Nashville Apartments | Living where the Music Starts

If you're renting of buying, Nashville is a city with plenty of nightlife and culture.

Forget for a moment the gloom of the economy. Forget that it's difficult to secure a loan, save capital for a home, and buy a home.

Instead, imagine a place that cultivates first time homebuyers, a place where real estate property is affordable and accessible.

Nashville is the place.

Not to sound hyperbolic, because the same principlesÑcapital and good creditÑstill apply here, too. But there is fresh opportunity in Nashville, a city that boasts more first time homebuyers than anywhere else in the nation.

The Tennessean recently ran an article that discussed the situation.

The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, in cooperation with the National Association of Realtors, recently conducted a survey of people who had bought a home between June 2007 and June 2008 that revealed many specific changes and trends in the national and Nashville-area real estate markets.

From who is buying to how they are searching, there were many unique points revealed.

One of the most interesting facts the study uncovered is that homebuyers in our region, especially first-time buyers, are younger than what is typical nationally.

The article goes on to explain that in Nashville home prices are lower than the national rate, as are median household incomes. That means that for first time buyersÑpeople typically making less than older buyersÑNashville offers a unique opportunity to secure a new home, even in troubling economic times.

It also discusses how buyers are using different methods to search and find real estate.

In Greater Nashville, 90 percent of homebuyers used the Internet to search for their homes. That compares with 87 percent nationally. It's no longer good enough to put a "for sale" sign in your yard and have an open house if you're going to reach today's potential homebuyers. A balanced mix of many available advertising methods Ñ from print to online Ñ is necessary to gain exposure among potential buyer.

Troubling economic times are countered with new and creative ways of doing business. From these methods unique opportunities occur. In Nashville, that opportunity is especially strong for first time homebuyers.