Looks like even though some of the media has been reporting economic indicators that seem to indicate a continuing recession the activity of buyers looking for a home in the Nashville seems to be on the rise.

The good news for buyers coming to Nashville is that there is a good supply of homes, that at the height of the real estate market boom increased in value, but since the bubble burst have come back down to represent a great opportunity for first time home buyers.

The Market in 2006

The conditions that prevailed in the 2006 to 2008 market seem to be the perfect storm for creating a market that created an unusually strong demand for homes. Mortgages were being given out to buyers that in reality did not qualify for a mortgage if all the requirements were fully researched. This inflated the pool of "qualified" home buyers which meant that the demand for homes suddenly went up. As more buyers came on the market the home sellers started noticing an increased frequency of showings and so became more confident that they could get a better price for their home. The resulted in list prices increasing and the buyers had to start looking at homes that were now increasing in value rapidly. 

The Home Buyers Mindset

As the buyers mindset became adjusted to the fact that the homes they like were in short supply because other buyers were snapping them up, the ability to negotiate a list price reduction was severly reduced! This meant that buyers started to look at offering over the list price to try and secure the home. From the buyers point of view, spending a little more on the home could actually save them money if they were having to say fly in from Chicago, pay for a hotel, and try and find a home ina short time. In a lot of cases people have one chance to fly in and find a home and so that added to urgency to buy a home.

The market has changed now to the point that the buyer can spend more time looking for a home and being more selective so that they actually find the home that has all the features that they are looking for rather than just accepting what's available.

The problem with the oversupply of homes for sale is that sellers, or people that are considering selling, hesitate from putting their home on the market unless they really have to sell. This means that the over a period of time the supply of homes gets absorbed by the buyers and slowly there is a shift from the buyers market to a sellers market. When sellers start seeing that homes are staying on the market for shorter periods, as sellers are also buyers, then the potential sellers will consider putting their home on the market. That then increases the supply of homes...and then we get back to an over supply!

Nashville right now seems to be transitional stage from having an over supply of homes and a good supply of qualified buyers which means that the buyers are getting some good deals so now is a great time to be buying a home in Nashville!