2023 Otter Creek Road

The house at 2023 Otter Creek Road sold last week for $4.8 million after the All-Pro real estate team of Jonathan Heard and Lacey Newman listed it for that price and had it under contract practically before the opening whistle. Katie Morrell had a buyer on the sidelines.

The transaction must have been called in the huddle, as both the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent are on the same team, that being Compass RE.

The owner had purchased the home in 2018 for $1,999,900, just under the $2 million cap. He immediately assembled a team to renovate the home with each sub executing the game plan flawlessly on various projects such as a pool – complete with a pavilion – and a bonus room over the garage with space for pool or ping pong.

The seller in this case was former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, whose real estate ventures are performing better than his former team. The house had all the necessary components for a quick sale, including the primary bedroom downstairs with another bath for the visitors.

The main house includes 7,243 square feet with enough bedrooms – six – for an offensive line, plus four full bathrooms and three half bathrooms.

The 115-square-foot pool pavilion was a recent addition and features a counter that can seat seven for a post-pool meal. The home is nestled on a secluded, two-acre lot away from adoring fans and paparazzi trying to see if Will Levis really puts mayonnaise in his coffee.

The pool is heated, and there is a spa. There also is a state-of-the-art home gym on the upper level down the hall from three ensuite bedrooms. The “en” in ensuite is pronounced like the “on” in onside, by the way. Around the corner from the bedrooms, there is an additional bonus room with a beverage center. Hydration is the key to fitness.

Downstairs features a kitchen with a Sub-Zero refrigerator, perhaps named for the number of wins a team would need to have the rest of the season in order to gain a No. 1 draft pick. In addition to the monster fridge, there is a double oven capable of cooking a turkey and a few pounds of mac and cheese, as well as a wet bar, wine cooler and ice maker.

As he was on the football field, Vrabel is a winner in the field of dreams, at least the American Dream, that of home ownership.

Conflicting real estate data

In this time of confusing information and data, there are conflicting interpretations in the media concerning the residential real estate market, especially on the national level.

Inman News, a real estate news agency, reports sales fell by 3.5% from August to September. Inman’s take is that sales are “frozen” at 3.84 million annually.

The Wall Street Journal, citing the same 3.5% drop, stated sales in 2023 hit their lowest number in 30 years. That number, the lowest number in 30 years, was the highest number in 30 years at that time.

In 2005, there were more than 7 million units sold. In the ensuing years, there were 7 million foreclosures. Seemingly, frozen sales – or, better yet, worse sales – were what the Federal Reserve wanted, and it dropped its rate.

As has been discussed in this column, the Fed dropping the rate did not slow the rise in Treasury bills and, this week, for the eighth-consecutive week, interest rates on a 30-year mortgage rose, now standing at almost 6.7%.

Interestingly, even with slowing national sales, the median price for a single-family home increased from August to September, and every new agency seems to agree with that statistic.

In Nashville, total sales rose 3.5%.

Many here – on both sides of the political fight – are saying “wait for the election and things will be better.”

I’m hoping the election will have no effect on sales. Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of status quo.

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