This has been a challenging year in so many ways, but there’s good news on the real estate front. Home closings in the Nashville area for the third quarter are up double-digits (12 percent) from the same time last year.
Some of these closings can be attributed to local residents seeking different space requirements brought about by working from home and remote classrooms. Nashville also continues to be ranked in the top tier for real estate investment and development, attracting out-of-state business relocations and home buyers looking to improve their quality of life.
Nashville is often recognized as a business-friendly city with a growing workforce. Our city ranked No. 3 for the second year in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2021 report by Urban Land Institute/PwC. Raleigh-Durham and Austin took the top two spots. (I will write more about the report next month.)
On the residential real estate side, our CityLiving Group Realtors at Village are seeing buyers from New York, Chicago and California drawn to Nashville by the city’s friendliness, music, lower taxes, our newly expanded international airport, and today’s lower interest rates.
Here’s an overview of some buyers moving from other markets, along with insight from CityLiving Group team members.
Realtor Callie Hughes recently helped a young professional relocating from her small apartment in New York City with the freedom to work from anywhere. Callie said the first-time home buyer wanted to be in fun city where she knew some people but could also do something new. She chose Nashville because it is closer to family in Dallas and friends in Alabama. Callie helped the buyer find and close on a single-family home with good flow, space for a home office and a yard for her dog in the established Cherokee Park neighborhood.
Anna Dorris is working with a Michigan couple and a couple from New York, both relocating to Nashville for jobs. One couple is focusing on school zones for their young family, while the other is buying property where they will build their dream home.
Realtor Deborah Vahle has been working with several buyers from more established cities. She sees people are opening their minds to where they can live. Empty nesters are broadening their horizons and younger buyers are more flexible, looking at tiny homes and condos they can rent out. Our city is very attractive so when people have options, Nashville is hitting their radar. Home buyers also see a move to Nashville as an investment, not an expense.
One of Deborah’s clients is a young professional who traveled between Chicago and Minneapolis for work prior to COVID-19. Now her work is 100 percent virtual and her trips will be fewer when her business travel does resume, so she has options about where she can live.
The new Nashvillian is buying a condo at Odyssey at the Park, a short-term rental only community next to Centennial Park. She plans to live here during the cooler months, rent out her condo other months, and get a quick flight from Nashville International Airport to wherever she needs to go. Today’s lower interest rates afford her an opportunity to invest in an income property in Nashville.
Another trend our CityLiving Group team is seeing is the increased interest in cottage communities with porches and common green space. This is driven by home buyers’ desire to spend more time outside, but also their need for community connection. Residential sales for East Greenway Park health and wellness community, and Core Development’s recently announced Highview urban cottages and flats, are evidence of this trend.
With daily commutes and business travel no longer necessary, home buyers will continue to see Nashville as an affordable option for investment and healthy lifestyle.