The Nashville housing market has been afire for several years and is setting records already this year, leading many to worry if they would regret selling a Nashville property only to see it appreciate dramatically over the ensuing months and years.
When addressing those concerns, it is important to understand that no Realtor or real estate expert can predict the future any better than any investment adviser. No one could have predicted a 3,500-point drop in the stock market as a result of a virus that seemingly originated in Wuhan, China.
In Japan, the government has closed schools for one month in hopes of protecting its populace and slowing the spread of the COVID-19. If the situation reaches that level in the United States or Nashville, in particular, there will be very little house hunting.
Most would not want to enter homes whose owners might or might not wash their hands or clean their houses with products that may kill the virus.
Therefore, those who have chosen to wait for the spring market might need to await the fall market when, we hope, a vaccine has been developed.
As of this writing, there has been no impact on the market. I am putting my money on the brain trust at Vanderbilt University to bring forth the vaccine.
Sale of the Week
114 Windsor Drive
Belle Meade Links is a neighborhood not to be confused with Belle Meade Highlands, Belle Meade Courts or Belle Meade proper. The Links rest across the street from the Belle Meade Country Club golf course, which is, of course, in Belle Meade and are considered links.
Within the friendly confines of said Links is 114 Windsor Drive, a cozy cottage built in 1929. This 3,360-square-foot home recently sold for $1.25 million, or $365 per square foot.
Denizens of the neighborhoods mentioned above view their neighborhoods as differently as Kentucky views Tennessee. And most residents are all too familiar with the boundaries.
Occasionally a naïve resident of the one of the adjacent areas, be it Highlands, Links or Courts, will proclaim blasphemously, “I live in Belle Meade,” only to be quickly corrected by any self-respecting Belle Meader who might be present.
Listed by Julia Corker Spickard of Worth Properties, the house sold in one day, Realtracs shows, having gone under contract the first day on the market after receiving five offers.
Spickard is the daughter of Bob Corker, former U.S. senator (2007-2019) and Chattanooga mayor (2001-2005).
Spickard is making quite a name for herself and is now an established fixture in the upper-end market. Affable, hardworking, consistent, even-tempered and fair, her name is often found on the transaction records of luxury homes. The above-mentioned traits are rare in Washington, but her personality and drive would serve the country well, should the itch ever occur.
Before the sale of 114 Windsor, Spickard noted, there were no comparable sales that justified the value she thought the house boasted. Rather than enter into a debate, and fearing a filibuster, she had the house appraised by a third party who returned with a suggested price tag of $1,225,000.
What the appraisers did not realize is that the house accomplishes what the Congress cannot, reaching across the aisles of Belle Meade Links and Belle Meade Courts. While the homes rests upon a Links lot, it has a Courts street (LaSalle) as its rear property line. Its garage opens onto LaSalle, which has a straight shot to Parmer Park, Belle Meade’s premier recreational paradise.
There has been past feuding and bickering among some Linksters and a certain developer in the Courts, but apparently a cease-fire has been declared, and rhetoric has calmed. With the Courts and the Links connected by 114 Windsor, diplomacy has seized the day, bringing peace in the valley.
The house was renovated in 2015, Spickard says, with a new 20-by-20-foot kitchen, new bedrooms and an expansive living room.
Most Nashville homes built in the 1920s and 1930s had detached garages, many of which have fallen by the wayside. The Windsor home has the two-car garage with its aisle-crossing LaSalle opening in place.
Additionally, the master suite is located on the second floor, a characteristic that is not always viewed as positive in today’s market. Apparently, the overall wonderment of the home offset any concerns.
Dana Griscom, the veteran of years of real estate wars, delivered the buyer, who paid $25,000 more than list price in order to secure the property. Griscom hails from Pilkerton Realtors and has been an Award of Excellence recipient for years.
Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty and can be reached at [email protected].