“I don’t even recognize this place anymore. This is not the Nashville I once knew,” comes the lament from many who have inhabited the city for years. For those who have lived in the area for 25 years or more, their observations hold credence.

There were no Predators nor Titans, no one had heard of a pedal tavern and there were no condominiums selling for $5 million. A quick of check of sales in 1993 reveals nothing in the residential world selling for $5 million until 2007.

When the Oilers/Titans moved here in 1997, they played their home games in Memphis. But players began to buy houses in Middle Tennessee. Many felt this influx of NFL salaries would make the upper-end market explode, but it didn’t. There were a mere 18 Davidson County sales of $1 million-plus in 1997.

The Predators hit the ice in 1998, and the upper-end market continued its climb with 31 sales of $1 million or more. But professional athletes weren’t driving the prices upward, although the presence of their teams was helpful.

The city has been in a constant upward spiral ever since, eventually boosted by the network television show “Nashville,” which furthered the marketing of the music scene. The show was created to make Nashville a destination city, and it worked.

With the construction of the controversial Music City Center and its success, which spawned thousands of hotel rooms, the real estate market has boomed, and that growth is continuing to be seen by the number of residential transactions of $1 million-plus.

The 31 sales topping that mark in 1998 gave way to 77 sales in 2006 when the Nashville area sold over 40,000 homes for the first time ever and the last time until 2017. That year there were 77 houses that sold for $1 million or more, but no condos.

Last year, when a record 40,482 real estate transaction transpired, there were 352 single-family houses and 18 condominiums that sold for $1 million-plus.

While the number of transactions were close in the years of 2006 and 2017 at 40,056 to 40,482, respectively, the upper-end sales were significantly different at 370 in 2017 versus 77 in 2006.

In fact, the moaners are correct, it is not the same Nashville.

In 2006, there were three sales for more than $3 million in the first seven months of the year. Last year, during the same period, there were seven sales for $3 million-plus. We’ve reached that total in 2018 with five months remaining.

In the $1 million price range, there have been 216 single family residences and 26 condominiums sell this year totaling 242 units that fit into the “luxury” category. Last year’s number was 204 sales with 198 single-family homes and six condominiums.

Overall sales numbers are stagnant, but the upper-end residential real estate market is flourishing.

Sale of the Week

One of the $3 million sales was the house at 428 Westview Avenue that Tricia Ericson of Worth Properties listed and sold within five days for $3.6 million.

Ericson has been a mainstay in the higher-priced homes in Nashville for years, and her company, Worth Properties, has been a leader in luxury homes since its inception. Janet Jones, one of its founding members, constantly reminds anyone within earshot that their company services all markets, and they do. But they are rather prominent in the sales of larger homes.

Ericson’s description of the home would stimulate the collective appetite of the termite community as she noted the house features western cedar vaulted ceiling, American black walnut floors and a wood shake roof. She further notes the residence is an “exquisitely designed French country estate in Belle Meade,” and that this 6,025-square-foot residence includes “beautifully selected finishes creating perfect balances between elegance and comfort.”

Beth Molteni of Fridrich and Clark Realty represented the buyer and, once again, etching her name on another $3 million sale.

A long-time, high-volume producer, Molteni is found on the listing side and the selling side of numerous $1 million-plus sales.

At $598 per square foot on a 1.15-acre lot, this ranks among the highest price-per-square-foot houses on a lot of less than 2 acres.

In 1997, a house at 415 Westview was the highest price per square foot in the upper-end with a number of $363 per square foot and a sale price of $2,2 million. Belle Meade is not the same city it was either, although its stricter zoning regulations have maintained some consistency in the appearance of the neighborhood.

Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected]