REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—The Southeast region of the U.S. is continuously thriving as a great place for Real Estate transactions and business. With many of this year’s top markets to watch residing in the Southeast, buyers are eager to seize new opportunities within markets with great value and exceptional quality of life.
Nashville, Tenn. in particular is a market riding a wave of economic growth that is attracting buyers.
“Nashville is really on the ball,” says Jan Harbor, President of Tennessee-based Crye-Leike Real Estate Services. “It was just voted as the No. 4 city in the country for job development by Gallup. Buyers are taking note of the growth potential here.”
Harbor said a handful of new commerce deals are contributing to the upswing in one of the nation’s fastest growing job markets. Currently GM, Amazon, and Nissan along with nine other companies are leading the expansion. Twelve Fortune 500 companies have corporate headquarters in the Nashville area.
“The city’s consolidated government status makes doing business easier,” Harbor says. Only a handful of major metro areas have this advantageous city-county consolidation. KPMG recently named it the second most cost-attractive business location.
An ActiveRain survey of 1,800 agents nationwide anticipated Nashville as the #8 top-performing real estate market for this year. The Southeast performed strongly in this survey, with major urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia expected to bottom out in 2012.
Peter Goldey, CIO & CKO of real estate data provider Onboard Informatics, says the combination of price and volume increases sets Nashville apart from many markets.
“Nashville is an interesting market to watch. Last year, we saw median prices in the fall markedly higher than spring and early summer. This was followed by a stronger winter in terms of total sales volume than the previous two years – a trend that has continued into the spring with year over year prices consistently higher.”
Great place to do business, great place to live
Music City USA has long been a hub for entertainment, performing arts, and dining. Areas like Music Row, Downtown, and The Gulch are top ranking districts for arts & culture according to Onboard Informatics’ Lifestyle Search Engine, a human-centered home search tool based on millions of data points and 10 years of experience creating the nation’s top Best Places to Live content.
Home to more than 100 music venues, Travel + Leisure named Nashville No. 1 for its live music scene, No. 8 for nightlife and No. 16 for food. The world-class Schermerhorn Symphony Center was constructed in what was perceived as a “red light” district 20 years ago. Today that area is bustling with new restaurants, hotels and the very popular Country Music Hall of Fame. Located down the street is the Frist Center for the Visual Arts which features art exhibits from around the world. The educational climate is also thriving; the “Athens of the South’ has almost two dozen colleges and universities and was recently named the 4th best city for College Graduates by Forbes.
Three major interstates intersect in Nashville, making it accessible from all directions. Due to the moderate climate, an abundance of year-round outdoor activities take place in the many parks and greenways that are located throughout the city.
This unique combination of entertainment and culture, low business taxes and no state income tax continue to entice buyers to this area.
“I am so excited to be a part of this thriving city where it is equally as great for business as it is a wonderful place to live, work and play,” Harbor says. “I agree wholeheartedly with the Nashville Chamber’s slogan, Business is Good!”
For more information, visit www.onboardinformatics.com.
