Last week was a big one for closings in Williamson County with 121 properties changing hands, an enormous number for the middle of the month since most residential real estate closings occur at the end of each month.
With the boom well underway, the closings are reflective of the activity the area has witnessed for the past several weeks.
Beginning in early March, the market exploded in Williamson County. And with last week’s 121 closings, only 14 sold for less than list price. Most of those were in outlying areas or in extremely poor condition.
Thirty-nine sold for the exact asking price, usually indicative of a new construction sale in a subdivision contracted months ago, before the surge.
Not surprisingly, at least to those that have followed the market, 68 went for more than list price. Of those, the grand prize went to a home located at 9624 Portofino Drive in Brentwood that sold for $1.8 million, a mere $255,000 more than list price of $1,545,000.
The proud seller paid $949,000 for the house in 2015. Imagine the joy today’s sellers must feel when they think they will net a certain number for their home after interviewing several agents, then receiving a $255,000 bonus for being a member of the Lucky Year Club.
Last year, they would have been fortunate to hit the $1,545,000 number.
9624 Portofino Drive
The bad news is that the house sold for $296 per square foot, much below some of the Oak Hill and Belle Meade numbers, meaning this frenzy is here to stay, almost the antitheses of the cicada invasion.
This will stay 17 years, then go away for a year, then return for 17 more.
The buyers of 9624 Portofino Drive hit a home run with the help of their able Realtor, Kendall Maffett with Regal Realty Group. The 6,090-square-foot home was “renovated with a new kitchen in 2019” and had a “fabulous basement buildout in 2017,” boasted the listing agent, Realtor DeAnna Dodd of Capital Real Estate Services.
The house includes an upscale in-law apartment, four-car garage, movie theater, dedicated workout room, new tankless water heater, four newer HVAC systems and fresh paint everywhere. There are five bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half bathrooms on the half-acre lot. It could sell next year for $2.5 million.
Coming in a distant second and selling for only $174,000 more than list price was Jennifer Bickerstaff’s listing at 6022 Saddleview Drive in Franklin. Bickerstaff is a veteran agent with Compass RE and co-listed the house with Scott Hudson.
Selling for $268 per square foot at $999,000, the house is on an acre lot and encompasses 3,725 square feet.
6022 Saddleview Drive
Not to be outnumbered, the buyers had two agents of their own, Darci Ann Caesar and Jason Garner, both of Parks.
This house is located in the Cedarmont Valley Estates. It has an owner’s suite on the main level and a three-car garage. Additionally, the home includes four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and a half bathroom.
The sellers had paid $550,000 for the house less than three years ago, closing in August 2018. A $999,000 offer in a multiple-offer scenario is an interesting strategy, but buyers have imaginary lines in the sand, and this one apparently did not want to spend a million dollars on a house.
However unconventional, it worked. They own a house, and he has an extra thousand dollars to spend.
This boom has caused pain, joy, frustration, elation and anger as it has suffocated buyers and breathed unexpected, unbelievable gains into the coffers of sellers.
Those reading the news have responded with disbelief, angry that this situation has descended upon the area and the spewing venom across the cheeks of those involved in the fray. There are no perpetrators, but there are victims.
Many are now trapped in their homes. They cannot buy without selling since no seller would dare take a contract contingent on the sale of the buyer’s current residence, even though the buyer’s house is more likely to sell than ever before.
There are those whose houses are crumbling around them who are not able to maintain them, who could receive an exorbitant price for the home but would have no place to go within their respective neighborhoods. All of the houses like theirs are gone. Gone far, far away.
Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty and can be reached at [email protected].