The Short Sale/Foreclosure Stereotype.  Traveling from state-to-state and having a huge sphere of fellow national REALTOR peers, all the talk has been short-sales, foreclosures, bank-owned, etc.  They’ve always been skeptical when I’ve reported that my Nashville market has not followed the national perceived norm.

Here is a chart of of the number of short sales, foreclosures and regular market homes in Davidson County/Greater Nashville for 2009.  These numbers are part of The Brian Copeland Reports which will release by private request only for consumers in February.  If you are an unrepresented consumer, please email brian@nashvilleandbeyond.com to request your copy.

What Does That Chart Mean? Analysis-wise, notice that overall 88% of all homes were sold in 2009 on the regular, non-discounted market.  For home sellers, this means you have to compete with other sensibly-priced homes in the market as well as the short sales and foreclosures.  For buyers and investors, you’re not likely to snag a foreclosure or short sale in most areas easily.  Note that closed short sales typically fell below the number of foreclosures.  This may be in part due to the difficult nature of getting these homes to the closing table (buyers losing staying power, bank negotiations not panning out, agents not understanding how to manage the process, etc.)

Best Odds. You are most likely to find a foreclosed property (HUD, VA, bank-owned) based on pure total units available in the MLS area #1, which is southeast Nashville including the areas Cane Ridge, Antioch, Woodbine, Glenrose, Haywood Hills, Brentioch, Whispering Hills, Holt Woods, et. al. (see map below).  Percentage-wise, the highest percentage of foreclosures is in the MLS area #4 which is Bells Bend, Eatons Creek, Scottsboro and parts of Joelton.  NOW BEWARE!!!  Notice that also the smallest unit numbers of homes are also sold in this area.  While it’s huge geographically, there is simply little housing stock in Area 4.  Only 80 homes sold there in all of 2009.  Of those 80, twenty-one were short sales or foreclosures.

Worst Odds. You’re quite unlikely to find short sales and foreclosures, first, in MLS area #2 which is Green Hills, Belle Meade, Hillsboro Village, 12 South, Sylvan Park, Cherokee Park, Richland Park, Bellevue, et. al. and MLS area #6 which is popular known as East Nashville.  The majority of the few short sales and foreclosure are in the 37115 Madison zip code which skews the numbers for Lockeland Springs, Historic Edgefield, Eastwood Neighbors, Cleveland Park, McFerrin Park, Inglewood, et. al.