The race to the top is going down to the wire. Back in 2006, the area set the record for the most residential properties sold in a calendar year with 40,056, Greater Nashville Realtors statistics show. November data reveal year-to-date sales have reached 37,236, some 2,820 off the record.
In recent years, hitting that number in December – usually a slow month – would be a long shot. However, with 2,906 properties under contract and last year’s December sales totaling 3,280, it appears the record will be broken.
Inventory, the buyers’ nemesis for the past several years, has stabilized with 9,454 properties available, compared to 9,946 in 2016.
With inventory slightly lower and demand higher, the prices reflect the supply and demand theory with the median price for a single-family home rising to $285,000 from $259,900 last year. Condominiums increased from $182,390 to $216,751.
All of this points to numbers that were considered normal from 1991 through 2006 with unit sales up 4.4 percent and prices rising 11 percent.
It will be interesting to watch December sales, as November, 2016, closed with 2,591 pending sales that led to 3,280 December closings. If the 2,906 closings spawn sales exceeding that number, it will shatter the record.
One group that could help move sales along in the area is R.E. Data Lab, creators of Privy, a new software and education platform. According to Benson Juarez, managing partner of Privy Real Estate, the system will allow local real estate agents and investors to use a web-based system giving them access to real-time MLS data, in addition to education and tools that automate many of the tasks needed to analyze investment properties.
Utilizing Privy’s proprietary algorithms, investors are able to monitor other investor fix-and-flip transactions, allowing these investors access to before and after data, photos, gross profit and project timelines.
“We’re thrilled to be launching Privy in the Nashville market,” says Scott Fahl, R.E. Data Lab CEO and founder. “We know how competitive this market is, and good deals are hard to come by. Privy levels the playing field.”
In the last four years, investor money has floated into Nashville from Russia, China, Europe and the Middle East. With Privy eyeing expanding into Tampa/Orlando, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Dallas/Fort Worth, investors will be able to investigate properties in other areas.
With the University of Tennessee’s football coaching situation decided, the state can concentrate on home sales, especially if the Titans fizzle and miss the playoffs.
Sale of the Week
Belmont Boulevard has weighed into the real estate star wars, earning its status with a $2,075,000 sale at 2512 Belmont Boulevard.
This house was presented with the Preservation Award and was described by indescribable Ted Pins as an “absolute stunner that delivers every designer expectation.” With a chef kitchen, two screened porches, a fountain and a fire pit, the house provides indoor and outdoor living plus a four-car garage.
Pins, a veteran of five-star sales, is with the Radius Real Estate Partners group of Village Real Estate Services. He marketed the home for some 52 days and then held the transaction together for 110 days from contract to closing.
The house has three floors of living space and 4,444 square feet, which means it sold for $467 per square foot. This year’s property taxes are resting at $9,838, but look for that to increase significantly next year.
In the past, the increase would not have the sting that it will next year if the property tax deduction is capped at $10,000. Additionally, the U.S. House bill has a cap on the deductibility of the mortgage loan at $500,000, meaning this buyer will lose what was once a favorable interest deduction, if the loan is $1 million or more.
The house has four bedrooms and five full baths, so no need for a half bath. The white carpet that adorned the upstairs hallway was impeccable, but always a target for red wine spills. Included in the home is a media room with all the comfort of a new Regal Cinema.
Suzan Hindman of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont delivered the lucky buyer, who will celebrate the holidays in style on Belmont.
To recap, the listing agent is with Radius Residential Partners Village Real Estate Services, while the buyers’ agent is with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont. Those firms just roll of the tongue.
In this case, they nailed a big one.
Richard Courtney is a real estate broker with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].