Powerful Nashville Market Doesn't Need Amazon Boost

Amazon is opening a new operations office in Nashville, but Music City's property market hasn't had a spike in buyer interest. Experts say this is because the market is already piping hot.

By contrast, online views of local home listings on Redfin for both Long Island City, N.Y. and Crystal City, Va., the new homes of Amazon's new headquarters had sharp growth in response to the HQ2 announcement, up 1,947 percent and 302 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Nashville's search activity has been roughly the same as it's been since January 2018, fluctuating between single-digit growth and declines.

Nashville-based Redfin market manager Mel Priess speaks to Nashville's well-established, pre-Amazon hotness, “Over the last three or four years, I’ve had people flocking here from California, the East Coast and Chicago. Coming from those more expensive housing markets, buying a home in Nashville feels like a windfall. And it doesn’t come with a sacrifice on lifestyle, as our area is packed not only with music and history, but also trendy neighborhoods, beautiful waterfronts and open spaces to enjoy nature.”

Rising home prices over the last five years reflect the increasing homebuyer demand in Nashville. In November 2013, a typical home in the metro area sold for $190,000; by November 2018, the median price had risen to $285,000. But even with the 50 percent jump in home prices over the past five years, Nashville remains a relatively affordable market; nationally, the typical home sells for $300,000. Pair that with a booming job market—Nashville’s unemployment rate is 2.9 percent, compared with 3.7 percent nationally—no state income tax and relatively low property taxes, and it’s no surprise that so many people are moving to Nashville from pricier coastal markets.

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