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8 months down in 2020, and we’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel as we are two-thirds of the way to a new year. It may be wishful thinking that the turn of the calendar year will turn things around for Covid, our country’s political climate and our economy. But I’m all about optimism. And a solid piece of evidence that greater things are ahead lies in our Real Estate numbers nationwide, especially here in Grassland.

The Grassland Gem

We’ve got a gem here in our little pocket of Williamson County, TN.

It’s a place where our kids play together safely, parents help each other bridge a gap in education and childcare during Covid. Just recently, my neighborhood has started hosting Food Truck Wednesdays to give ourselves a mid-week break from meal prep on what’s typically a high-volume-hustle hump day– a much-needed break from crock pot meals and leftovers.

This all contributes to what makes our community so sought-after among Buyers in our Real Estate market.

Realtor.com reports “prices are defying logic, expectations, and even belief, as they shoot up to record highs amid an unprecedented health and economic crisis.”

Some communities across the country are seeing as much as a 40% increase in home prices year-over-year! Here in Grassland, we’re in a much more balanced market with a 3% increase in home sale prices and this is good news, showing a steady increase in values, putting us less at-risk for a market correction (or “bubble pop”). I’ll discuss “bubble pop” predictions later in this post. But first, a more detailed snapshot of our market.

August 2020 in Grassland:

• 59 homes closed (27% higher than August 2019!)
• Median Sales Price: $560,000 (+3% from August 2019)
• Median Days on Market: 6 (August 2019 was 23 DOM)
• Median List Price to Sales Price Ratio: 100% (this reflects how close homes are selling to their list price)
• Median Square Feet: 3,067 (+1%)
• Median Sales Price per Square Feet: $213 (+13%)

Note: A home’s Price per Square Foot has a lot of factors that go into it, and should not be considered an authoritative number for pricing your own home. I’d be happy to give you a more personal assessment of your home.

Grassland’s Lowest and Highest Priced homes in August:

Our 59 homes sold in August range in price from $242,000 – $7,250,000.

165 Stanton Hall Ln in Fieldstone Farms is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhome. Very clean-looking and nicely decorated, it settled at $242,000 after 5 days on market. It was originally listed at $248,000.

The highest-priced home sold in Grassland last month settled at $7,250,000 but was originally priced at $8,100,000. This is a 19,137 square-foot home located in Laurelbrooke with 5 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 6 half bathrooms. Believe it or not, 1816 Pace Haven  spent close to 3-years on the market. This home sits on 12.5 acres with a koi pond, pool and spa.

The amount of home sales we had in August in Grassland (59) is the highest we’ve had since before the Great Recession. There were 70 homes sold here in 2006.. and then the bottom fell out.

Are we Headed for another “Bubble Pop”?

There are a lot of questions and conversations right now about another “bubble pop.” Many people are remembering what happened in the 2007/2008 recession and worried (or excited) that could happen here again.

But very few signs are pointing in that direction.

The fact is we still have more Buyers than we have homes For Sale here. And there seems to be no end to the pipeline of people coming from higher-density and higher-taxed locations like New York, Chicago and California. The Great Recession had the opposite problem – Too many homes on the market and not enough qualified Buyers.

With the 2020 housing market now out-performing 2019, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says he believes 2020 home sales will continue to be slightly ahead of 2019 and then up even more in 2021, rising 8% [nationwide] year over year.

Furthermore, mortgage purchase applications were up 28% year-over-year, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, indicating Buyers will continue their demand through 2021.

The Wild Card

In my opinion, we’ll want to keep an eye on interest rates — especially how they’re affected after the presidential election. Politics have a way of playing a major role in economic finances – and we’ve seen how quickly our market can turn. We’ve also seen how easily the market can heat up or cool down due to a simple change in mortgage interest rates.

While I have a lot of confidence that our homes in the Grassland market will not drop in value, there is a good chance we’ll see fewer Buyers once interest rates go back up, which could further stabilize our rate of increase in values.

If I were thinking about selling my home any time in the near future, I would consider doing it now.. in order to get the best bang for my buck. Right now, we know you can sell high, and use your equity to trade up to something that better suits your needs, borrowing your next mortgage on historically low interest rates. You could find yourself in a better position, starting 2021 with a fresh start!

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If you’re thinking of selling or buying a home, I’m happy to help you and give you honest advice. I’m a Grassland area resident and I’m a Platinum Award-winning Williamson County REALTOR® ranking in the top 2%. My business partner and I have been featured on TV and our success is the topic of an article in the July 2020 edition of Nashville Real Producers magazine. But most importantly, I specialize in helping my friends and neighbors buy and sell homes!