Getahn Ward

The Tennessean

After sales gains ranging between 8.9 percent and 11 percent for each of the last three months, only 1.3 percent more Nashville area residential properties were sold in April versus that same month last year.

There was only a 2.8-month supply of single family homes on the Nashville market at the end of April.

On average, homes sold across the Nashville region in April spent a record low 47 days on the market.

Realtors still expect more than 40,000 Nashville area homes to be sold this year.

April was a generally flat month for sales of Nashville area homes and other residential properties with closings pending at the end of last month signaling more of the same is likely for May.

The run-up in area home prices, meanwhile, continues with the median price of a single-family home sold in April setting a new record based on tracking by trade group Greater Nashville Realtors. Last month's $275,000 median price was slightly higher than March's and up 10 percent compared to April a year ago.

Low inventory was the key culprit behind only a 1.3 percent year-over-year increase to 3,325 closings last month after sales gains ranging between 8.9 percent and 11 percent for each of the last three months. There was only a 2.8-month supply of single family homes on the Nashville market at the end of April, reflecting a seller's market as demand outpaces supply.

Greater Nashville Realtors' President Scott Troxel sees last month's sales decline reflecting the market catching up with itself and the struggle between low inventory and rising sales starting to even out.

"Achieving double-digit gains each month compared to the prior year in nearly impossible to sustain without a matching growth in inventory," he said. "While supply is increasing, it has a way to go still to meet up with buyer demand."

Despite generally flat closings for April that bucks home sales typically rising each month during the current busy spring selling season, Troxel expects continued growth in the market albeit at a more even pace.

"Year-to-date sales are up by almost one thousand units, making it likely we will see 40,000 or more closings this year, something we haven't seen since 2006," he said.

Through April this year, there's been 11,663 closings, up 7.1 percent from 10,885 sales during that same four-month period last year.

Typically, April through June is one of the strongest periods for home sales. But for the Nashville market to break 40,000 closings for 2017, inventory would need to follow historical trends of rising through the summer.

While the overall residential inventory was down 8.5 percent for April to 7,605 homes versus a year ago, inventory was up 4.5 percent from this year's previous month of March.

On average, homes sold across the Nashville region in April spent 47 days on the market. The previous record was an average of 49 days for November 2016.

While last month's $275,000 median home sale price set a new record, the median price paid a condo fell slightly to $195,255 from last month's record $199,900 but was up nearly a percent from a year ago April.

At the end of April, 3,540sales were pending, down nearly 6 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, a separate tracking by the Williamson County Association of Realtors showed 471 total home closings in that county for April, down less than a percent from a year ago. The $451,100 median price of a single-family home sold was up 4.2 percent and broke the previous monthly record high of $433,000 set last year.

Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.