Amp or no Amp, something has to give. When two or more Realtors are gathered, the conversation flows into interrogations of whether anyone has pocket listings or other properties about to hit the market. It seems that all full-time, top-producing agents have more buyers than sellers, and the numbers are grossly out of proportion with most having as many as twice as many buyers as sellers.

Unlike publically traded companies, the stock cannot split. Nor is this like manufacturing, with a factory being able to retool and increase production.

But builders are building, and developers are developing. There are more and more people headed downtown to fill all of the newly created apartments and the new 1212 condos in the Gulch. Existing lots are being split with two or, in some cases, up to four houses replacing a single home.

Nashville once feared falling into Atlanta’s sprawl model, but this area has demonstrated “smart growth” inasmuch as plots that formerly housed parked cars now serve as residence to thousands of downtown denizens.

Yet Green Hills, 12South, East Nashville, Sylvan Park and other areas have consistently replaced one house with multiple structures. This stops the sprawl and feeds the malls, but what about traffic? We are dependent on our cars. Nashvillians, even transplants, drive everywhere.

The transplants don’t get it, but are quick to join the fray. Laziness is contagious. If you are ever bored and derive joy from watching others suffer, drive from Green Hills Mall to Columbia at about 7:30 a.m. on a weekday.

While there is no comparison to Guy Clark’s favorite freeway in Los Angeles, it could inspire another James Taylor song. It is ridiculous to watch a single lane of cars stretch for tens of miles with little movement.

I-65 from Gallatin to the Nashville is just as bad, and then there’s I-24 from Murfreesboro into the city where a driver can hear radio news broadcasts enough to recite them backwards upon landing.

To further complicate matters, there are more drivers on the way.

Walkability needs to become more than a catchphrase. It must be incorporated into the lives of the citizenry. And, somehow, there must be some sort of mass transit incorporated into the outlying areas, those being the counties that abut Davidson.

If another million people move into the area, the current system will implode, perhaps explode. It’ll “plode” one way or another. And it is perplexing that those who reside in the counties that surround Davidson have better schools and lower property taxes, those due to lower cost of housing.

Yet, what is the toll of the road? Day in and day out, sulking among a hoard of other daily eight-hour immigrants cannot do wonders for the id, the ego or even the super-ego. If only Sigmund Freud had spent more time on traffic patterns.

Sale of the Week

This week’s sale is located at 4981 Tyne Ridge Court in the Treemont neighborhood and sold for $1,255,000 in a matter of days.

The ever-efficient Mary Snyder of Worth Properties was the listing agent for this 8,362-square-foot manse that include five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half baths.

Snyder refers to one level as the terrace level, some call it the lower level and, years ago, the same space would have been called a basement.

In that area is a suite that Mary Snyder suggests could be “perfect for in-law of guest quarters,” or it would work for the child that just won’t leave. The terrace level has a wine cellar – never mind the kid that won’t leave – and a bedroom, bathroom, full kitchen and media room, while opening to a waterfall. She mentioned that the house had “sundrenched elegance,” and is to be applauded for that.

The affable Hal Rosson of Freeman Webb Company Realtors represented the seller. Rosson is a seasoned veteran and one of the most well-liked agents in the city. He plays well with others and delivers for his clientele.

His buyer paid a mere $150 per-square-foot, although the terrace level contains 2,641 square feet. Call it what you will, but it is not as valuable as the 5,700 plus square feet overhead.

The seller of the home had purchased the residence on October 20, 2013, according tax records, for $1,125,000 and, as you learned above, sold for $1,255,000 only six months later, an 11 percent return on his investment, 22% annualized. Not bad.

Unlike most cities in the country, a buyer can buy in this market and not worry about what might happen if there was a need to sell quickly.

Richard Courtney is affiliated with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney and Associates and can be reached at [email protected]