January sales data for the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors show unit sales 9.7 percent higher than January 2015.
Granted that is a positive sign, but many of those sales were a result of TRID-lock, meaning they would have closed in December but the new Real Estate Settlement and Procedure Act slowed things and forced the closings to slide into January.
As GNAR president Denise Creswell stated: “Beginning the year with over 2,000 closings is an encouraging start.”
“The last time our region saw a January with more closings was 2007,” she added.
Not to be half empty here, but remember what happened in September 2007? The market dropped 20 percent.
But those were different times, right?
Of course they were. The stock market was falling off the charts due in part to the rising price of oil. It’s much different now as the stock market is tanking due to the falling price of oil.
Oil gets us coming and going.
Creswell says affordable housing is an issue that needs to be addressed. If things continue the way they are on Wall Street, she may get her wish.
Inventory continues to plunge, and that alone is beginning to contribute to lower sales since those moving to town cannot find adequate housing to purchase. When they do, the prices are staggering, even to Californians.
Included in GNAR’s January numbers are statistics showing the median price has risen from $215,000 last year to $242,668 for single-family houses. Condos have risen from $172,250 to $179,000 for the same period.
Low supply and high demand equals higher prices. It’s that simple. High demand, no supply produces lower sales.
As the stock market plummets, Nashville real estate prices are on the rise. (Hint, hint) Perhaps a dollop of real estate might balance that investment portfolio.
The rental market mirrors the purchase and sale market as those unable to find even tolerable homes to buy are being forced into rentals.
Add that number to the usual renters that are flocking into the area and the result is astronomical.
There are those who marvel at all of the new apartments under constructions as cranes continue to dominate the skyline. Many feel that the developers are overbuilding, but the fact is that they cannot keep pace with demand.
Such demand is unprecedented in Nashville. But it’s another story in other geographic areas.
It’s not unusual to hear from those relocating here that they are having difficulty selling their homes, having reduced the prices several times in order to get interest. These scenarios are being played in states from East to West and North to South.
Many moving here find it inconceivable that they must offer more than list price on the first day on the market in Nashville for their offer to be considered.
To be fair, some properties will remain on the market for weeks in some areas of town, but it usually points to being priced too high. Even in the frenzy, owners can outprice the market.
Sale of the Week
“We’re gonna rock down to Electric Avenue.”
So goes the song by Eddie Grant that spent five long weeks at No. 2. Poor Eddie, he must have thought each week would surely catapult him to No. 1 slot.
As many around Nashville know, the difference between No. 1 and No. 2 can be enormous as far as income goes. There is a little demand for a release of the No. 2 hits of 1982, but if there were Eddie would be there.
In the UK, where it was originally released, the single skyrocketed all the way to, well, No. 2.
The song “Flashdance... What a Feeling” from the smash movie “Flashdance” kept the song the song out of the top spot at first, and just when it appeared that Grant had a shot, darn if Sting and his Police did not leapfrog “Electric Avenue” with “Every Breath You Take.” Timing, it’s everything.
The house located at 1438 Electric Avenue has Shelby Park in its backyard, according to listing agent Jess Reed, who also noted it includes an “XL game room, a luxury master suite, a back deck with a fire pit and high end appliances.” Electric Avenue is off of 16th near Shelby in Shelby Hills.
Additionally, the home has a garage capable of housing four electric cars, or those that require other means of fuel. The house sold for $590,125 or $213 per square foot, a nice price for the area, yet the seller, like Eddie Grant in 1982, had his eye on a bigger prize when he listed the house for $659,000, an ambitious $238 per square foot.
It sold for $600,125, about $59,000 less than asking price.
Richard Courtney is a real estate broker with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].