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Icon in the Gulch 2011 Condo Sales Review

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:15:43 +0000

It has been just under 4 years since the Icon in the Gulch first opened its doors. One may have suspected there to be quite a lot of distress in a 418 unit condo building, but the opposite is true. The Icon had its best sales year since 2008 selling 105 total condos in 2011 - 88 developer owned condos and 17 resales. The $282.15 average sales price per foot was almost exactly what I predicted 12 months ago ($281.87 was my prediction). The developer spent much of the year focusing on selling their remaining units on the back side of the tower as well as their remaining inventory in the mid-rise section of the building leading to these lower prices. However, as a result of their 2011 focus, the developer now mostly has premium view condos on mostly higher floors which will lead to higher pricing. Of the 48 condos remaining to sell, 35 are in the tower section of the building. My 2012 prediction for average pricing tops $300 per foot, $309.41 to be specific. This prediction represents an almost 10% increase over 2011.

I was involved in more than a dozen sales in the Icon in 2011 and suspect that number to increase in 2012 as I begin to focus my efforts on helping sellers maximize their value. In the past month, I have been involved with 3 resales in the building, all over $325/ft. I have represented a seller, a buyer, and in one case, I facilitated for both the seller and the buyer. Both of my sellers have achieved a sizable profit and my buyer a significant discount.

Let me put my unmatched research to work for you in the Icon. As a buyer’s agent, I know how to negotiate with the developer, I know where the weak points exist and how to exploit them in your favor. As a listing broker, I know how to position your property to achieve its maximum sale price. My extensive knowledge and decade of experience means that I know how to avoid the mistakes a less experienced agent will make. I enlist the services of the best photographers, collateral marketing material partners and condo stagers, all at my own expense. In short, I guarantee you success.

Direct Line: 615-945-7123
Email: Icon@GrantHammond.com

View current condos listed for sale in the Icon

Icon Condos Sold in 2011

(note: the blue highlighted transactions are resales)

Navigate back to my Nashville real estate home page to see additional research I have posted this year.

This is a post from Grant Hammond's Nashville Real Estate Blog.

5th & Main Condos Regain FHA Approval

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:42:10 +0000

It is a landmark day for ACG Equities, the investor who purchased the 5th & Main project from Wells Fargo Bank in March of 2011: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has granted the project FHA approval.

(click to see full size image)

Significance of FHA Approval

It is difficult to emphasize how important FHA approval is for a condo project in the United States. Since the collapse of our economy in 2007, lenders cut back on consumer lending practices, especially as it relates to condominiums. The availability of low downpayment conventional loans dried up resulting in a financing gap in affordability. This gap could only be bridged by FHA government back loans. FHA loans allow buyers to put down 3.5% of the purchase price and take advantage of low mortgage interest rates.

It is estimated that since 2008 more than 50% of all condo purchases in the United States have used FHA backed loans. In my experience in Nashville, the percentage may not be as high, but a great many buyers, especially first time purchasers, have taken advantage of FHA mortgages.

Status of 5th & Main Condos

Since the November 5th condo auction, ACG has sold or put 64 new units under contract. Added to the 9 condos sold prior to the auction, this number represents 57% of the 129 total units onsite. Of the 64 units sold by ACG, 18 have already closed. With FHA approval, I would expect the remaining 46 condos to all close by the end of February. Current pricing is 38.2% less than current estimated replacement cost, but this shall not last.

Effect on 5th & Main Condo Pricing

There is little doubt that the owners of 5th & Main will begin to push condo pricing for their unsold inventory. I would suspect an immediate increase in the 4-6% range plus an incremental increase for every additional condo sold. This is very good news for those who have already contracted a condo in this building, your investment just paid a dividend.

If you have not already contracted a condo in 5th & Main, but were considering doing so in the near future, I advise you to waste no time. I have sold several of these units and know the building better than any other broker. Call, text or email me ASAP and I’ll work extremely hard to negotiate base pricing with closing incentives on the best remaining units. Now is your chance to jump in on the ground floor and starting building equity in your investment!

Grant Hammond, Broker, ABR, SFR
5andM@granthammond.com
Call or text: 615-945-7123

See all condos listed for sale in 5th and Main

This is a post from Grant Hammond's Nashville Real Estate Blog.

2011 Most Read Real Estate Articles & Pages

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:55:06 +0000

Looking through my website’s statistical data is so much like Christmas morning that I could hardly sleep last night knowing that I was going to find out which articles and pages were the most visited of 2011. It has been a banner year for GrantHammond.com, I recorded 186,189 visits to the site with 123,705 of those being unique visitors. All of those visitors viewed 721,234 total pages and spent an average of 5:19 on the site. Additionally, 64.76% of all visitors were new and 35.24% were returning visitors. Across the board, these numbers represent between 18% to 23% gains over 2010 and nearly 50% gains over 2009.

Setting my sights towards 2012, I am hoping to break the 1,000,000 total page view barrier which would require 2,740 page views every day. I plan to achieve this goal by continuing to produce hard hitting, statistically driven articles that are backed up by close personal contacts with developers, investors, banks, and other influencers in the Nashville real estate market. My hope is to guide you towards better real estate transactions. It is a pleasure writing these articles and I look forward to your input, guidance and continued friendship.

Strangest statistical fact of the year: Canadian visitors to GrantHammond.com stayed on the site longer and read more pages than any other place. Canadians stayed on the site for an average of 8:31 and read 12.7 pages. While I only sold 4 properties to people from Canada this year, I would like to say thank you to the 1,892 of you who came to visit.

I thank everyone for their readership, I hope to make you proud again in 2012. Here’s to a Happy and Prosperous 2012! – Grant

* photo credit: Woods Hammond makes his blog debut

This is a post from Grant Hammond's Nashville Real Estate Blog.

Nashville Area Luxury Home Sales Analysis

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:01:48 +0000

As 2011 draws to a close and I listen to traditional media pontificating on the woes of national home sales, I am again reminded of how fortunate I am to live and work in Middle Tennessee. Many have made the argument that luxury home sales ($500,000 to $2,000,000) have suffered most during the economic downturn and that may be partially true, but my analysis below proves that Williamson County has not only fared the best, but has recovered the quickest. The volume of luxury and ultra luxury home sales ($2,000,000+) has not already bottomed out, but did so in 2009, two years ago. This information comes to a surprise to many who have been misled by our local media who continue to report that luxury housing levels remain near record lows. I also make the argument that average price is not the best indication of heath for a real estate market. Rather, volume and velocity combined are better indicators of heath, trend, attitude and sustainability.

Total Luxury Homes Sold

For the sake of this analysis, I have limited the definition of a luxury home to a home with a minimum of 2,750 heated square feet, a lot size not to exceed 5 acres and a price between $500,000 and $2,000,000. What I find most interesting in this graph is the absolutely precipitous fall of home sales in Williamson County during 2008 and 2009. During that 2 year period alone, Williamson County gave back all of the gains made since 2003. However, since 2009, Williamson County has returned to 2005 levels by increasing sales by a whopping 183.6% over the last 2 years. By comparison, Davidson County was not as acutely affected during 2008 and 2009, but it too has seen luxury home sales return to 2005 levels.

In the case of Williamson County, the trend is quite conclusive. The volume of luxury home sales is escalating and is well on its way to reaching pre-bubble levels. In Davidson and Sumner Counties, the trend is not as bullish. Both have made progress since 2009, but each has recorded modest annual gains.

Total Ultra Luxury Homes Sold

For the sake of this analysis, I have defined an ultra luxury home to be a property with a minimum of 5,000 heated square feet and a price to exceed $2,000,000. Due to the lack of volume, it is difficult to render any concrete conclusions, but I was a little amazed to see Williamson County consistently out sell Davidson County in this market segment. Perhaps coincidental, but the ultra luxury sales market appears to have followed the same trajectory as the luxury sales market. So much for the argument that the ultra rich were the only ones spending money during the recession.

Total Luxury Homes Sold by Population and Households

Taking the analysis one step further, I find it helpful to compare the total number of luxury home sales to consistent and measurable baselines. These serve as a backstop for the trend. The first two are total population and total households for each county as provided for by the US Census. As you can see below, while Williamson County does outperform Davidson and Sumner Counties, it is also more volatile for its size. This leads me to believe that Williamson County could be more price sensitive and experience greater price highs and lows. Regardless of price, you can clearly see Williamson County gaining momentum since 2009, accelerating in 2010.

Total Luxury Homes Sold by All Home Sales

To first understand why this statistic is important, you must first subscribe to the theory that no matter how many homes are sold, the grouping of price points is important. In simpler terms, one can measure the healthiness of a particular market segment during any economic climate by simply comparing that segment’s sales to the overall sales over a period of time. In order to make this analysis we first need to look at all single family home sales over the past eleven years:

The first item that jumps off the graph is that Williamson County is the only County that has made a significant recovery in total home sales since 2009. Davidson County appears to be bottoming and Sumner still has progress to make. The second interesting fact is that not one of the counties has returned to 2000 total volume levels. This is troublesome as it indicates weakness in the below luxury home price points. Joe the Plumber is not buying homes. This leads me to believe that, as an economic indicator, the segmentation of our population has true merit. Perhaps the 99% have a point.

However, as we make the comparison of luxury homes sold to all single family home sales, you will note significant growth, even during the recession. It’s amazing to think that 1 out of every 5 homes that sold in Williamson County in 2011 was a luxury home, but that is exactly what occurred. This is the same level achieved in 2006. What may be more astonishing is that in Davidson County, the percentage of luxury homes sold has never been higher. The takeaway is clear, the purchasing power lies as the top of the spectrum and that market segment is shouting that they feel confident in the Nashville economy.

The foregoing analysis coupled with historically low jumbo mortgage rates leads me to believe that potential buyers of luxury properties should step into the market now. Likewise, those sellers who have postponed listing their properties may find motivated buyers anxious to buy in at this time.

Did you know that you can accurately calculate the current market value of your home? I use 3 different data sets and personally review prior to final presentation. I hope you find it useful in your quest to refinance your mortgage, update your insurance coverage or in evaluating the opportunity to sell your home.

Contact me for a private and confidential consultation.

This is a post from Grant Hammond's Nashville Real Estate Blog.

Happy Holidays and Thank You!

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:50:37 +0000

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza or Festivus, I hope everyone has a wonderful and family filled holiday season.

I also wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for allowing me to become the top producing broker in the company for a second straight year. I take your real estate transactions very seriously and, as I was reminded the other day in REI, I may not remember your name right off the bat, but I can recite every single detail about your real estate transaction. Which brings me to my New Year resolutions…memorize everyone’s names. My family is honored and humbled by your trust and I look forward to serving you again in the future.

A quick note: I am releasing a property valuation system this year that will accurately calculate the current market value of your home. It uses 3 different data sets and is personally reviewed by me prior to final presentation. I hope you find it useful in your quest to refinance your mortgage, update your insurance coverage or in evaluating the opportunity to sell your home.

I am never too busy to help the people you refer to me. Whenever you come across friends, family, and co-workers who are thinking about buying or selling Nashville real estate, be sure to call or email me with their contact information so that I may follow up and best serve their needs. I truly appreciate you!

This is a post from Grant Hammond's Nashville Real Estate Blog.

Happy Thanksgiving Nashville

How do you feel about Nashville? Survey

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:28:31 +0000

If you’ve read my blog over any period of time, you’ve noticed that I have formed several very specific opinions about our fair city. This time, I’d like to hear what you think. Please take a few minutes to respond to the 8 polls posted below. Once all of your opinions have been tabulated, I’ll post those results in a tabulation post with commentary from a very special guest!