June home sales increased by 1.7 percent, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.
An increase of less than 2 percent would seem to paint a picture of a somewhat stable market, reminiscent of the month to month numbers seen in 1980s, 1990s, early 2000s pre-boom and non-recessionary times.
Growth of slightly less than 2 percent would be only a smidgen away from no growth at all or, heaven forbid, negative growth.
Yet, well-priced homes all over town are selling the first day on the market for 5 to 10 percent more than list price. The median price of a single family home rose from $240,000 to $260,148, GNAR stats reveal, and the median price for a condo rose from $172,500 to $186,495.
In a period that showed unit sales up 1.7 present, prices rose more than 8 percent.
The reason? Inventory dropped another 10 percent.
With Germantown, East Nashville and the Nations having been demolished and rebuilt – and Sylvan Park and Green Hills going vertical – there are fewer and fewer infill lots available.
In 2013 and 2014, there were many homeowners with rental properties who were able receive windfall profits on homes that they had purchased over the years.
Homeowners were able to sell high and buy low in outlying areas.
Now, with prices higher all over Nashville, homeowners realize they can sell their homes for that seem ridiculously high. But they also understand they would be unable to buy anywhere in close proximity to their current houses.
With inventory evaporating, there will come a day when unit sales lag behind the previous year while prices continue to rise.
The cranes are still hovering, the horizontal property regimes continue to replace single family homes and the dozers are humming.
Yet the hunger for homes is not being extinguished. There is no end in sight.
Sale of the Week
The home at 2511 Miami Drive sold last week for $460,000.
This little known Miami can be found via a boat ride down the Cumberland. Or, those of you who read last week’s Ledger (Headline: Davidson Co. leads state in boating incidents) might understandably choose to drive a car over to Briley Parkway and then head to Pennington Bend.
In days gone by, there was a ferry across the Cumberland to provide those in the area access to East Nashville, then the center of affluence in Nashville, without being forced to drive downtown. Perhaps, as traffic conditions have the citizenry screaming and begging for mercy, the ferry could be resurrected.
Listing agent Pam Salas noted the home did take on water during the flood of 2010 and that it took an entire year to rebuild, renovate and restore.
The owners chose stucco as a cladding for the home designed by renowned architect James Edward, who designed an open plan with panoramic views of the river that only six years ago ran through it.
The Miami residence includes 2,354 square feet with three bedrooms and two and a-half baths. The owner’s suite is enormous with walk-in and walk-around closets. The outdoor living area offers opportunities to triple the interior entertaining area.
When the 2010 flood waters subsided and the extent of the damage became evident, the nation was mired in the Great Recession, and Nashville real estate had been suffering for several years. There was some question among the veteran agents as to whether, when and how the area might recover from economic hardship.
The flood certainly intensified the concern, but community response sparked hope.
A community as united as Nashville was immediately following the flood could not fail, recession or not. The spirit of the residents rose above everything else.
The thousands of those left homeless were provided housing. Those who had not met their neighbors soon had those neighbors walking through their homes ripping off drywall and delivering food.
Food was everywhere, and clothing began to arrive.
As the monster dump trucks headed to the dump sites filled to the brim with the dreams of the residents, cars, vans, truck and bicycles arrived with more clothes, toys and love.
Nashville homebuyers have forgiven the flood.
Houses from River Planation to Pennington Bend have appreciated, as well as their neighbors’ homes that sat dry on May 12.
The new strains of community crises seem to divide the city. But in May of 2010, the city was one.
Richard Courtney is a real estate broker with Christianson, Patterson, Courtney, and Associates and can be reached at [email protected].