Although peppered with relapses, the freeze had ended – finally. Those who saw the thaw coming and placed their homes on the market have reaped rewards, as sales are aflutter and the information is being tweeted by Realtors.
1212, a condominium project in the Gulch, has officially morphed from apartment to condo with some 70 reservations intact. For those unfamiliar with the project, these reservations are qualified as each required a 10 percent check.
At an average cost of $600,000, an average reservation would weigh in at $60,000. That is an earnest amount of earnest money. The developer’s representatives are now converting the reservations into contacts.
12South is experiencing more of what has become customary with rising prices, multiple offers and more renovation and new construction. Sylvan Park, East Nashville and Hillsboro Village are following suit, and Bellevue and Crieve Hall have stepped into the game.
Those with families seeking public schools, especially middle and high schools, are still flocking to Williamson County, finding Davidson County lotteries and magnets and other jargon too difficult to digest. Even though scores are improving, there are areas that continue to disappoint parents.
What is evident is that good public schools cause real estate prices in those areas to increase.
On the elementary side, Julia Green, Percy Priest, and Eakin lead the charge, while J.T. Moore seems to be the middle school favorite and Hillsboro High flowing in the magnetic steps of Hume Fogg and M.L. King. Glendale, a Spanish-immersion institution, is a magnet with a lottery with some weight given to those in the area for a period of time. The perception among many parents is that everything is wonderful in Williamson County schools.
In Davidson, charter schools seem to be faring well, but there is debate between local and state government over how many and when that concerns parents. Youth is fleeting with no do-overs.
Another market driver is the accessibility of dining, be it casual, coffee or fine dining. Magnificent, fun exciting restaurants have proliferated the city. There was a time when real estate agents feared that an out-of-towner considering relocating to Nashville would ask for the names of good eating spots.
Now restaurant information is offered with joy during the first tour of any neighborhood. Perhaps Randy Rayburn should run for school board.
The National Association of Realtors is reporting declining sales in most of the country. Once again, the Nashville market is different. As these negative reports roll in, remember not to confuse the words Nashville and national.
Sale of the Week
This week’s sale is located at 5518 Meadowcrest Lane in the Richland Meadows neighborhood near Target on White Bridge Road.
This 912-square-foot home has three bedrooms and one bath and sold for $210,000, or $230 per square foot. Missy Rodriguez Brower of Zeitlin & Company, Realtors, fame sold the house without benefit of a buyer’s agent in a matter of four days, before her real estate sign could gather moss, bird drippings or lawn debris.
This home serves a as sound example of real estate as a means of building wealth. The property was bought in 1985 for $53,461. Some 21 years later, a young real estate agent paid $127,943 for the house. He flipped in six months for $166,000, a modest profit.
US history reminds us that the Great Recession hit a year after the buyer closed at $166,000. So when she sold in 2009, the price of $174,500 was well-received.
In that transaction, she may have recouped closing costs and broken even. Still, not bad for those times. Consider the fate of most investments purchased in 2007 and sold in 2009.
The current sellers paid $174,500 and sold for $210,000. If the total closing costs were close to 7 percent, or $14,700, and they spent $6,000 on the new HVAC and another $5,000 on miscellaneous improvements, they may have netted $10,000.
Those estimates may have been high.
In today’s financial world, buyers can purchase homes for 5 percent down. In this case, that would equate to $8,725 when the buyer acquired the property. They owned the property less than 18 months and received a $10,000 return on the $8,725 investment.
Operating from the glass-is-half-full side, the owners received a deduction on their income tax, maybe $2,000 to $3,000, and they would have paid at least $10,000 in rent in order to live in that area in comparable housing.
Teach your children well and get them into home ownership.
Richard Courtney is affiliated with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].