Brentwood/Franklin Housing Market Too Hot? (short sale, real estate, 2013)

[nontradstudent]

We are relocating to the Nashville area, and we have done some house shopping online. On two occasions, I have sent a list of 10-15 homes to our realtor, only to find out that all or all but one are already under contract.

This concerns me because the last time we were looking to buy a house, it was at the height of the real estate boom in Florida. We literally could not even get to visit a house before it was under contract. Ultimately we decided not to buy, and that was one of the best decisions we have made as we would have been underwater by 100K+ had we bought then. I am feeling deja vu with the Williamson County market.

How long has this been the case in Brentwood/Franklin? Or do we just have really bad luck? We are supposed to be visiting in two weeks to see homes, and I am now concerned that we will not be able to find anything, or if we do, that this is some sort of a boom that will burn us later.

Thoughts?

[CountryGirl2b=]

What website are you using to find these houses? Have you tried reatracs.com? I think it's the most up to date (as opposed to Zillow).

[Vandy-bound]

I second going to Realtracs. It tends to be the most up-to-date. As far as the housing market in Bwood and Franklin, at least Brentwood didn't seem to have as many issues (at least where we found) with the past housing market crash. While there was some depreciation, it was nothing like we saw in the Chicago or Atlanta markets (where we lived during the height and fall of the real estate bubble). Yes, there were some foreclosures, but nothing like the Chicago or Atlanta area, or other areas around the country like Florida. Houses in our subdivision are currently selling ridiculously fast--one down the street sold in 1 day with multiple offers, and sold at full price. Our next door neighbor is selling and had a crazy number of showings in the first week. Like over-the-top. We've had realtors send out postcards asking if anyone in the neighborhood is interested in selling because they have clients coming in from out of state who want to buy in our 'hood, and they missed the houses that were on the market and sold so quickly.

I can't speak for Franklin, but guess the market there is similar?

While no one can predict the future, I'd guess your investment would be fairly safe, considering how those two towns weathered the past financial meltdown.

As an aside, we moved for me to start grad school at Vanderbilt. We initially thought we would just buy, but couldn't find anything that worked for our family initially. We ended up renting a house for ~9 months before we bought our current house. Yes, we paid more than if we had just bought in the first place, but not by a lot, and we were happy with our decision to rent first, until we really knew the area better and could make a more informed decision about where we wanted to be. With school redistricting occurring during that 9 month timeframe, it was really better for us to understand exactly where our kids would be at school without worrying about future redistricting while they would be in school here. My point is that if you don't find something to buy right away, don't stress too much--renting for a short time period can be great--allows you to try out a subdivision/house without committing right away!
Good luck!

[BirdieBelle]

It's been that way for the past 20+ years that I have lived here. If your house is in a desirable area and priced well, it will sell immediately.

Of course, some linger on the market for various reasons, but many sell through word of mouth without even being listed. There is one like that around the corner from me that I just found out about from a neighbor.

Find an aggressive agent who knows the area well, be sure you are prequalified, know EXACTLY what you want, and make a good offer immediately when you know it's something you want.

[septimus]

Houses are selling again, but I think it is pent up demand. It also seems a few people are ready to make the plunge and either upgrade or put the house on the market and downsize because the market has stabilized.

I don't think it is like 2006 when Nissan came to town and homes were hard to get, but it is definitely more balanced and well priced homes are selling in a timely manner.

[BirdieBelle]

An agent friend told me last week that inventory also is pretty low right now in the most central areas.

[BimsBandBooms]

We've had that same trouble with RealTracs. It's great about getting new listings up right away, but homes sit on there for a good while even after they're under contract. I think it's because, even if they're financing, or being inspected, for example, they're still technically active until the sale is complete. Our realtor would send us lists of the houses that met our criteria, and those lists would show the status of the house: active, active-financing, active-short sale approved, etc. She said any house with a hyphen anything after active was under contract. On those lists, though, it would also show right away if they became available again because a contract fell through--which happened pretty often. We'd also automatically get sent any subsequent new listings that met our criteria as they hit the market. Is your realtor just having you troll the web for inventory on your own?

[Diane Giam]

My friend has a house on the market in Franklin and its been on the market for quite some time. She has lowered the price and really can't go to much lower, but its quite a bit less than she paid for it new in 2004. Her husband found a job in KY so they had to relocate.Its in the Abington Ridge subdivision off of 96.

[Hey_Hey]

The Nashville MSA is growing at a rate that puts it in the top 10 in the country. There is a significant demand for houses, but I wouldn't really call the housing market in Williamson "hot."

Less than a year ago we looked in Brentwood and In Nashville's "area 2." We came up with a list of 27 houses that we wanted to see......and 15 were under contract. That happened for two reasons: 1. Houses were selling pretty quickly; 2. Moe importantly, We used Zillow which lists new houses quickly but takes forever to take them down once they are under contract or close.

Once we learned that, we used Zillow to search for houses (it's better than realtracs because of the mapping tool) and then confirmed it was available on realtracs.

Also, just because houses seem to be selling fast doesn't necessarily mean they are selling at a higher price. That's what's happening to some degree in Williamson County right now. In Jan 2012 there were 69 home sales at a median price of 352K at $127.77 per sq ft. In Jan 2013 there were 89 homes sold at a median price of $354.5K at a median price per sq ft of $128.21 per sq ft. Average of 88 days on the market was unchanged from 2012. Home sales were up but prices were flat.

In Nashville for Feb 2013 (I couldn't find jan 2013 data) house sales were up 18% year over year from 1251 to 1481. Median home price was up 9% from $159,900 to $175,000.

Ideally I would have been able to find information on area 2 in Nashville specifically as that closely resembles Williamson County, but I couldn't find that specific information.

In general, one of the current trends in real estate in almost all places, but especially in Nashville, is that development and demand is increasing fastest in the core and less so in the suburbs. I thinkthatswhy we're seeing flat prices in Williamson County (slightly negative when considering inflation) and growth in the urban core of Davidson, so I don't think you're buying into the next bubble right now, and I think you can shop the Williamson market without that fear.

[yank283]

I don't know about Franklin and Brentwood but East Nashville is blowing up right now....so much so that there seems to be some "developers" trying to build on any little side yard and larger than normal lots (at least in Lockeland Springs and Eastwood Neighbors). Also, some of the older houses are being targeted for teardowns and the historical overlay is being circumvented with wishy washy excuses...it's been all the talk on the local neighborhood forums...seems the district council members are getting involved now...all for growth but not when it changes the character of the neighborhood...anyway sorry to go off topic...