NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Melissa Patton and Sean Carson are in the market for a new home. It comes after Sean sold his home in just twelve days before moving in with Melissa.
"Which puts us in a great, unique position really to do this and that way it allows us some time to really find what we both want to get in to," said Carson.
Now a new report by the Greater Nashville Realtors shows July inventory was up 10% compared to last year and home prices saw a slight dip. The price for a single-family home was $478,945 in July - down from $490,000 last year. While that should be good news for potential buyers, sales still dropped 13%.
Several factors including interest rates may be to blame. "Especially with the prices being so high you really want something to be just perfect for that cost," said Patton.
"We were getting people like 'I'll just sell and I'll buy something else. I'll just sell and I'll buy something else'," said Amanda Peterson, a real estate agent with The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage. "Now they're kind of more picky about what they're purchasing."
While many buyers may be hesitant to purchase a new home, Peterson cautions against waiting for a drop in interest rates.
"Then the people that were on the fence they're like 'we're looking and we're ready to jump. We're pre-approved, we're ready to go but we want this small dip'," she said. "All of them start coming."
Despite the drop in home prices, they're still a far cry from prices just four years ago when the median price for a residential single-family was $316,000.
"Nashville is growing and growing and growing which is wonderful," said Peterson. "We haven't seen the big economic shift that a lot of other states have seen and a lot of other areas have seen."
Which is why Peterson recommends the guidance of a professional to navigate the ever-changing market. Patton and Carson agree. "Because you can't do it on your own, you don't know what exists out there so having some intel to what is available on the market is wildly helpful," said Patton.
