With sales down, here’s what’s driving the Greater Nashville housing market

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The new RE/MAX National Housing Report is out for Greater Nashville.

Sales fell again from last year. Surprisingly, prices are holding steady.

News 2 took a look at what’s behind these numbers and what’s in store over the holidays.

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As the weather cools, Greater Nashville’s real estate market is doing something similar.

“We are just seeing a typical seasonal slowdown as we approach the holidays,” said Jeff Checko, relocation director of The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage.

Checko said that the new National Housing Report has Greater Nashville home sales down 5.5% from last year. Still, home prices have held steady at $440,000. Checko said new construction is making up an unusually large percentage of these sales.

“It’s really not that there’s more new construction available, it’s that there’s less existing homes available, so the impact on overall figures from new construction is magnified and more than doubled from what it typically is,” Checko said.

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Typically, new builds make up 15% of sales; today, it’s closer to 40%. Experts said that’s simply because the resale market is holding tight to their low pandemic rate and not selling, but new construction can’t just sit. At the end of the day, product must move, and that, Checko said, is where there is opportunity.

“So buyers should be looking at new construction if you really want to get value that’s going to offset the higher interest rates…you can’t be shy. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, you need to say, ‘Hey, this is the price I want to pay. I also want you to do X, Y and Z.’ And you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what sellers are willing to concede most of the time,” he said.

According to Checko, this holiday will be interesting to watch. Will consumer spending and seasonal work drive up inflation, and potentially mortgage rates? We won’t know until 2024.

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“That’s kind of my primary concern right now is this holiday activity gets us going in the wrong direction,” Checko said.

The housing report shows only two months of inventory. Checko said if rates drop into the 6% range, that inventory could get snatched up very quickly.

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