Realty Check by Richard Courtney

Realty Check: No need to load truck, move to Beverly Hills
By Richard CourtneyApril 27, 2007
In the 1960s, The Beverly Hillbillies was a popular situation comedy that aired weekly and depicted the lives of a Tennessee family that had discovered oil on their property — becoming millionaires in the process. During that era, no self-respecting millionaire would continue to live in Tennessee, so as the theme song goes, “They loaded up their truck and they moved to Beverly…Hills, that is.”Today, if Jed Clampett were to strike it rich, he could simply move to the Nashville — with no need for Mr. Drysdale. For the area has developed a voracious appetitive for upper-end homes.As more confusing news rolled in from the media this week, a look at the Nashville-area market in upper-end housing is of interest. For those who missed it, a national television company announced that home sales for March were lower than February. Again, while the word “national” sounds similarly to the word “Nashville,” in terms of the real estate market the similarities end with the pronunciations.
In 2005, a year during which the Nashville area recorded record sales and the national market experienced lower sales than it had the previous year, there were 46 homes that sold for $1 million or more between Jan. 1 and April 28. The next year, 2006, national sales dropped again by 16 percent and Nashville set yet another record, with 69 homes sold for more than $1 million for the January-April period.Now let’s take a look at 2007. This year, 72 properties have closed for $1 million or more, the most in the history of the area for this time period. Additionally, there are 77 properties under contract, most of which will close in the next 45 days. In 2005, there were 198 sales for more than $1 million; while in 2006, there were 288, and this year the area is on track to have 360.Once again, the Nashville market continues to defy the national market. There is, however, some sobering news in the local market and that is that there are 461 homes for more than $1 million on the market. That is indeed one “heaping helping.”If sales continue on the current trend, that inventory should be depleted in slightly longer than a year. Sales continue to soar so must inventory. Competition is fierce. All of that should bode for an exciting spring selling season.

Richard Courtney is the principal broker of Fridrich and Clark Realty’s Music Row office.