With the mayor’s race in the rear-view mirror, developers, builders and Realtors are making efforts to discern how the election will affect their industries. Most of the matters the Council considers have to do with real estate, and most of that zoning.

As of late, the state has dabbled in the local scene as the legislators in Nashville seem to think that those in Camden and Bristol should assist the local government in how it handles its housing, particularly in issues involving short-term rentals. Apparently, Tip O’Neill’s “All politics is local” does not apply to Tennessee.

Two subjects that have been considered taboo in polite conversation are religion and politics. However, as of late, the more delicate issues are President Trump and short-term rentals. Staying away from both will make life more peaceful.

With a new mayor and a host of new members, this Council will be one of the more unpredictable of all time. Mayor-elect John Cooper is known for derailing the transit plan and has pledged to get the city’s finances in order, often referring to the incentives paid to developers to construct their buildings here as part of the reason for the empty coffers.

One Nashville-based developer says that Cooper’s insistence that the incentives cease will have little effect on the construction boom. The city, he notes, is attractive to developers with or without the incentives.

The developer builds across the U.S. and notes he is forced to pay impact fees or other taxes in order to develop in other cities. Further, those fees have not deterred him from investing in those cities since he adds the expense to the overall cost of the construction.

As far at the STRs go, Burkley Allen, who was elected to the Council as an at-large member, had had previously sponsored a bill that would have some effect on STRs. How the incoming group will handle STRs will be closely monitored.

Over the years, the Council has allowed zero-lot-line housing, two houses on one lot connected by a common wall with each resident owning the land under the house and around the property line separately.

Later, that changed to a situation allowing two houses to be built on one lot as long as they were connected with an association of the homeowners owning land, a precursor to today’s horizontal property regimes (HPRs).

Some HPRs are attached, while some are detached. The attached HPRs could be identical to the zero-lot-line homes of the 1980s and have the same floor plan of a duplex of any era. It is up to the Council to decide how the structures are to be labeled and where they should be built.

The city’s current albatross is affordable housing. While the wealthy scoff, “All housing is affordable to someone,” it is not affordable to the people who are vital to the city’s health.

With land prices skyrocketing, building prices at an all-time high – even before the tariffs – and labor prices on the rise, there is little hope for affordability. Whether it is referred to as low-income housing, affordable housing or workforce housing, it is not here.

Sale of the Week

The Cleveland Park neighborhood has now joined the ranks of the not-so-affordable housing. Located across Gallatin Road from East Nashville, the heavily traveled Gallatin Road once served as a line of demarcation separating the pricing explosion in East Nashville from reasonably priced housing on the Cleveland Park side.

Listing agent Chad Lautt of Cloud Realty proved himself a rainmaker for the area when his listing 317 at Cleveland closed for $664,900 last week. Admittedly, this is a special home. Lautt described it as the “crown jewel of Cleveland Park,” and perhaps it is.

With 3,347 square feet, the price broke the $200-per-square foot mark at $202 and was extensively renovated from celling to floor. Lautt touts it as a true historic renovation and that “all permits were approved by Metro Codes.”

The home is equipped with all of the green features imaginable including programmable thermostat, tankless water heater, Energy Star windows and spray-foam insulation. The kitchen is new with stainless steel appliances surrounding an Italian marble island.

The home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, and the owner’s suite is on the first floor. There is a privacy fence in the backyard, and smart cameras on the property, so things may not be as private as they seem.

The sellers purchased the home in 2016 for $362,500 but had invested a considerable amount of money in the restoration. Christine Quillin of Compass RE represented the buyer in the transaction.

Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty and can be reached at [email protected].