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Elvis fans are coming out in droves to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the King’s first record. Memphis area hotel occupancy, a key barometer of tourism, was up 12 percent this year through April 30, outstripping a 3.3 percent increase nationally. Memphis hotel occupancy was up 11 percent through May, and June has been good, said Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Texas-based National Baptist Convention of America had 4,500 people at its Family Faith Fest 2014 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center last week.

Living in Memphis during the summer can mean lots of tourists that come in to visit. A majority of advertising was recently spent in cities within easy reach by car or a short flight, such as Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham and Atlanta, and tourism from those areas is frequent and common. Graceland averages between 500,000 and 600,000 visitors annually. July is typically the busiest month of the year with Elvis Week allowing Memphis and Graceland to finish the summer months on a high note in August. Now, year round fans come to pay homage to Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins at Sun Studio where they all once recorded albums.

While this probably might not come as a surprise to local Tennessee foodies, a recent survey from Travel + Leisure posted on CNN shared that Tennessee is at the top of the barbecue food chain in the U.S. The survey ranked Memphis barbecue No. 2 behind Nashville on a list of the top 10 best barbecue cities, giving a shout out to Central BBQ and the Bar-B-Q Shop as local favorites. Living in Memphis means access to delicious barbecue, such as ribs and pork sandwiches, which are the staples of Memphis-style barbecue: dry-rubbed and smoked over hickory, and often mopped with sauce while cooking.

To eat with the savviest locals, head to one of the branches of Central BBQ, which does a classic pork sandwich, pulled-pork nachos, and even a four-ounce barbecued bologna sandwich (the newest is downtown, next to the National Civil Rights Museum). Another favorite – especially with local chefs – is the Bar-B-Q Shop (“home of the Dancing Pigs BBQ sauce”), which claims to be the birthplace of another Memphis staple, sauce-coated barbecue spaghetti.

The To 10 Cities are as follows:

Nashville
Memphis
Kansas City
Houston
San Antonio
Charleston
Dallas-Fort Worth
Savannah
New Orleans

Every other day, seems like a new developer is looking to build apartments or retail in the South Main community of Downtown Memphis. Several new projects are under development in the neighborhood to keep up with the demand in the area, such as The Horizon, which is one of the biggest projects coming to the area. The Horizon is a 16 story condo tower that is currently up for sale, and another development firm is planning 90 high end units that will be located near the South Main Farmer’s Market and across from the Florida Street South Junction complex, which contains 197 residential units and is also new, with earlier move-in dates that were planned for May.

The new complex doesn’t have a name yet, although “South End” is being considered, according to insiders. The design, the mix of bedroom sizes and the rent spread have all yet to be determined, meaning that another undetermined factor is the project cost.

The South Main Arts District in Memphis, Tennessee makes up the southern portion of Downtown Memphis. It is located along South Main Street. On the last Friday of each month, an event called “Art Trolley Tour” is put on by the owners of the South Main Memphis businesses and art galleries. From 6-9 p.m., this includes free MATA trolley service up and down Main Street, open art galleries, and longer hours for most area shops and restaurants. As the area continues to grow, the South Main part of Memphis will be increasingly desirable for work, play, and living. Moving to Memphis? This neighborhood might be just what you are looking for!

Shelby County, which consists of several Tennessee cities including Memphis, experienced a drop in home sales in May compared to the same month last year and also from April. This data was compiled by the real estate information company called Chandler Reports, which also showed that Shelby County recorded 1,242 home sales in May, down 14 percent from 1,446 homes sold in May 2013, and the 1,242 homes sold in May were down 8.4 percent from the 1,356 homes sold in April. Year to date, overall home sales are down 5 percent but average sales prices are up 10 percent compared to the first five months of 2013. 23 ZIP codes in the county showed prices up 10 percent or more.

So what is causing the slack in sales? According to local experts, problems like low bank sales, low consumer confidence, low likelihood of full time employment and tougher lending rules have caused a stall in sales for a large amount of prospective buyers. Buying a home and moving to Memphis is still feasible for many, but a tightening of inventory levels is causing the prices to rise in the Shelby County area.

There is some exciting news for Memphis commercial moving in the area, especially for southern food fans. The famous restaurant chain Hard Rock Café is moving its Memphis location to the other end of Beale Street, and the current location will be filled by the popular Nashville-based bar and restaurant Tin Roof. Tin Roof has subleased the 11,000 square-foot building at 315 Beale St. and is planning a “substantial” renovation ahead of an opening late this year, according to local real estate insiders. The sublease is not anything to scoff at either, with current documents showing that Tin Roof has committed to the location through 2034.

So where is the Hard Rock moving to exactly? The Lansky Bros. building at 126 Beale, which is 24.512 square feet. The building will house the restaurant, as well as a Lansky clothing shop, and maybe even the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, as the city has approached the chain about making the museum adjacent to the Hard Rock. The new location is anticipated to open July 3rd.

This Beale Street location of Tin Roof, which is the first in Memphis, joins the chain of 13 locations throughout the US.

When it comes to real estate in the Memphis area, industrial vacancies are becoming hard to come by. Current vacancy in the Memphis real estate industrial market fell to 10.8 percent, the lowest point since early 2000. Class B spaces of 20,000 to 110,000 square feet are seeing strong activity due to expansions and new companies coming to Memphis. As far as industrial absorption, the CBRE Memphis reports it is at 897,829 square feet, a large portion of which is attributed to the construction of a 541,980-square-foot, build-to-suit, flagship distribution center for Home Décor and Jimco Lamps at 699 Research Drive. According to these findings, searching for industrial space and commercial warehouse areas in Memphis is becoming an increasingly difficult task for companies in the area looking to switch up office space, or outside companies looking to come to the region.

And for the office absorption? There are 54,989 square feet, making this past quarter the third straight one for positive absorption. Memphis vacancy rate for offices fell to 13.8 percent, marking the first time in 10 years that it has fallen below 14 percent. If you are looking to lease office space in Memphis, it is better to act sooner than later, as available space is quickly depleting from the available inventory on the local market.

Thinking of starting a business, but not sure where to begin? Picking the right city to set up shop is definitely one of the top to-dos. According to the findings of a finance site, Memphis ranks as the 10th best option among places in the US to start your business. So why should you start your business in Memphis? One of the large determining factors for Memphis is that it has high commercial and industrial loans per capita. It also boasts a low-cost of living and there are a few start-up oriented companies in the city that help new businesses to get off of the ground.

However, it is not all good in terms of Memphis and new business launching. There is a slow population growth rate, as well as one of the highest per capita unemployment rates. Add one of the lowest per capita income averages and you’ve got an interesting mix of financial data for the city.

Memphis wasn’t the only location to make the list. Nashville came in at No. 5 with a total score of 65.83, compared to Memphis’ score of 60.54 and Oklahoma City’s top-of-the-list score of 73.01. Whether you want to move to Memphis or Nashville, either Tennessee location could be a great place for you to launch your new business.

The freight company ArcBest Corp. might acquire ABF Freight, according to BizJournals, in a move that would pull a part of ABF out of Arkansas and into Memphis. The move would mean that 420 jobs in the Arkansas facility would move to Memphis, according to current employees at the company. While no official decision has been made yet, the option has been discussed with employees and there is also a potential discussion to keep some jobs in Arkansas and move only some to Memphis. The company plans to retain a small number of employees, about 20 or so, in Little Rock to handle city deliveries, according to insider reports.

So what does this mean for the Memphis job market? Not much in terms of new positions opening up. The company, which will offer most of the positions to current employees, is expected to seek incentives shortly in Tennessee, Mississippi, or both before making a final decision at the end of June on its location, according to the employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

However, it is likely that the trucking terminal will be moved to Memphis, which would create some job opportunity, though the required amount of space doesn’t quite exist in the local industrial market.

As the market still struggles to regain stability after the housing crash in 2008, some markets are still geared towards investors due to the large amount of homes priced affordably for flipping and selling or for retaining as rental properties. The Memphis real estate market is one of these strong markets, according to Realty Biz News, which shares that the area still boasts inventory priced well below the national average, and the market has remained relatively stable thanks to a strong local job market. As of recent years, FedEx, AutoZone, and International Paper, along with other Fortune 1000 companies that utilize the central location of Memphis that benefits from railroads, highways, the Mississippi River, and the international airport.

In addition, Memphis is a large banking center, and it is also home to major science and technology businesses. Many investors from outside the state and from foreign countries are making the move to invest in Memphis while this real estate market is still very attractive. The money is coming from everywhere but is most notably from California and New York. Among the reasons is that Memphis is 19th largest city in the United States and the 3rd largest in the Southeast. With its diverse and strong economy, it continues to attract new people to the city and suburbs. Of course, that means more renters for investors.

Buying a home in Memphis is a smart move, as recent reports have shown that trends over the past few years have helped Memphis see property value appreciation to the level that Memphis is the top market for growth from 2011 to today, and future increases are predicted at 18.8 percent over the next few years.

While it is not a permanent solution for unemployment, it is certainly a temporary one. Memphis in May International Festivals is looking to fill more than 40 seasonal positions this spring. The jobs, which will run from the end of April through May, are for support staff for events that include Beale Street Music Festival, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the AutoZone Sunset Symphony, among others. The economy here in Memphis is expected to improve throughout the year.

The unemployment rate in Shelby County remained at 8.4 percent in March, unchanged from February but down 1.3 points from the same month in 2013. State data showed that 35,190 people were unemployed in Shelby County in March.

Part of the stress of relocating to a new place, such as moving to Memphis, is finding a job. While these might not be jobs to stay at forever, they can be helpful in giving you steady work for a few months as you get settled. The events organized by Memphis in May International Festivals had an economic impact of more than $70 million in 2012, according to a release. Good luck in your application!