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While Nashville is still country at heart, the past three decades have brought a new tune to Music City’s real estate market.
Although Brentwood’s vintage estates, Green Hills’ modern farmhouses, and Mount Juliet’s family-friendly neighborhoods are still at the top of homebuyers’ lists, Nashvillians are embracing the perks of urban living — increased walkability, luxury amenities, entertainment and shopping, and proximity to cultural events. Giarratana President Tony Giarratana has been a key part of bolstering downtown Nashville’s residential stock, with 17 luxury apartment and condominium buildings in his portfolio.
“In [the] 1990s, we undid the legislation that made downtown living illegal. It was not permitted from 1963 to 1993,” he told the Inman on Tour crowd on Tuesday. “There were 10 of us living downtown. Ten. Not 10 buildings — 10 people. We were these outlaws living in these lofts downtown.”
Giarratana’s projects have grown in scale over the past 29 years, representing increasing buyer and renter demand.
“The downtown offers a true live, work, play lifestyle,” he said. “It was dismissed as a cliché when we started using it in the 90s, but now everybody gets it.”
Giarratana’s first project in 1996 was 24 stories tall — a size that pales in comparison to Alcove and Prime, his two latest projects that stand nearly 40 stories. However, Alcove and Prime will soon look like dwarves next to Giarrantana’s 1010 tower, which is slated to open in 2027 after seven years of negotiating with local legislators and federal leaders over the building’s record-breaking height.
“[It’ll be the] tallest in the state of Tennessee,” he said. “It took us seven years to get approval from the [Federal Aviation Administration] to go to 750 feet. I hope somebody builds taller than us, but they better be very patient because it’s hard to get those approvals.”
Inman Special Projects Editor Jim Dalrymple II and Tony Giarratana | Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Nashville likely won’t have a hard time attracting patient developers and homebuilders, as the city is experiencing a historic population boom.
In 2023, the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Davidson, Murfreesboro and Franklin counties, gained 86 residents a day — a trend that puts the city among the top 10 fastest-growing metros in the U.S. Some of those resident gains came from natural population changes; however, a sizeable chunk came from people ditching the coasts for Nashville’s robust job market and affordability.
“We are a really attractive location for investment, and that’s both companies investing in our state as well as individuals,” Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Stephanie Coleman said. “I would say there are three reasons why we’re an attractive place: One is the culture. One is politics. Smart politics, I would say. And then the [last] one is our economic fundamentals.”
“Over the past 30 years, we’ve seen over 1,000 companies relocate to this region. And over 2,000 companies have expanded here, creating over 500,000 more jobs,” she added. “When you look at where those companies are relocating from, it is often on either side of the country… Big names recently, Alliance, Bernstein, Amazon, and Oracle, to name a few. A lot of tech companies are coming here as well, and that’s changed some of the dynamics of our economy as well as our workforce.”
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Boyd Center said Tennessee’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to reach 2.5 percent in 2025 — a measure that would put the state ahead of the 2.0 percent projected for the U.S. economy. Although job gains have slowed, the Center said annual wage and salary growth will remain strong (+4.5 percent) as tech companies bring fewer — but higher-paying — jobs to the state.
“We need engineers. We need tech workers. We need all kinds of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers to move here,” Coleman said. “That’s a big need for us.”
Although Nashville gets the top note in conversations about the Mid-South, Williamson County Association of Realtors CEO Bo Patten said 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties experienced population growth in 2024 thanks to an affordable cost of living, median home prices, and real estate taxes. However, East Tennessee Realtors CEO Lyle Irish said the influx of demand has made the state’s housing market more competitive.
“I think generally across the state of Tennessee, the housing market is fairly balanced. It’s fairly competitive, fairly stable,” he said. “Supply is slowly moving up. Inventory is definitely higher, which provides opportunities for buyers [and] kind of helps stabilize that price appreciation. So all in all, I think the Tennessee housing market, at least the vast majority of it, is very stable and in a good place.”
Statewide, inventory grew 5.5 percent year over year, according to the Tennessee Association of Realtors’ January report. The current inventory represents 4.59 months of supply at the current sales pace, the report said, as median sales prices increased 3.6 percent year over year to $367,995.
Although statewide sales price trends are more affordable than the national median ($396,900), Patten said there are pockets of the state with median prices over the half-million dollar mark. Nashville’s median sales price reached $480,000 in January, according to Realtor.com. Meanwhile, the median sales price in nearby Brentwood reached $900,000.
“We’re struggling with affordability in Williamson County. We’re the highest county median home price in the state at $900,000,” Patten said. “It’s kind of a catch-22 for us because one of our biggest draws in Williamson County is the great quality of schools that we have. We have some of the highest test scores and the highest percentage of college readiness. And so a lot of these younger people that moved to Nashville 10 years ago, now they’re starting to have families. It’s hard on a young family to buy a $900,000 house in Williamson County.”
Brad Inman, Stephanie Coleman, Lyle Irish and Bo Patten (L-R) | Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Coleman, Patten, and Irish said state and local governments are finding creative ways to increase the pace of housing completions, improve Greater Nashville’s infrastructure, and increase affordability.
Patten highlighted a statewide $60 million fund to provide interest-free construction loans on affordable housing and new single-family homes, and Coleman lauded Nashville’s $3.1 billion transportation referendum for new sidewalks, transit centers, and connector routes to the outermost parts of Greater Nashville as prime examples of how lawmakers are stepping up to meet Tennessee’s new tempo.
“In Nashville proper, we have just passed a transit referendum that has finally provided a dedicated funding source so we can begin to improve some of our transportation infrastructure,” Coleman said. “The next step will be how we connect to our surrounding counties so we can make that work… We are in an environment now where companies are bringing people back to the office.”
“That is going to create a new shift. And I’m sure there is both cost and opportunity in that shift because you always have to look for where the opportunity lies,” she added.
Meanwhile, Irish encouraged agents to stop being “zombie members” and get plugged into what’s happening in their local, county, and state governments. Agents, he said, are in a perfect position to advocate for policies that will improve housing availability and affordability — the two main things that will help soften the brunt of elevated mortgage rates.
“Get rid of that zombie mentality. Get involved,” he said. “Bo [Patten] mentioned very briefly about all the advocacy work that’s going on. Talking about affordability. Knox County struggles with housing affordability. But some of our surrounding counties are trying to address it through moratoriums on development. And that’s just increasing the problem. Get involved with your local associations, government affairs, and advocacy work. Show up, attend, learn, and educate yourself. Being here is important.”
Although there’s some discord in the state’s new opus, Patten said it’s important for agents to shift their focus to the high notes.
“The sky is not falling,” he said. “The industry will adapt and survive.”
Inman editor Jim Dalrymple II, Karli Pritchard, Jason Cox and Ralph Pearson (L-R) | Credit: AJ Canaria Creative Services
Realty Executives Associates team leader Karli Pritchard, Compass team leader Jason Cox, and Keller Williams team leader Ralph Pearson have all learned to adapt to market shifts and said there are plenty of deals to be made, as long as agents can offer creative solutions to potential clients’ problems.
All three brokers said they’ve been able to negotiate concessions for homebuyers, like sellers covering home repairs or replacing appliances, to offset higher asking prices. They’re also educating homebuyers about buying down mortgage rates or future opportunities to refinance their rate, which has been effective in moving clients off the sidelines and into the market.
“I think that a lot of buyers have a somewhat sticker shot where they see, you know, the rates, the monthly pay, things like that. So I think you need to connect with a great lender who can walk you through that process and advise you on what their options are,” Cox said. “There’s an opportunity there to sort of find a path forward and get that number down. That’s always helpful. I think most buyers, when you look at rental rates here, even where the interest rates are, it’s still, you know, most people see a better path forward. They can find a way to purchase.”
After a deal is done, Pritchard and Pearson said it’s important to continue nurturing those clients throughout the year by inviting them to social events, occasionally reaching out to answer any pressing questions they have about homeownership, or sending cards during birthdays, anniversaries or other special dates you’ve learned about. Those connections, they said, usually lead to strong referrals.
“We do three client events a year,” Pritchard said. “We do a pumpkin patch event, a movie event, we’ve done a cornhole tournament. It’s those touch points where everyone can meet each other. They can talk about their houses.”
