborhood.

More About Homes for Sale in Historic Franklin! Check out all of Franklin Real Estate by Price Range:

$0 to $200K $200K to $400K $400K to $600K $600K to $800K $800K or more

Posted By: Kimberly Fahey

The new Bob Parks Office at 415 Main Street in Franklin is off to a great start! On Dec 3rd, after only 3 weeks in their new site, the office held their Christmas party and the Lobby was filled with decked out revelers! The office double window onto Main is filled with great winter scenes. The theme is “Home for the Holidays.” People of all ages stop by to look and smile. The most popular scene is the skating rink!

On December 5, the office is helping with the annual Christmas Parade. We are open offering hot apple cider to all visitors. It was a cold day and many people came into the office to watch the parade from our warm and inviting office. Vicki Lowe donated her cider recipe which was just fabulous! We gave away about 100 cups of hot cider.

On December 12th, Franklin will turn into Merry Olde England with our annual Dickens of a Christmas Festival on Saturday and Sunday. Again, we will be open serving Hot Apple Cider and “A merry Christmas will be had by all!”

Looking for something to do with your family this season, or anytime of the year? We’ve got you covered in Franklin- the most Family Friendly town in the USA! Contact the Bob Parks Office in Franklin or me at www.bobparks.com/ckimmel for information on upcoming events anytime!

(Thanks to Ray Lowe for the pictures!)

Posted By: Charlene Kimmel

There’s great excitement in the streets of downtown Franklin! The Bob Parks office previously located in the Old Dominion Bank building at 2nd and Main has relocated to the heart of walkable Franklin at 415 Main Street. This location, for the Franklin old-timer, used to be the Hunan Chinese restaurant… For the newcomer, it’s next to the Old Theater, and across from McCready’s.

For the new office, Bob ordered a complete re-do on this site. It is beyond modern… a mix of old and new! There’s concrete floors, lots of windows and glass, paired with a western style pine tree laptop bar (you must see it to understand!), and beautiful wood conference tables. The lobby boasts 5 huge flat screen TV’s, two of which are focused on the outside for the public at large. They display our office listings and those of the Florida office (Premier Real Estate) all day long! Inside there are two screens we use to keep guests happy and informed. On a wall is a computer set up to access Google Earth so we can show our clients all the attributes of middle TN, housing developments, and even how to get to the local Bark Park ( for our out of town four legged friends!).

Also on the wall in the lobby are two touch screen computers clients can use to hunt for houses with or without our help! Our office believes in providing client driven services. We want to augment their experience, with our expertise, to make the house hunting or house selling experience the smoothest and most rewarding experience possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our new office. Please stop by and visit and let us show you the future in Real Estate Services! We are looking forward to seeing you!

Posted By: Charlene Kimmel

If you’re thinking of building in Williamson County, you definitely want to check out Springhouse at Breezeway, a new Franklin community by ParkTrust Development. Before I tell you about the new homes in Breezeway, let me share with you some “building basics” when it comes to making a good investment, then you can see if Breezeway passes your own litmus test!

Typically, buyers in the first phase of a given community get the highest return on their investment. There are a couple of reasons for this: First, builders and developers are anxious to get product moving so pricing is usually best when they are first breaking ground. Also, homes tend to get bigger (in terms of sq ft) as the neighborhood grows and gets established, because builders are reluctant to build the biggest homes (i.e. largest construction loans/highest risk) until they see momentum in a community and have a few “pre-sales” underway. Ultimately, the smallest homes generally command the strongest return on investment in a given community.

The best buys are definitely the new homes that are complete or close to completion (referred to in the industry as “inventory” or “spec” homes) as builders are anxious to reduce monthly carrying costs (interest on construction loans, maintenance costs, utilities, etc.).

Located off Wilson Pike in Franklin, Breezeway is zoned for Brentwood schools (Ravenwood High School). There are both custom home builders and a high end production builder (Drees Homes) currently building in Breezeway. There is one spec home available now by custom homebuilder Southern Lifestyle Homes. This home has 3379 sq ft and is listed at $579,000… check out 109 Bayhill Circle.

Forty percent of Breezeway is designated greenspace and the homes currently available front a scenic pond at the Breezeway entrance. Call today to make an appointment to see this beautiful home or discuss building a home to your own specifications! Jack Miller 615.308.7776 (phone or text).

Posted By: Jack Miller