First quarter sales in the Nashville area increased a whopping 9.1% compared to 2019, Greater Nashville Realtors sales data reveals.

Two things make that even more remarkable:

• 2019 was a record sales year for the area.

• The worst pandemic in 100 years was unleashed during that quarter, causing an economic meltdown and restrictions on business and social activity.

March, which will be remembered for its shelter-in-place/stay-home orders, saw a 3.4% increase compared to March 2019 for the area serviced by Realtracs, which is the Middle Tennessee Reginal Multiple Listing Service and covers most of the Midstate. However, pending sales at the end of March were slightly down with 3,139. That’s still close to March 2019’s 3,158.

April has historically begun the ramp-up to the peak sales months, which last year were June, July and August last year. There were 3,479 closed transaction in April 2019.

Closer to home in Nashville, pending sales continue to increase with each passing week. The week before Mayor John Cooper’s Safer at Home order, 215 homes went under contract, with 255 going pending the next week. The next week Gov. Bill Lee issued his stay-at-home proclamation, and 255 houses were placed under contract. Last week, with the governor’s order in full force all week, pending sales climbed to 320.

In Davidson County, there were 1,277 closed sales last April, and there are 300 closed sales so far this April. Most residential real estate transactions close at the end of the month.

The first song ever recorded by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and some bandmates from their band the Quarrymen was titled “In Spite of all the Danger,” and that seems to be the motto for those in real estate.

In spite of all the danger, houses are being listed, shown, sold and closed. Anecdotally, there are many sales falling though as the financial conditions of many have changed. Lenders are now verifying employment within 30 minutes of closing to ensure the buyers are not among the 16 million who have lost their jobs.

Along with the president, there are cries from many within the profession to get back to work. Last week, I wrote that 1,200 had died the previous Saturday. There were twice that many his past Saturday.

Sale of the Week

Last week, 6529 Radcliff Drive sold for $1.58 million, a respectable $281 per square foot.

6529 Radcliff Drive

Based on listing agent Tim Mangrum’s description, it was the kitchen that brought the most value to the house. Those in the construction business often argue that unknown brand names perform better than the more recognizable brands that have, in fact, branded themselves as the best.

Mangrum affirms that point when he touts the “Chef’s kitchen with Wolf appliances and a Subzero refrigerator.” Need he say more? The is a “warming drawer, 2 dishwashers and an undercounter ice maker,” he adds. He slights the manufacturer, perhaps because there is less value in its brand names.

In the land of appliances, there is a highly regarded stove manufacturer that ventured into refrigerator sales. The results have been disastrous for the owners of these refrigerators, although refrigerator repair people are thrilled with their inefficiencies, often adding baffles and other tricks to remedy the poor engineering.

Mangrum, who hails from Exit Realty on Music Row, had the house under contract in 114 days after listing it for $1,675,000 and slightly reducing the price to $1,672,000.

Officing on Music Row, Mangrum might have been the perfect person for the job since the property was once owned by Music Row, and international, royalty. At one point, radio/television icon Ralph Emery owned the property. Emery biographer Tom Carter noted that Emery’s television show Nashville Now once had a larger viewership than Johnny Carson’ s vaunted Tonight Show.

Carter, who has made of career out of celebrity biographies, has chronicled the lives of Glen Campbell, Ronnie Milsap, Brooks and Dunn, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Reba MacEntire, George Jones and others, learned of Ralph Emery’s popularity while on the road with one of his subjects.

While the entertainer was performing, Carter visited an assisted living facility and found that a majority of the residents showed up each night to watch Nashville Now. He wrote his agent suggesting that he shop a bio on Ralph Emery, a request that prompted a fax “Ralph Who?”

The book went on to sell several million copies and more Carter/Emery collaborations, all of which hit the bestseller list.

Emery’s former real estate has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and one half bath among tis 5,625 square feet.

As many in the music biz are drawn to water – whether it be for fishing or watersports – Mangrum noted the four-car garage “is large enough to house your boat.”

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