Condo trend in Nashville

Realty Check: Viridian flippers strike high-rise gold with resales
By Richard CourtneyMarch 09, 2007
There has been much speculation regarding the “speculators” who invested in Viridian units. While about 260 buyers have nestled into their nests in the big high-rise, others have chosen to sell, or “flip” if you must. The results are beginning to roll in and the investors are favoring very well.For example, according to realtracs.com, Unit 2514 was bought on Dec. 15 for $339,560 and sold on Feb. 28, for $480,000, a gain of $140,440. Unit 2915 was purchased on Dec. 31 for $332,500 and sold on March 8 for $445,000 for a gain of $112,500. Another unit, 2914 was purchased on Feb. 2 for $334,150 and sold Feb. 8 for $440,000 for a gain of $105,850 in only six days. And, Unit 2415 was purchased on Feb. 1 for $348,317 and closed on Feb. 28 for $430,000, a gain of $81,683 in less than a month. And, in the case of the aforementioned Unit 2915, there is another buyer attempting to purchase it at even a higher price.While there are reports of high inventory, and gnashing of teeth, the sales are going very well. Since this is the first building of its kind in Nashville, the local real estate community is cutting its teeth on this project. One lesson that has been learned is that the cliché “location, location, location” holds true in high-rise structures as is does in single-family residences.In the above examples, the units that are numbered 14 and 15 are the big sellers, while others units are taking longer to move and without as large returns. With the 14s and 15s out of the picture, the 12s and 13s become the next to go and so on it seems. There will be more information to come on this development as there seems to be great interest.Mr. Jensen’s pricing psychology Last week, Rory Jensen, a Realtor with Fridrich and Clark Realty’s Music Row office, where I reside by the way, announced a new and interesting finding. Rory is a 24-year-old Realtor who essentially offers 22 years of real estate experience as his father, Mark Jensen, is a crackerjack Realtor in the Albuquerque area. While most Rory’s age are wet behind the ears, Rory is wise beyond his years.Last week, Rory was on Realtracs.com searching for properties in the $150,000 to $200,000 price range. In the area in which he was searching, he was surprised to see the paucity of listings available, especially having heard of the glut of houses on the market. As he found little to show his buyers, he decided to expand the price parameters both higher and lower.After dropping from $150,000 to $140,000, he found 15 listings at $149,000 to $149,999. As is often the case, the Realtors with the “999” listings were attempting “psychological pricing” by having the listing “under $150,000” in order to expose the home to buyers looking to pay less than $150,000. Yet, in actuality, that approach drove away buyers seeking a home priced less than that figure.Rory approached me recommending that I share this information, and I was taken a bit aback as it stands in direct contrast to conventional real estate wisdom. Almost every house placed on the market during the 28 years I have been in real estate has been priced at some number followed by a 900 or a 950, e.g., $129,900 or $499,950, a practice that greatly limits prospects who are likely to begin their search for houses priced in the “000” category, Rory contends.Although his argument to price on “000” seemed accurate, I could not believe it and ran the theory past Christie Wilson, 2006 president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors and the principal broker of the Wilson Group. She, too, first thought that it could not be true. But after pondering the idea for several minutes, Christie agreed with the “Jensen Method of Pricing” or JMOP as it will come to be known. From the mouths of babes…