Middle Tennessee home prices booming, skyrocketing in Williamson and Cheatham

The median price for home sales in Williamson County topped $500,000 for the first time in April just as home buying hits peak season, according to sales figures from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

The median closing price for homes was $503,250 last month, marking an 11.5-percent increase over April 2017.

While Williamson has the highest median sales price, Cheatham County saw the largest percent growth in year-over-year numbers, a whopping 27.9 percent gain, from $181,750 in April 2017 to $232,600 last month, according to MLS data.

Robertson was second with a 20 percent increase, from $175,000 to $210,000.

Homes over $200,000 the new normal in outlying counties

Amanda Bell, owner of At Home Realty, has lived in Cheatham County for the past two decades and calls it "the best-kept secret of Nashville."

"There are a lot of people that are native to Nashville and aren't as comfortable with the rapid pace (and) the change in scenery," Bell said. "They're feeling overcrowded."

The massive jump in median home prices is "pretty new within the last year" in Cheatham County, she said.

About two years ago, you could find a 1,200-square-foot home with a one-car garage in Cheatham for about $150,000. Now, Bell says, you'd pay anywhere between $200,000 and $210,000 for that same house.

"In Middle Tennessee, I think we have at least two good years (left) of strong growth," Bell said. "We all know eventually, we've got to level out."

Robertson County is in a similar situation, said Renee Harrington, owner of TENN-TUCKY Auction & Realty and board member for the Robertson County Association of Realtors.

Buyers looking for a house under $200,000 should expect to find themselves in a bidding war, Harrington said.

"I have several buyers under the $200,000 price point, then when they find a home they like, within a week it usually has multiple offers on it," she said. "The last bidding war we had was two weeks ago — my client bid $10,000 over (asking price) and lost."

Franklin mom feels fortunate to find home in Fieldstone Farms

Riley Damiani, a single mother of two who grew up in Franklin, closed on her home in the Fieldstone Farms subdivision in late April.

After her landlord told her they planned to sell the previous home she was renting, Damiani said she had no choice but to find a house to buy.

“There was no way to rent in this market — I would be paying way more than a mortgage,” she said.

The process was frustrating, as Damiani spent months looking at homes, putting down offers and losing out to other buyers who routinely offered far more than asking price.

“My price range was in the $300,000 to $315,000 price range, (and) I realized quickly it was going to be impossible to do that,” she said.

With support from brokers at Daniel-Christian Real Estate, Damiani finally found a home in the same neighborhood where she rented.

The price? About $335,000, including closing costs.

“I’ve been there for three weeks, and it feels wonderful,” she said. “I feel fortunate that I have a place.”

Damiani wants other first-time buyers to stay hopeful in their search for a home in Williamson County.

But with no signs that the market is slowing, it's unclear how much longer houses like hers with be financially within reach for other families.

Rural areas among most expensive in Williamson

Brentwood is the only city in Williamson County that's among the top three areas with highest median home sales, at $665,000 in April. The other two highest are the unincorporated areas of College Grove, at $608,250, and Arrington, at $763,886.

The cost of new homes in unincorporated areas of the county has come as a surprise to Matt Daniel, 2018 president of the Williamson County Association of REALTORS®.

While some buyers are attracted to more rural settings and larger lots, living farther from Interstate 65 or Highway 840 means longer commute times on two-lane county roads.

"The land value is really pushing the (prices) up," Daniel said.

Gated communities such as The Grove in College Grove are selling for $900,000 and up, he said.

"When I first heard about it getting started, I thought they were crazy — nobody's going to go out and pay that type of money. But they do, and they absolutely love it," he said.

More: See the 10 most expensive homes sold in Davidson County in 2017

More: Nashville home sellers score big profits in booming market, new data shows

But the more it costs to buy a home in Williamson, the more people are priced out of the market.

"Firefighters, policemen, waitresses, hairstylists, they need a place to lay their head," Daniel said.

Even Fairview, which has long been the most affordable city for home-buying in Williamson, hit a median home price of $350,900 in April.

Nashville more affordable, but still competitive

Median home prices in Metro Nashville also jumped in April. The $307,875 median price was an eight percent increase from April 2017.

While it's far less expensive than Williamson, affordability is still a major hurdle for first-time home buyers in Nashville, said Sher Powers, 2018 president of Greater Nashville REALTORS®.

"The challenge for people entering the Nashville market will be that entry-level affordability range. I encourage clients to look just slightly outside the core to find housing that's a little more affordable," Powers said.

The closer to downtown, the less square footage a buyer will get for their investment, Powers said.

She's noticed median home prices consistently rise over the past five years, and that's coincided with increasing interest in neighborhoods farther out from the urban core, such as Madison, Goodlettsville, Old Hickory and Donelson.

"I've been seeing a lot of interest in Antioch. There are gorgeous lakefront homes in beautiful bedroom communities, but it's very close to everything," Powers said.

Buyers may also have more luck in neighborhoods along Nolensville Pike.

"You're seeing pricing that's a little more affordable, and of course that's climbing, but there are good deals there," she said.

Median home sale prices, year over year increases, April 2017 to April 2018

Davidson: 8 percent

Williamson: 11.5 percent

Sumner: 3.9 percent

Wilson: 10 percent

Robertson: 20 percent

Cheatham: 27.9 percent

Rutherford: 15.5 percent

Reach Elaina Sauber at esauber@tennessean.com, 615-571-1172 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.