4128 Wallace Lane

April real estate sales increased 11% for the area compared to April 2023 with 3,060 closings, according to the Greater Nashville Realtors reports. There were 2,753 closings in April in 2023.

Of equal significance is that sales increased 7% for March, with 2,847 closings.

As sales rose, year over year and month after month, inventory numbers followed with 10,419 homes in inventory at the end of April. That’s better than the 8,788 in April 2023 and 9,404 for March 2024.

There were 213 more units sold in April than in March, and inventory increased 1,015, which is good news for the frustrated home seekers.

Greater Nashville Realtors president Kevin Wilson says the increases point to a continuation of “a more balanced market compared to previous years while buyers have more options.”

“We’re seeing correctly priced homes sell,” he adds. Translation: The days of wine and roses are over as far as pricing homes for more than their value. But even compared to 2020-22, when the prices for homes skyrocketed, area sales numbers have largely held even as interest rates climbed.

Even with the calming of the market and increased inventory, the median price for a single-family home hit $505,000 in April, up from $468,000 in April 2023 and $493,222 last month. Condominiums followed, jumping from $326,000 last year to $349,900 this year after from $339,000 last month, a $10,000 jump in one month.

There is only one song that attributes songwriting credits to Paul McCartney and George Harrison, “In Spite of all the Danger.” That should be the theme song for the real estate market. Despite all the danger of inflation, higher interest rates, lawsuits, protests, wars and political mudslinging, the housing market remains strong.

Sale of the Week

It was a week of high-end sales with six single-family homes selling for between $1 million and $2 million, seven more closing for $2 million-$3 million and one each in the $4 million-plus, $5 million-plus and $6 million-plus categories. And that’s one week.

The Dow Jones hit 40,000 for the first time, and interest rates dropped as inflation cooled.

People still squawk about the economy, and gas is cheaper in Sewanee than Nashville. Newly installed University of the South Vice Chancellor Rob Pearigen must have been behind the lower prices.

When gas prices rise, the blame seems to rest somewhere. Seems only fair to attribute the lower prices to actions by some individual.

On Wallace Lane, veteran new construction expert Tim Kyne of Keller Williams Realty listed 4128 Wallace Lane along with his co-listing partner Molly Mason. The 8,222-square-foot manse was listed for $5.499 million before selling for $5.175 million in 10 days.

The price drop of $324,000 seems insignificant when the numbers are as large as these. Yet in 1994, the house that once inhabited this address sold for $176,000, and the owners lived there happily until 2021 when they sold to the Chesnut Infill Group for $950,000.

Now houses more than 8,000 square feet dot the city’s landscape.

Kyne described this house as a “European transitional home designed by Craftsman residential that delivers a fresh architectural perspective.” The lot features a gated entry for the residence with a cobblestone-lined motor court and three-car garage. There is a 413-square-foot guest house with one bedroom and one bathroom.

The kitchen has two islands – a new fixture in these houses – with Wolf and Sub Zero appliances and a custom hood, another mainstay now required. The main house includes five bedrooms and five full bathrooms along with a fractional bathroom (less than half of a full bathroom).

“The three ensuite bathrooms are complemented by seven defined spaces – gym, media room, rec room, children’s den and a second laundry,” Kyne and Mason note. The house rests upon slightly more than 1 acre and is in close proximity to the vaunted Julia Green Elementary School and Harpeth Hall School. Graduates include Amy Grant, Resse Witherspoon, Tracy Caulkins and, most recently, Mary Alice Pierce.

Alex Brandau, who also works at Keller Williams, delivered the buyer, who made the cash offer. Brandau comes from a long line of Realtors, with a bloodline that runs into the storied Colley Real Estate group. He negotiated the $324,000 reduction with his cunning and his client’s money, closing 17 days from the initial contract date.

This estate sold for $669 per square foot, an archaic term that many use in their assessment of property.

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