Where You Can Find an Affordable Home in the Nashville, TN Area
Despite the scary headlines, there is affordable housing in the Nashville Region.
If you’re looking for a home to buy, you’ve probably sung the “I-offered-60K-over-asking-and-I-still got-turned-down-blues.” It’s not a pretty tune, but it may be fading away as Nashville’s housing options revive, despite rising interest rates.
While prices are still high for buyers and renters alike, Realtors say they see a little sunshine through the clouds. And savvy home-hunters, whether they’re longtime locals or recent arrivals from the coasts, are finding their way to Nashville housing options.
“If you want a home in Nashville, you will be able to find a home in Nashville,” says Tammie Margolese, a Realtor with Benchmark Realty and a consultant for Dwellworks Relocation Services. “You may need to broaden your search criteria a little or look a little farther out than you had originally hoped, but there are housing options available in the market.”
Re-educating home seekers, especially those new to the hunt, is something Realtors agree on.
“My generation wants everything now,” says Megan Jernigan, founder and CEO of The Jernigan Group. “I try to remind buyers that our parents have wood floors, granite countertops and custom cabinets, and we may want to start there, but it took my mother 20 years to get there. Younger buyers are also shocked when interest rates go up to 5%, where more experienced buyers know that historically that’s still a very low-interest rate.”
While there are plenty of superluxury homes in the market for those with money to spend, buyers can also find more manageable housing in neighborhoods outside the “Fertile Crescent” – 37205, 37215 and 37204 ZIP codes. Young people are looking in Berry Hill, Metro Center and North Nashville as rents and sales prices grow in the Nations and East Nashville. And increasingly, Nashville families are pushing out to the near’ burbs — Madison, Hermitage, Antioch — in search of room to stretch, manageable commutes and good public schools. Surrounding counties are also booming.
“Murfreesboro is on fire. Williamson has become Wilson, Rutherford and Sumner counties,” Jernigan says. “Spring Hill, Columbia and Hendersonville are all very popular.”
The best news is that experts say the Nashville market is “normalizing,” a break for buyers and a less fraught atmosphere for sellers. The days of breathtaking bidding wars and no-holds-barred RealtyMania seem to be simmering down.
“I have actually been able to negotiate again,” Margolese says. “People are able to ask for things like sales contingencies, financing contingencies, inspections — and they’re getting them.”
“Home ownership remains a wonderful goal, and this is a great area to invest and grow in,” Jernigan says. “It’s an exciting time in real estate right now. We’re back!”
If you’d like to learn more about the Greater Nashville region, check out the latest edition of the Nashville Economic Profile.
