The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • E1

By KEITH RUSSELL StaffWriter When Robert Williams put his Green Hills-area ranch home up for sale, he and his real estate agent, June Andree with Crye-Leike Realtors, had a welcome predicament: simultaneous offers from four potential buyers. According to Andree, one prospective offer sheet featured an unusual clause offering to pay more than any other competing bid. was a nice said Williams, who is in his 80s and has lived in his home since 1967. He and his wife plan to move soon to Park Manor, a senior living community in Belle Meade. Though other parts of the country have scorching-hot housing markets, stories like are not yet common in Middle Tennessee.

They are on the increase, however, thanks in part to a larger trend that has implications for everyone with a stake in the local housing market: a significant drop in the number of available homes. In the past three years, the inventory of homes on the market in the Nashville area has fallen from a peak of 17,444 in September 2002 to a low of 12,258 in December 2004, a decrease of almost Inventory levels have since picked up slightly, to 13,502 as of March, but still below the 15,173 that were on the market a year ago. does feel low, and there could be a multitude of said Christie Wilson, a Realtor with the Wilson Group and president- elect of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. The GNAR tracks monthly inventory levels using statistics from RealTrac Solutions Inc. Demand is certainly a big factor for the lower supply, according to Wilson and other real estate experts.

Historically low interest rates, popu- Bidding wars on the rise in tight housing market Despite development, record sales in Nashville area have cut the number ofavailable homes. CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1E BUSINESS THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2005 Assistant Managing Editor Business: Deborah W. Fisher, 664-2156; Assistant Business Editor: Randy McClain, 259-8882; To report business news: Phone: 259-8096 Fax: 259-8093 www.tennessean.com Foglesong to be trustee for country hall offame Jim Foglesong is trustee emeritus for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Board of Officers and Trustees. Foglesong has served on the board for 28 years and was one of two people inducted last year into the Hall of Fame. Foglesong will be honored May 1 at the Hall of Medallion Ceremony.

Foglesong was a pop music producer and label executive before moving to Nashville in 1970 to continue a career in country music. He helped the careers of Garth Brooks, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, George Strait, Reba McEntire and numerous other stars. He is an adjunct professor of music business at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music. JEANNE ANNE NAUJECK The Morning Memo Foglesong Dow Jones Industrials 10,012.36 NASDAQ 1,913.76 500 1,137.50 Bloomberg Tennessee Index 309.85 2004 MJJAS 10,000 9,500 10,500 11,000 ND 2005 FMA MOVERS SHAKERS MARKETS TOP OF THE NEWS BUSINESS WIRE This Kentucky Fried Chicken of the opened in Louisville, yesterday. KFC puts Colonel on a diet for new stores Col.

Harland Sanders, the advertising icon for KFC restaurants for decades, is slimming down as the company seeks younger customers. Yum! Brands operator of the fried-chicken restaurants, is testing a more youthful version of image and bringing back the Kentucky Fried Chicken name to 50 stores it is opening, company spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer said in an interview yesterday. KFC changed its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1991 to try to create a healthier image. Known for his white beard and portly presence, Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952 and appeared in ads until his death in 1980. KFC yesterday unveiled a of the in Louisville, that uses the full Kentucky Fried Chicken name and features an image of a slimmed-down Sanders.

His face appears thinner than in previous images, and wearing a red apron over his white suit. BLOOMBERG NEWS PAST 12 MONTHS Russell 2000 Index 584.96 STAT OF THE DAY TOBACCO COMPANIES PAY STATE The state of Tennessee received $158.8 million yesterday in its annual payment from tobacco manufacturers, Attorney General Paul Summers announced. The state is expected to get as much as $4.5 billion through 2025 as part of a multistate settlement with tobacco companies reached in 1998 to recover smoking- related health-care costs. Tennessee has received slightly more than $1 billion so far. The money goes into the state general fund.

By JEANNE ANNE NAUJECK StaffWriter Local black gospel radio station WNSG- AM 1240 is being sold to a New York media group for $2.7 million. WNSG is owned by Lexington, based Mortensen Broadcasting Co. Pending review by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Mortensen will hand over the station this summer to Davidson Media Group. Davidson was formed in 2004 to acquire media holdings in mid- sized Hispanic and other ethnic markets.

It owns 21 stations. Black, or urban, gospel has been a growing radio format on the strength of charismatic singers such as Smokie Norful and Donnie McClurkin. The subgenre recently got its own Gospel singles hit chart in Billboard magazine. GAC wedding giveaway Country music cable channel Great American Country is teaming with Gaylord Opryland Resort Convention Center to create a dream wedding for a couple who will be selected by online voting. The couple will win a free wedding and reception, which will be televised on GAC.

The Ultimate Country Wedding will include a performance by a yet-to-be- named country music artist and will take place Labor Day weekend in Delta Atrium. Gaylord is supplying the wedding cake, flowers and reception. Its ResortQuest division will provide a honeymoon vacation. GAC viewers can vote on the final four couples at www.gactv.com. Buntin Group ad in national contest The Buntin Group won in at the Seventh District American Advertising Federation competition recently for its Purolator Automotive Filter print campaign.

The entry is automatically entered in the national ADDY competition, where it will compete along with 60,000 other entries New York group buys local gospel station MUSIC, MEDIA MARKETING By GETAHN WARD StaffWriter More than 15 private equity or investment firms have expressed interest in buying Nashville-based Central Parking which put itself up for sale a month ago. Interested parties had been encouraged to submit by earlier this week proposals that included what price they would be willing to pay, said Monroe J. Carell chairman and chief executive officer of the largest operator of parking lots. all some form of fund managers, no parking Carell added. The process is being handled by investment banking firm Morgan Stanley of New York, which Central Parking hired to help it explore alternatives.

Officials attributed the move to the stock price not reflecting its worth. Carell declined to name the interested parties, but he confirmed that one group includes The Gates Group LLC, a Cleveland, Ohio, private equity firm that targets the North American parking industry. Last year, a partnership managed by Gates bought Imperial Parking Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia, and took the company private. Such private equity funds generally hope to buy and retool an acquired com- pany, and then reap profits from a subsequent sale, public offering or other exit strategy.

Carell said at least two more proposals are expected this week. Afterward, the interested parties will conduct for up to eight weeks and a special committee of the board will meet with Morgan Stanley on the proposals. Central shares yesterday closed at $16.27, down 21 cents. The stock is up from the price just before the company announced that it had hired Morgan Stanley. Suitors lining up for Central Parking CEO Carell says its investment banker is collecting proposals; more than 15 firms have expressed interest.

COMP ANIES ECONOMY REAL EST A TE ERICPARSONS STAFF Real estate agent June Andree helped homeowner Robert Williams navigate the process of selling his Green Hills- area home. He had four simultaneous offers on the home he has lived in since the 1960s. Dwindling supply The inventory of homes for sale in the Nashville area has picked up recently but is lower than its peak in September 2002. SOURCE: Greater Nashville Association of Realtors 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 2002200320042005 CAITLIN HOPE WRIGHT STAFF 13,502 17,444 Please see HOMES, 3E By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER and LOUIS UCHITELLE New York Times News Service Fears of rising inflation sent stocks to new lows for the year yesterday after the government reported a sharp increase in consumer prices that all but guaranteed the Federal Reserve will continue to push interest rates higher even as the economy may be slowing. Last week, investors were worried about the impact of slower economic growth on corporate earnings.

The addition of inflation fears to the mix could put nerves on Wall Street even more on edge. A 0.6% increase in the consumer price index was the largest in five months, the government reported. The 0.4% jump in the core rate, which excludes food and energy, was twice the forecast from analysts and the biggest monthly increase in nearly four years. While some economists predicted that inflation should moderate in coming months, higher energy costs have pushed consumer prices steadily higher so that they have been running at a rate of or more for several months. In the New York metropolitan region, inflation was considerably stronger, rising 1.7% in March in the largest month-over- month increase in 23 years.

Stocks fell further in the afternoon after the Federal Reserve reported its summary of economic activity around the country. The major theme of the report was that cost pressures have been rising and that businesses have been able to pass them on in higher prices. With inflation moving to the top of the range that Fed policy-makers consider acceptable, analysts said, they may have little choice but to push rates steadily higher even if such actions threaten to slow economic activity further. disappointing inflation news suggests that the Fed will now have to see something more dramatic in economic weakness before they consider in raising rates, said Robert J. Barbera, chief economist at a brokerage firm in Rye Brook, a New York City suburb.

The combination of slow growth and rising prices was the hallmark of the 1970s and was called stagflation. While no one is saying the economy faces such an illness now, even a whiff of stagflation makes the job more difficult. will make it tough on them if they want to get more aggressive in raising interest rates because they could be accused of endangering the economic Barbera said. stock decline ended a two-day pause after stocks plunged three days in row last Wednesday through Friday and had their worst overall week since August. For millions of investors, the inflation figures make sorting out the outlook for the economy, stocks and interest rates even more difficult.

Markets hit new lows for on fears ofinflation CARELL Please see 2E COURTESYOF THEBUNTINGROUP This advertisement for Purolator filters won The Buntin Group a regional in award..