Home sales in the greater Nashville area declined in July, statistics compiled by Greater Nashville Realtors shows.

Realtors have for decades compared each month’s sales to that month of the previous year since there is normally seasonality in the market, though less so during the past three years.

In so doing, there was little if any attention placed on comparing sales or inventory to information from the previous month, as the data was of little consequence, certainly not as important as the sales of the previous year. Things have changed, and the reporting now features both the prior month and year-over-year sales.

The current snapshot reveals closed sales in July were down 15% from closed sales for June, with 3,533 closings in June and only 3,001 in July. July sales decreased 13% from compared to July 2022, when 3,459 properties sold.

The sobering numbers come when sales are compared to 2019, when 4,189 properties changed hands in July. That’s 1,188 more closings than this year’s 3,001.

Perhaps this downturn will cure the area’s restaurant workforce shortage. Randy Rayburn, the Goldberg Brothers and their cohorts will become reacquainted many of their old employees as they return from ill-time, short-lived real estate careers.

Inventory increased for the first time in years with 9,594 properties listed for sales in June and 9,892 at the end of July. The median sale price for a single-family home dropped. The median price for a single-family home dropped from $490,000 in 2022 to $478,945 in 2023.

Condominiums, however, again showed a modest increase, edging from $347,745 to $350,110. Upper-end properties – more than $1 million – held steady with 111 closings this July compared to 107 in July 2022.

There were 2,693 pending sales at the end of July compared with 2,682 July 2022 when there were 3,459 closings, so look for closings to jump to at least 400 in August.

Although interest rates climbed to November levels with a 30-year fixed rate with no discount points climbing to mor than 8% again, upper-end buyers are undaunted with the stock market faring well and enough real cash to close.

The biggest sale last month was 1019 Stonewall Drive, listed by Rick French and Tim King, which came in at $9.4 million and sold in 115 days. Including this sale, there were 16 sales of $3 million-plus in Davidson County last month and two of $5 million or more and another two at more than $4 million.

Last July, there were only 13 sales of $3 million or more with one more than $45 million and another more than $44 million.

So sale prices are lower, except in the upper-end, which is outpacing 2022.

The buyers who are most affected by the higher interest rates are those in lower price ranges, with many of those hoping lower prices will offset higher rates to produce reasonable monthly payments. Adjustable-rate mortgages remain a memory, with no lenders offering them. ARMs that have pulled real estate through recessions in the past.

Sale of the Week

4001 Sneed Rd

One of the homes selling for $1 million-plus is at 4001 Sneed Road. It closed for $5.8 million with 7,607 square feet after Lindsay Argo listed the house for $5.99 million. Lindsay, devoid of any Argonauts, sold the house with the help of Barbara Moutenot, a 22-year veteran with deep ties to the music business, represented the buyer in the sale.

The house, which sold the first day on the market, has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three half bathrooms.

Argo noted the home offers a blend of contemporary elegance and timeless charm. She also stated “the exterior features a harmonious blend of slate, copper and stucco.”

The buyer went under contract July 1 and closed Aug. 7, thereby cramping the July stats offered by the Greater Nashville Realtors.

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