With baseball in full swing, now is a good time to extract some wit and wisdom from the great Casey Stengel, who managed the New York Yankees to seven World Series titles.

Stengel is often overshadowed by the twisted witticisms of fellow Yankee Yogi Berra, but he imparted equally interesting tidbits, many that can be applied to real estate.

The Nashville real estate market has been mentioned in a number of real estate stories lately as one of the best places to buy residential real estate in the country with the prediction that prices will continue to rise through the next few years.

But, as Stengel warned: “Never make predictions, especially about the future.”

That is wise advice, especially considering one publication’s two-part prophecy. The first premise is that interest rates will begin to tumble. Then, once the rates have fallen, the market will explode. If x, then y.

Sound logic, except for the word “if.”

Another Stengelism: “Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice versa.” Low interest rates will spur the market, but not vice versa, as a strong market leads to inflation, which causes the rates to rise.

Good press is like good friends, often hard to find. And it is exciting for those outside the Nashville market to continue to predict good things for the Middle Tennessee market.

Of course, unbridled growth is not always a good thing, as Berra explains: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Sale of the Week

East Nashville delivered another high-end sale last week when 1712 Eastside Drive – a 5-iron away from the Vinny Links at Shelby Park – sold for $1.735 million. Listed by Kelley Ingles Mayo of MW Real Estate fame for $1.75 million, the house sold in 39 days when Caroline Keenan with Compass Tennessee, LLC delivered the buyer.

1712 Eastside Ave

The house was once owned by one of Nashville’s most beloved couples, the late electric Billy Block and his omnipresent wife, Jill Rochlitz Block. Block hosted Billy Block’s Western Beat for more than 30 years and featured live music played on a radio format.

Known as Mr. Nashville, Block promoted a number of acts before their fame, with Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Jim Lauderdale, Jeffrey Steele, Lucinda Williams and Kacey Musgraves gracing his stage. His show was called the “Ellis Island of Nashville.”

Block and his wife Jill hosted the show that featured musicians that were genre-less at the time until the Americana label emerged. His motto was “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” He died in 2015 at the age of 59.

Another Nashville creative soul, filmmaker, writer, lecturer and narrator Molly Secours, owned the house before the Blocks. There is mojo aplenty flowing through the house on Eastside Avenue.

The house has undergone considerable renovation in the years since the Blocks vacated, listing agent Kelley Engels Mayo explains: “Luxury living at its finest with high upscale finishes throughout.” She cited the inviting front and back porches and noted there is a sunset view of downtown from the residence.

As longtime Nashvillians will tell you, tornadoes have a slight propensity to drop in East Nashville every 20 or so years. This house is equipped with a tornado shelter, just in case. Additionally, there is a two-car garage with an EV car charger. The house has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and 4,354 square feet. It sold for $398 per square foot.

The transactional history of the house reads like the creative writing that would be expected from a group that included the Block couple and Molly Secours. Real estate has been kind to the cultural creatives, as they are called, among us.

Ray Stevens and his friend Chet Atkins have owned numerous properties on Music Row and have had more success with their real estate investments than any others in their field. The term “anyone in their field” is more appropriate than “any of their peers” since Chet had none and there will never be anyone as talented as Stevens waltz into town.

Hopefully, the new owners will be open to the aura floating through the walls and share the wonder of the former owners.

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