For the second month in a row, the number of home sales in the region fell slightly since the same time last year, according to a report by the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors. (See the graph of home sale numbers above.)
But even though the numbers look stagnant, Amy Taylor has seen how fast-paced the real estate market is. She and her husband Ryan recently decided to upgrade houses in East Nashville — meaning they’re selling and buying in the same area at the same time. Here’s how she puts it:
“Selling is great, but buying is awful,” she says. “Selling seems to go very fast, within hours, and most of the time, at least in East Nashville, it’s multiple offers.”
When they put their East Nashville home up for sale last week, it was on the market for a day — and now that they’re buying, they’re competing against people who are offering tens of thousands of dollars above the asking price.
East Nashville is clearly hot right now. But realtor Ted Pins says the rest of the Nashville area is growing too, even if it’s more moderately. So what accounts for the lack of growth in home sales?
“There’s less inventory, so there are a lot of buyers that are waiting in the wings trying to find a home to purchase,” Pins says. In other words, it’s not a lack of demand, but a lack of supply.
Pins says the proof is in the home prices: The median price for single-family residences last April was $185,000; this year, it’s $30,000 more.
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