4012 Estes Road
April home prices hit all-time highs, with median single-family prices rising dramatically from $385,000 in April 2021 to $480,000 for April 2022, data from Greater Nashville Realtors and Realtracs reveals.
And the condominium market boasted similar gains with the median price rising from $264,525 in April 2021 to $337,628 for April 2022.
Inventory continues to plague the market with 4,314 homes available for sale. That’s down from 9,068 in 2021 and 19,952 in 2020.
With more than 80% of the inventory absorbed over the past two years, transactions are understandably shrinking. Complicating the issue is sellers who wish to capitalize on the appreciation of their own homes have few options when looking for a new home in the area.
There were 3,818 transactions in April compared to 4,119 the previous April, despite 50% less inventory.
Steve Jolly, president of the Greater Nashville Realtors, says interest rates and the recent uptick in prices are starting to affect buyer opinions in the real estate market.
Sale of the Week
Last week the property at 4012 Estes Road sold for $3.2 million, selling on its first opportunity to view for $448 per square foot.
While on the subject of Estes Road, a tip for the newcomers to the city of Nashville. Estes is pronounced Estus, rhymes with Festus, the name of Marshall Dillion’s deputy on the TV show “Gunsmoke.”
Listing agent Clay Tate hails from Village Real Estate, as does the buyers’ broker, Whit Murray. The 7,142-square-foot residence rests on a half-acre lot that is zoned Rs20, meaning one single-family home is allowed per 20,000 square feet.
With this lot spreading over 22,216 square feet of Green Hills soil, it would fall short of the 40,000 square feet of land that would have allowed for two structures to be erected.
Several years ago, when “tall skinnies” began to dot the neighborhood, those on the Metro Council who represented the district realized all of Green Hills was zoned for duplexes, and that designation allowed for two structures on every lot.
When the zoning was originally enacted, there were numerous duplexes all over town. Having that zoning was not an issue until it became an issue, at which point the neighborhood went from a quiet homestead in the vale to a construction site. Neighborhood meetings were held and became quite vocal.
Realizing that each homeowner was a voter, and with elections in these districts often tight among the candidates, many of the Council members offered a compromise to satisfy both those homeowners and the developers: Every lot would be downzoned, thereby making them all Rs20, allowing for only one building per half acre, unless the property owner opted out of the downzoning.
At the time, there were many cases in which the same investor owned several duplexes on a particular street, and they opted out of the downzoning. A drive through Green Hills will answer the question of “Where have all the duplexes gone?” And the answer is “Far, far away.”
Interestingly, many who could not afford to live in Green Hills would lease one side of a duplex and make it their permanent address. The reason for doing so was to allow their children to attend Julia Green Elementary, which was then considered by many – at least these new pseudo tenants – to be the premier elementary school.
The cost of the lease, usually a converted attic or small one-bedroom, would cost slightly more than tuition at a private school for those with one child. The ruse made more economic sense for those with two, three or more children.
As usual, there were a few busybody informant types who enjoyed ratting people out, and the school systems began to require proof of residency by producing utility bills in the name of the duplex dweller, which sometimes was problematic as many duplexes did not have separate meters.
That flushed out a few of them, and the A-list of elementary schools has grown significantly.
Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty, LLC and can be reached at [email protected].