The Tennessee Titans have completed the season with a 3-13 record and have guaranteed themselves the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

In the first four games of the season, most sports pundits felt the team was much improved over the previous year as the team had annihilated Tampa Bay and lost games to Cleveland, Indianapolis and Buffalo that could have been wins.

While most in the community support the Titans, and no Realtor wants the team to lose, there is a bit of a silver lining in the dark cloud hovering over Nissan Stadium and that is that half the team and some – if not all – the coaches will soon be moving.

As the franchise’s time here has been short, at least by NFL standards, there have been interesting developments.

Nashville has had professional sports teams from the days of the Nashville Vols minor league baseball team and the Dixie Flyers hockey team, through the Predators and the Titans (at that time known as the Tennessee Oilers). The city embraced the Predators and the Titans – once they changed their Oiler moniker and moved to the new stadium – but fans were saddened when the harsh reality of sports business hit home.

When fan-favorites such as Eddie George, Derrick Mason, Steve McNair and Jevon Kearse were released or not signed to return, it hurt the hearts of the Titans fans. Many were outraged and voiced their opinions threatening to sell their PSLs and follow their favorite players.

While the players may have switched jerseys, many did not switch home towns, choosing to commute to the locations of their new teams from Nashville.

Several years ago, the wife of one of the Predators former players, Darcy Hornacek, saw the mobility of professional athletes as an opportunity. She obtained her real estate license, assisted players in their moves and worked with developing a national network of Realtors that understand sports, athletes and their needs.

In addition to the Nashville players, another sports figure that has settled in the area is Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN. Of course, the music industry has always supplied the city with numerous luminaries and they have usually opted to remain in Nashville after their music careers peak.

A recording artist switching labels does not have the same implication of a player switching teams.

With change in the air, don’t be surprised if you wander into an open house with a Heisman trophy or a couple of game balls on display.

If the house is right, take a shot. Everything is negotiable. I would opt for autographs over Heismans.

Sale of the Week

The newly built house at 4709 Dakota Avenue sold last week for $466,900, a respectable $222 per square foot with its 2,096 square feet, four bedrooms and three full baths.

Built in 2015, it joins 17 other homes that were constructed in Sylvan Park last year with sales ranging from $204 to $247 per square foot and from $465,000 to $735,000 in price.

The sale capturing the $735,000 price was not an HPR (Horizontal Property Regime), while 4709B is an HPR and is detached. With its sister HPR selling for $529,900, the lot at 4709 sold for a total of $996,800.

McClain Holloway Franks of Battle Ground Realty originally listed the home for almost $243 per square foot at $509,900 before reducing the price to $474,900 and eventually selling the property for the $466,900.

The pricing history lends credence to the fact that, as hot as the market has been, it will not absorb every price offered, even though the $243 is only slightly over the average price of $242.84 price for new construction in Sylvan Park.

In her promotion of the property, Holloway noted the home was constructed of “fiber cement” and included “top of the line designer finishes.” Since Realtracs does not allow for fractional automobiles, Franks was forced to write that the structure also included a 1.5 car garage, a creative way of communicating that the garage is large enough for one car, yet unable to accommodate two.

The agent representing the buyer in the transaction did a super job for her client, which is understandable as it was none another than Lois Layne of Zeitlin and Company Realtors, a company founded by Nashville’s wonder woman, Shirley Zeitlin.

Lois joins other memorable Realtors such as Elizabeth Taylor and Dick Tracey, as well as home inspector Don Knotts in the unforgettable name category.

Richard Courtney is a real estate broker with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].