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A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, I’m having a hard time coming up with the words that describe this picture.

It’s a photo taken for a Nashville magazine article which will come out in July. The article will feature my business partner Flint Adam and I, telling the story behind the beginnings of our business and how we’ve grown our footprint here in Greater Nashville Real Estate.

The look of relaxing delight shown on my face is the by-product of an exhausted working mom who had a chance to sit still for 4 and a half seconds while her kids play outside following a post-worldwide pandemic lockdown. Her business partner cracked a joke about it all — and the smile in that moment is 100% authentic.

What you don’t usually see is the behind-the-scenes picture of the picture. Random kids are running wild in the background, we’re all wiping sweat from our brows on the first “hot” day of the season, there are people standing around watching us and we’re watching our clocks so we can dart off to the next family commitment.

We’ve squeezed in time for this photo shoot as the magazine article approaches its first edit deadline. But with all of the work for our business itself taking priority, we found ourselves almost against a wall for this final visual detail.

A Similar Tale

The way I’ve described our picture day is very similar to the way our Real Estate market is moving right now. It all goes hand-in-hand. From West Nashville to Nolensville, and everywhere between, we had a Covid-crippled April. But now we’re seeing some pent-up energy from stay home orders that has acted like a flood-gate of activity coming to a head as we approach the end of our typically-hot Spring market. And boy, is it on fire.

For Sale signs aren’t sticking around long. In previous blog posts, I’ve talked about a shortage in inventory helping us to maintain our prices. We saw it play out with this listing on West End just days ago, the home Under Contract in one day, with an offer $6,000 above asking price.

I’ve also created a win-win for two parties in Temple Hills by helping a Buyer and a Seller go Under Contract on a home off market. That particular home increased in value by almost $10,000 in a few weeks, thanks to this sudden drop-off of homes for sale.

Comparing the Numbers in Grassland

Let’s look at the details behind this activity, comparing May 2019 to May 2020. Keep in mind, closings usually trail about 30-45 days behind when a home was put Under Contract. And when Covid first hit, Sellers were afraid to list their homes For Sale, combined with fewer showings due to stay-home orders. So May’s numbers are perhaps among the first to show us Grassland’s results of the Covid event in March and April.

May 2019:

• 48 Closings in Grassland
• Average Sales Price: $637,847
• Average Sales Price/Square Foot: $202
• Average Year Built: 1993
• Average Sales price/List Price: 98.36%
• Average Days On Market: 26
• Min Sales Price: $206,000
• Max Sales Price: $1,725,000

May 2020:

• 25 closings in Grassland (-48%)
• Average Sales Price: $682,943 (+7%)
• Average Sales Price/Square Foot: $190
• Average Year Built: 1999
• Average Sales Price/List Price: 99.05% (+1%)
• Average Days On Market: 7 (-30%)
• Min Sales Price: $238,900
• Max Sales Price: $1,689,900

As you can see, the year-to-year changes between the number of Closings, Average Sales Price and Days on Market here in Grassland support what I’ve been saying about low inventory and higher prices.

Sure we have far few homes being sold… but that’s only because there aren’t enough homes on the market. So the Sellers listing right now are #Winning.

What’s in it for Buyers?

They’re winning in their own way, even if they’re not able to snag an off-market property. They’re competing in an open market but they’re also getting a shot at locking in record low interest rates. Realtor.com reports for the first time in more than two months, mortgage applications for home purchases were up by 8.7% year-to-year.

Buyers are also using time to their advantage. We know what rates are right now, we know what housing prices are right now, and we know both of these things are likely to only continue going up.

A Picture of the Future

I’ve made it clear we have no crystal ball but there are many signs (and people smarter than me) that are pointing to a continued rebound in our market.

So as I piece together May 2020 with a variety of snapshots, one picture I’m most focused on are the ones we already clearly see.

Our bigger-than-expected rebound has delayed our Spring market, but the pent-up demand has made it alive and well right now.

“Given the strength of this recovery, home prices will probably rise about 4% to 6% in 2020,” predicts Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors.

To add to that, a recent Zillow study found that 75% of Americans working from home want to continue if given the option. If that happened, two-thirds said they would consider moving. So we may see even more Buyers flooding the market.

A huge wild card we’re all waiting for, though, is whether Coronavirus resurges in the fall and how the economy weathers this storm. Though prices won’t likely plunge to Great Recession levels, thanks to our continued demand from Buyers, we may have a chance at seeing flattened (or even a tiny dip?) by the end of the year.

It’s a picture still being painted and may be worth a thousand words by the time it’s all finished.

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If you need to sell your home and want honest advice on what it takes right now, I’d be happy to help. Call, email or text me. I provide a free consultation to see what your home could sell for – or to get pre-approved to buy. I’m a Grassland area resident, I’m a Platinum Award-winning Williamson County REALTOR® ranking in the top 2% and I specialize in helping my neighbors buy and sell homes!