folks waiting for the housing market to cool down before buying here will be waiting a little longer. nashville closed 40,482 home sales in 2017, up 3.9% from 2016 but also breaking the record of 40,056 set in 2006, according to the greater nashville realtors® data. the median price last year for a single family home was $294,000 and for a condominium was $209,450, up considerably from 2016’s $266,408 and $180,000.
inventory of homes for sale also remains lower than previous years. the number of homes for sale at the end of 2013 was 13,580. that number has dwindled considerably in the past five years, falling to 9,011 at the end of 2017.
ok maybe a little early to call but a stretch of road that has long been underdeveloped and unloved, is finally getting its place in the spotlight. and when you think about it, why hasn’t it been already? the convenience to downtown and the city views are pretty incredible. developer strategic options has been slowly acquiring 10 different acres on the strip for awhile and is ready to pounce. the developer presented plans this month to build a 4-story, 60,000 square foot mixed-use building where a liquor store and a former mrs winners stood. if approved, the project will include 67 condos, 3,000 square feet of commercial space and a 4,200 square foot rooftop deck for the condo owners. construction could start early 2018. it includes 829, 835, 837 and 839 dickerson.
dickerson pike cheat sheet
the same developer is also looking at building 50 townhomes and condo flats (22 townhomes, 28 condos) at 900 dickerson. tentatively titled the 900, the development will sit on a 1.93 acre lot near the intersection of cleveland street. the 22 townhomes will include 2-car garages and rooftop terraces. the development will also include 1,600 square feet of retail space on the street level. if approved, they could break ground this fall.
then you’ve got the charlie bob’s lot a little farther north on dickerson. after 65 years of business, charlie bob’s diner at 1330 dickerson closed in april to make way for the 4.5 acre sale to bristol development. originally, bristol was planning a 186-unit apartment complex but there’s been more recent talk of a mixed-use community with workforce housing and possibly even keeping the 50’s diner building that fronts dickerson.
“while we don’t have any concrete plans, we are exploring some ‘outside of the box’ residential and commercial concepts that we feel would be a good fit for this quickly evolving pocket of nashville. with it’s proximity to downtown, east nashville and germantown, we are excited about the possibilities.” -beau daniel, development associate, bristol
behind bristol’s 4.5 acres, superior development llc has 23 acres under contract with plans for 300 residential units and 12,000 square feet of commercial space that will front dickerson. among the 300 residential units, superior plans to build single family homes, condo flats and studio flats. workforce housing is a part of the plan as well.
around the corner at 1016, 1018 and 1020 white’s creek pike, property owner hoss mousavi is planning a 44-unit condo/loft development.
river north, a 105-acre game plan for the east bank
part of the momentum surrounding dickerson pike can be attributed to the new plans for the east bank, north of the titans stadium. river north is an ambitious revitalization effort, currently in the planning stages, of 105 industrial acres on the river: high-rise office buildings, high-rise residential buildings, retail, dining, hotels, big dreams, big plans. first phase will be a marina and a riverfront plaza as well as new park space which will include a one-mile walking/bike path. no word yet on when river north breaks ground but there are also plans to eventually connect the development with a pedestrian bridge over the river to germantown.
the nashville area home sales had a record setting second quarter, up 2.8% from second quarter 2016. the median residential price for a single family home in june was $293,753, almost a new record. the demand for more affordable inventory is a need the city hasn’t been able to keep up with.
2016 was a big year for nashville. 2017 is being set-up for even better. here are a few take-aways:
1 •the housing market continued on its record setting pace in 2016. median price of a home was $266,408, up from $242,945 in 2015. we saw 38,954 closings, up 5.6% from 2015. also, bucking the trend that it typically slows down near the holidays and in the winter, nashville had the strongest fourth quarter in home sales we have seen in a decade. continuing the trend, zillow.com named nashville the #1 real estate market in the country to invest in 2017. emerging trends in real estate puts the city at #6.
2 • the nashville zoo set new attendance records with almost 900,000 visitors in 2016, up 10% from 2015. the zoo is celebrating 20 years at grassmere this year. they have plans to open a white rhinoceros exhibit (march), an andean bear exhibit (may), an expanded tiger exhibit (july) and a new spider monkey exhibit which will feature an elevated boardwalk for guests to enter a treetop viewing platform.
3 • our auto industry is killing it. nissan, who’s north american headquarters is in nashville, had sales of more than 1.5 million in 2016, a company record, up 5% from 2015. also, GM announced plans today to invest $27 million in their spring hill plant to assembly a right-hand version of the acadia to export to australia. the spring hill plant employs almost 4,100 workers. in 2015, 6.3% of all US-made cars, light trucks & SUVs were produced in tennessee.
4 • USA today named nashville’s local foodie scene #3 in the countryand zagat has us at #6 on their list for america’s next hot food cities. from adele & justin bieber 2016 middle of the night sightings at east side’s dino’s to a flurry of new much-anticipated openings in 2017 like our third james beard award-winning chef rj cooper’s henley in midtown or top chef maneet chauhan’s mockingbird(both spring 2017), our options for good eats show no sign of slowing down.
5 • the nashville convention & tourism announced last week an estimated 13.9 million tourists visited music city in 2016, up 400,000 from 2015. that number is up 45% in the last decade. we continue to receive accolades from being one of conde nast’s top five friendliest destinationsto being one of travel+leisure’s top places to travel in 2017.
no doubt you’re probably starting to think the crane is our new state bird. the downtown skies are swarming with them. here’s a list of ten reasons you’re seeing them everywhere and what’s next:
1-the first up is one hot off the presses: the tennessean reported today that a plan is underway for the former nelson mazda lot at the corner of 12th and broadway. if the height submitted to the downtown code design review committee gets approved, we’re looking at potentially a 27-story mixed-use tower. they are making plans to leave the ground level open for an “anchor tenant.” the austin-based developer supposedly has close ties with fellow austin-based grocer, whole foods market, inc. it’s in the early stages but the team sees great pedestrian and retail emphasis for the corner.
2-chicago-based developers announced earlier this month big plans for a 4 acre lot on the south edge of downtown: 4 mid-rise/high-rise buildings, including a monstrous 40-story, 860,000 office tower. for now, it will kind of be on an island by itself on the south side of sobro. if approved, it will rank as one the top 3 tallest buildings in the city. we’re talking over 1.6 million square feet of office, residential and retail space total on the campus if the project moves forward.
on the far left sits the future bridgestone americas home
3-bridgestone americas plans to move their corporate offices to an upcoming 30-story high rise in sobro. sandwiched between the encore condo high rise and the country music hall of fame on demonbreun, bridgestone will bring 1,700 employees, including 600 currently out-of-state ones, to downtown. they will be the lone tenant in the building.
4-at the corner of demonbreun and second avenue, tony giarratana’s 33-story luxury apartment project is currently being erected. the aptly named sobro will include 342 luxury apartments, 378 parking spaces and 18,000 square feet of street level retail.
222 second avenue south
5-one step closer to the river on second avenue, developers are seeking conceptual design approval this month on a pair of buildings (one which could rise 40 stories) at 222 second avenue south. if it moves forward, they would consist of 420 apartments and condos, a 225-room five-star hotel as well as streel level retail/restaurant spaces along first avenue south. the image above actually includes the sobro and bridgestones headquarters (both off to the left) as well as the existing pinnacle building. you can see that pocket of town is filling up quickly.
on the far left sits the future bridgestone americas home
6-on 8th avenue south and demonbreun street across from the music city center, a 35-story jw marriott hotel and a 35-story residential building are both in the works on a 3.7 acre lot. the lot has been cleared. the hotel includes 533-room hotel rooms, conference center and will create 650 jobs for downtown. starbucks and bourbon steak are on board to go in on the street level of the hotel.
7-the residential tower that will sit beside the marriott will have 8 floors of parking (some below ground level), street retail and 28 floors of residential. originally, the plan was for a 22-floor office building but those plans were later scrapped.
westin’s L27 rooftop bar
8-next door on the 8th avenue roundabout at 100 clark place, developers are finishing up on nashville’s first westin hotel. it will include a rooftop bar called L27 which is being touted as music city’s highest rooftop bar. the 27-story, 454-room hotel will also have 20,000 sqft of adaptable event space, 12 meeting venues and a the rhapsody spa that will be open to the public as well. the westin is open for business october 2016.
gulch’s upcoming 38-story residential tower at 12th avenue south + division street
9-in february, developer buckingham cos finalized the purchase of a half acre lot across the street from gulch condo high rises terrazzo and icon. even though it’s a couple of years from a groundbreaking, the developer plans to build a 38-story residential tower. in the fall, the metro board of zoning did approve the height exception of 38 stories which is 14 stories higher than what is normally allowed in the gulch.
10-on the north side of broadway near the ryman auditorium, developer tony girratana has been sitting on the infamous 505 church street lot for awhile. dreaming. waiting for the right time. now is that time for his big plan: a 45-story, 543ft tall high rise called 505 CST. the development will include 500 apartments (with the option to convert the top 175 to condos available for purchase), 1,500 square feet of retail space on the street level, 690 parking spaces, and a 45,000 square feet amenity level.
505 CST
it’s worth noting for comparison purposes, the very visible twelve twelvehigh rise which was completed last year in the gulch is 23 stories. the at&t building downtown, most commonly known as the “batman building,” is 33 stories.
curious who rounds out the current top 10?
at&t building-33 stories, 617 ft
fifth third center-30 stories, 490 ft
william r snodgrass tennessee tower-31 stories, 452 ft
by now, everyone has probably heard justin timberlake bought 126 acres in williamson county for $4 million. it’s fun news. it’s really become a family affair since his mom and stepfather also bought here last december. and sure, it’s also fun that thekings of leon guys purchased the historic merritt mansion (built in the mid 1800s) earlier this year for $1.3 million in the up-and-coming weho neighborhood (although no plans have been announced for its use).
truth is though, it’s been a scorcher of a real estate market this summer in nashville all around. for those keeping score, here’s a few other points worth mentioning:
building permits-everyone is building. we had a record breaking 2013-2014 with $1.87 billion in building permits which was a pretty substantial statistic to throw out last year. nashville’s fiscal year ended in june and we finished the 2014-2015 up 30% from that record at $2.4 billion in new buildings and renovations. an astounding 11,708 total permits. which is also a record (up 82 from our previous record breaking 2006-2007 year).
housing market-declared the 3rd hottest housing market in the country in april by auction.com, nashville shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. home sales have also been up for the first half of the year. june alone was up 14.4%. it’s been over a decade since we’ve seen june numbers this strong. second quarter home sales were up 12.3% from second quarter 2014. at the halftime mark, we are up 12.2% year-to-date from 2014.
rents-rents are up. edge midtown, a new midtown apartment set for completion in august 2015, is raising the ceiling on rent for the city to the tune of $3.20/sqft. a 504-square-foot micro unit there will fetch $1611/month.
justin timberlake may be bringing sexy back but even justin will probably tell you it comes with a price.
merritt mansion- the nashville civic design center places the home as early as 1840. | 441 humphreys st
folks waiting for the housing market to cool down before buying here will be waiting a little longer. nashville closed 40,482 home sales in 2017, up 3.9% from 2016 but also breaking the record of 40,056 set in 2006, according to the greater nashville realtors® data. the median price last year for a single family home was $294,000 and for a condominium was $209,450, up considerably from 2016’s $266,408 and $180,000.
1 •the housing market continued on its record setting pace in 2016. median price of a home was $266,408, up from $242,945 in 2015. we saw 38,954 closings, up 5.6% from 2015. also, bucking the trend that it typically slows down near the holidays and in the winter, nashville had the strongest fourth quarter in home sales we have seen in a decade. continuing the trend, zillow.com named nashville the #1 real estate market in the country to invest in 2017. emerging trends in real estate puts the city at #6.
5 • the nashville convention & tourism announced last week an estimated 13.9 million tourists visited music city in 2016, up 400,000 from 2015. that number is up 45% in the last decade. we continue to receive accolades from being one of 
1-the first up is one hot off the presses: the tennessean reported today that a plan is underway for the former nelson mazda lot at the corner of 12th and broadway. if the height submitted to the downtown code design review committee gets approved, we’re looking at potentially a 27-story mixed-use tower. they are making plans to leave the ground level open for an “anchor tenant.” the austin-based developer supposedly has close ties with fellow austin-based grocer, whole foods market, inc. it’s in the early stages but the team sees great pedestrian and retail emphasis for the corner.
i speak nashville 