Brian Copeland, CRS

In certain areas of town, it may be a good time to hit the market if you think your home fits certain "hot" aspects that buyer's agents are currently seeing requests for. Here are the Top 5 market deficiencies right now in the Nashville Area. These observations are based off the spring/summer 2009 market from my facts from buyers and sellers.



Deficiency 1: 37206 priced between $175K and $250K. The buyer is quite flexible with size and believe it or not will even go for a one bath to get into certain pockets of 37206. A Lockeland Springs Elementary zoning automatically adds several thousand dollars of sellability to your home. 37206's #1 buyer priority is charm and condition. If you have a ton of curb appeal and clean, fresh interior elements, hit the market now. (Pictured home in 37206 received multiple offers in first week in Summer 2009.)




Deficiency 2: 37215 priced between $400K and $500K. The buyer will accept a ton of home styles including the ranch and brick cottage. Multiple bathrooms are a must and a TRUE master bedroom with separate bath is essential for a quick sale at this price. Homes on private, lesser travelled streets are especially in short supply. It will need to be as updated as possible and wallpaper-free. (Pictured home in 37215 and sold to my buyers in late Spring 2009.)




Deficiency 3: True Nashville address (not Madison, Antioch, Hermitage) affordable, first-time buyer product at below $130K. First-time homebuyers are HEAVY in the market right now with the stimulus. If you are a home renovator or former first time buyer who is ready to do something, this is definitely time to hit the market. First-time buyers are not looking for homes that need "TLC" or cosmetic updates. Most are wanting turnkey homes in convenient locations. Small is fine, in fact, recently a 680 square footer brought one of the highest comps I've seen in Nashville. (Pictured home is in Nashville, five minutes from downtown. It just hit the market a few days prior to blog post, but is a good representative of a strong first-time homebuyer product..)

Deficiency 4: True Nashville address newer construction built after 2005 under $300K. Builders are scared to take a risk in this market. The stories of "no bank will lend me money" and "my builder friend got foreclosed" are commonplace in these circles. What most don't realize is that most of these new builds were at the $700K+ level on crazy small lots. 100% of my new construction homes are either sold or in escrow waiting to close, and the simple reason is market shortage. If you have a home you purchased which was built after 2005 and it's in close-to-new condition, it's a great time. (Pictured home was built in 2005 and sold at the seller's needed/desired full-price in nine days on the market-Summer 2009.)





Deficiency 5: Bellevue below $215K. For some reason, people are rediscovering Bellevue. If you're in Riverwalk, sorry, it's still VERY slow. If you're outside of that 'hood, purchase your home in the late 1990s in the $160K to $170Ks, you can still turn a good profit now in this area of Nashville. Now, ignore what I said about the $215K for this statement, but if you're in Devon Valley, well-positioned homes are still moving well there. (Pictured home is in Bellevue and sold as my listing at full price in the first day on the market in late Spring 2009.)

When they broke ground, I said I wanted to live there. With pet changes and needs, the condo life unfortunately doesn't fit my lifestyle one day; but I still ADORE 5th&Main. Tons of questions, speculation and stories have been told on this now almost empty condo development and I thought you might want to know what is going on.

Sales at 5th&Main were steady, successful in brisk throughout the prior years. The sales team worked their tails off getting contracts in place. The completion date kept getting moved later and later for the buyers causing loop-holes in contracts and multple default situations for the project. Otter's Chicken Tenders and Alium opened to an empty reception, due to no residents, and still struggle today.

5th & Main entered bank receivership in Spring 2009 and left the marketplace. Currently, 5th & Main has seen five closures is available for rent and sale at amazing deals. While not listed yet, the bank is looking at offers making it an interesting time for someone who wants the downtown view and vibe at the 'burb price.

We've all read the answers here on why homes don't sell or get showings. It's a "no duh" moment when people say (1) it's priced too high, (2) it needs to be staged, (3) the location is bad, (4) it's in poor condition. We all know that. Your problem here is you're listed with someone who is afraid to be honest with you.

I've been helping several agents recently with their listings and marketing through consulting, and I have found some very simple fixes above price, condition and location that MIGHT be the cause for lack of showings or lack of offers above the biggees. Ask your agent today to check these things or audit them yourself.

Problem 1: The home isn't mapping in the MLS system. Many agents search for properties in the agent-only section of the MLS via the "Mapping" feature. When the home is being data entered into RealTracs, one typo or not checking the "geo-coding" can cause your home not to show up to the agent. Remember, 78% of buyers report that they found their home through their agent.


Notice the yellow arrow I drew in for you. The red star means that the home is not mapping. If someone is searching for a home via the Geo-Coding/Mapping feature, and you're home isn't mapping correctly, it will not be found...period!

Problem 2: Your pictures suck. You should expect only professional level photography in this type of market. If your agent shows up with a point and shoot camera, this should be flag #1. Lighting, angles, point of view and equipment matter. I listed a home recently that was on the market with another agent for over 30 days and had average photos. The sellers said they received three showings before releasing their agent. In 29 days, with my marketing, we had 33 showings and an accepted offer.

The dining room's photo (even without staging) was dark and shot from a poor angle. The new photo focuses on the room's light rather than the outdoor area outside the window.


Problem 3: The square footage, bedroom numbers or bathroom totals were incorrectly entered. My heart breaks every time I think of a story I had in Green Hills a few years ago. A home was priced amazingly and had been on the market for over 250 days. A senior couple owned it and had used "a friend" to list the home. The "friend" entered in the MLS as a 1 bedroom, 1 bath with 1200 square feet. In actuality, it was a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with well over 2300 AMAZING square feet. To top it off, it had no pictures, too. I called the agent's broker and reported it immediately after I had a buyer ask to see it via a drive-by, however, you may not be so lucky if you're not on a major thoroughfare!



Problem 4: The narrative and wording isn't present or simply stinks. In the MLS, agents can enter "Remarks" that the consumers see on all the websites (quiet, cul de sac street on level acreage), "Realtor Remarks" which are for agents only (agent bonus of $500, disclosures are available at...) and "Photo Captions" which appear below of the photos and allow 250 characters (Sitting on a large corner lot, the seller is providing a one-year home warranty and is willing to pay up to $4000 in closing costs). Is your agent using all these text areas to tell your story.



The "Remarks" section is the spot in the MLS that is picked up by every other website and agency site to describe your home. Example 1 chose to brilliantly use exclamation points instead of giving the seller their full potential narrative. Example 2's agent just didn't care enough to take the three minutes to write anything at all. Heck, I'd be happy with exclamation points at least here!

Problem 5: Your representative has a bad reputation in the agent community. Stock is too heavy and life is too short for agents and consumers to deal with jerks. Ask other agents candidly about your agent's involvement in the REALTOR community. While our code of ethics is clear that we can't bad-mouth another REALTOR, if you ask around enough in your community or find former agents, you'll get the scoop. If a buyer's agent has seven homes that are perfect for his/her buyer and your home is one of those perfect seven, why would he/she show the home of an agent that has a lose-win attitude, doesn't return calls or hasn't upheld the ethics the "good ones" keep. Is that fair? No. Is it illegal? No. A buyer's agent is actually representing his/her client BEST by safegarding them from potentially difficult negotiations and contract situations. Ask your agents about the designations they hold (all the letters that make no sense to you after their name), their involvement in their association, the awards they've won outside of sales production or better yet, check out their RECENT education history here: http://licsrch.state.tn.us/

Problem 6: You don't have enough visuals. Again, we are in a heavy stock cycle, and buyers are "stalking" home on the net first. If 45 homes fit their needs, they will likely look at the ones they've seen the most of. If your home has been on the market for over 90 days, recently, the MLS migrated to allow agents to upload 20 photos instead of the previous 10. I can't tell you how many times I've seen three or six photos presented on a 2000+ sq ft home!

Problem 7: Your home hasn't been connected with the correct agents. As all real estate is local, there are ways to analyze the area to see what buyer's agents sold the most three bedroom homes in 37204 in 2009 so far. Your agent should know who these agents in your home's sales feature price range and exposing your address to them. When I listed a home recently in Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin, while out of my primary territory, you better believe I paid a courier $150 to deliver information to the top 80 agents who had sold homes there. You better believe I offered incentives to those top agents to come out and preview it.

Problem 8: The buyer's agents can't get in! This is my top pet peeve when I'm representing a buyer!! Most agents have a showing desk to set up the showings. If your agent handles the showings directly, this is a big red flag! "Oh, Mr. Seller, I always have my phone with me and this assure you will get the showing AND I will be able to speak to the agent myself to prep them." This is pure bull crap! WEEKLY, YES, WEEKLY I call within 24 to 48 hours to show a home and at least one or two of the homes don't get a return call. I've called many an agent's supervisor and had some nice talks!



Additionally on Problem 8, as stupid as it sounds, check the key often and make sure it still works to the correct door and the lock box is clearly available. The key to my personal home stopped working last month alone! While I always call the agent and tell them there's an issue with the key, many agents won't. Consumers may be coming to your door, never getting in, finding another home and your never know! I had another key two weeks ago on one of my listings stop working, too. Obvious, but a potential problem!

Problem 9: Your home has expired or been withdrawn. Last week, my heart broke when I entered a home of the sweetest lady. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't find her home listed on-line. More issues than that existed, but the biggest issue was that the home had expired from the MLS and she had no clue. Every agent in Tennessee is required to give you a copy of everything you have signed with 24 hours of signature. Her agent had not done this; so, she had no way of knowing she was out of contract and had been off the market for over a month!

Problem 10: The buyer's agents commission is not competitive. While there are no set commission rates for real estate, the more commission you are paying your agent, the more commission the buyer's agent will make. If a home fits my buyer's needs, I will show it regardless of commission offered, however, many agents don't share this opinion. In the new Tennessee Association of REALTORS listing agreement (which is widely used across the state, on line 81 of page 2 [as of 7/10/2009] there is a blank that shows you what the buyer's agent will receive. If your agent hasn't shown you their value enough to where you asked them to discount their normal rate, you need to make sure they are not placing your home in an inferior commission position. What percentage the listing agent shares with the buyer's agent is between those two agents, you NEED to know what that percentage is. I personally garner a six percent fee and offer my cooperating agents three or more percent on each sale out of my percentage.


Usually we see lower commissions on multi-million dollar properties or commercial listings. This $200K home is listed giving the co-op agent 1% when all of its competing home sellers are offering 2%, 2.5% and 3%!

Problem 11: You! So many times we want to point the finger at the agent or his/her marketing deficiencies, however sometimes you're the problem. You are consistently turning down appointments or you don't check your voicemail to confirm showings until the showing request time has long passed. As kindly as possibly, I remind my sellers in the listing consultation of these obvious principles. If you want to sell, you have to show! A few Fridays ago, I was trying to show my buyers a home and had been canceleld on TWICE by the owner's daughterIf an agent is working to get you the showings, but Aunt Erma's overnight stay, Sally's birthday party or your need for an extra two hours of sleep on Saturday morning is causing you to say "no" to the showings, you need (1) to not be on the market or (2) find an agent who will keep you in line (kindly, of course).



Brian Copeland (CRS, Broker) is a daily sales and listing agent in the Middle Tennessee market. He prides himself on his solo-agent model in cooperation with several non-licensed assistants. His approach to permission-based real estate sales has bridged him into a secondary, limited speaking engagement career which has garnered him appearances at the National Association of REALTORS conference, the Ohio Association of REALTORS conference, the Arkansas Association of REALTORS conference, the Columbus (OH) Board of REALTORS sales training day, Century 21's Top Producer National Retreat and on-line learning for The Council of Residential Specialists. In addition to building a national agent network for relocation sales, his appearances on multiple national TV shows

Based on the 2008 RealTracs MLS data for Nashville Areas 1-8, the following is a list of the top one percent (1%) REALTORS (real estate agents) in the Nashville market. The (*) denotes an agent who appears on both unit and dollar volume lists.


2008 Top One Percent (1%) Nashville REALTORS Dollar Volume (Dollar Amount Sold)

*Carolyn Adcock (REMAX)
*Andy Allen (Village)
Newell Anderson (Village)
*Aaron Armstrong (Keller Williams)
Laura Baugh (Worth)
*Sharon Bennett (Progressive)
Rhonda Brandon (Worth)
*Missy Brower (Zeitlin)
Richard Bryan (Fridrich&Clark)
Keri Cannon (Fridrich & Clark)
*Steve Chaisson (REMAX)
Steve Condurelis III (Keller Williams)
*Brian Copeland (Village)
Richard Courtney (Fridrich & Clark)
Donnie Creighton (Zeitlin)
Starling Davis (Fridrich & Clark)
*Virginia Degerberg (Village)
*Terry Deselms (REMAX Elite)
*Mark Deutschmann (Village)
*Ashley Dugger (Giarratana-Novare)
Betty Finucane (Fridrich & Clark)
Richard French (French Christianson Patterson)
Steve Fridrich (Fridrich & Clark)
Tom Fussell (Fridrich & Clark)
Jenkins Hardin (Harpeth)
*Karen Hoff (Historic & Distinctive Homes)
Dennis Johnson (Worth)
*Tim King (French Christianson Patterson)
Jay Lowenthal (Zietlin)
Keith Merrill (Worth)
*Beth Molteni (Worth)
Tommy Patterson (French Christiansen Patterson)
Barbara Keith Payne (Harpeth)
*Allen Perry (Keller Williams)
Ted Pins (Village)
Reggie Polk (Fox Ridge Homes)
Hal Rossen (Freeman Webb)
Emma Roy (Worth)
*Randy Smith (Regent Realty)
*Danell Thomas (Giarratana-Novare)
Mary Beth Thomas (French Christiansen Patterson)
Ben Wilson (Century 21 Premier)
Christie Wilson (The Wilson Group)

2008 Top One Percent (1%) Nashville REALTORS Unit Volume (Total Number of Homes Sold)

Carolyn Adcock* (REMAX)
Moren Adenubi (Crown Realty Homes)
Andy Allen* (Village)
Aaron Armstrong* (Keller Williams)
Don Battle (Battle Real Estate)
Angela Bavetta (Coldwell Banker Barnes)
Brent Beard (Newmark Homes)
Sharon Bennett* (Progressive)
Missy Brower* (Zeitlin)
Steve Chaisson* (REMAX)
Wanda Comer (Ole South Realty)
Brian Copeland* (Village)
Jennifer Cortez (Greenvale Homes)
Virginia Degerberg* (Village)
Terry Deselms* (REMAX Elite)
Mark Deutschmann* (Village)
John Donlon (Ole South)
Ashley Dugger* (Giarratana-Novare)
Cindy Fey (Crye-Leike)
Julie Gatlin (Gatlin)
Curtis Harvey (Beazer)
Karen Hoff* (Historic & Distinctive Homes)
Nell Jones (REMAX)
Tim King* (French Christiansen Patterson)
Trey Lewis (Ole South)
Whitney Massingale
Flor Melgar (ERA Crown Realty)
Beth Molteni* (Worth)
Emil Mongeon (Legacy International)
Jay Nelson (REMAX)
Jim Owens (Prudential Woodmont)
Allen Perry* (Keller Williams)
Melba Polk (Centex Homes)
Reggie Polk (Fox Ridge Homes)
Sher Powers (Village)
M. Reavis (Centex)
Randy Smith* (Regent)
Danell Thomas* (Giarratana-Novare)
John Thomas (Coldwell Banker Barnes)
Barry Vincent (REMAX)
Ashley Watts (First Nashville Realty & Management)
Ben Wilson (Century 21 Premier)

The area includes Green Hills, Belle Meade, Forest Hills, Oak Hill, Crieve Hall, Murray Hills, Antioch, East Nashville, Madison, Lockeland Springs, Eastwood Neighbors, Greenwood Neighbors, Maxwell Neighbors, Maxwell Heights, Neil S. Brown, East End, Historic Edgefield, Shelby Village, Boscobel Heights, Little Hollywood, Historic Chestnut Hill, Belmont, Caldwell Abbay Hall, Berry Hill, Melrose, West End Park, Montague, Rivergate, Inglewood, Rosebank, Iverson, Maplewood, Moss Rose, Opryland Area, Neelys Bend, Fortland Park, Cleveland Park, McFerrin Park, Trinity Heights, 12South, Hillsboro Village, West End, Cherokee Park, Historic Richland Park, Whitland Park, Sylvan Park, Historic West Town, Sylvan Heights, Brookside, Brooke Meade, West Meade, Charlotte Park, Bordeaux, Goodlettsville, Eatons Creek, Germantown, Hope Gardens, Salemtown, Buena Vista, Buena Vista Heights, Metro Center, Woodbine, Glenrose, Woodmont In Waverly, Waverly Place, Cane Ridge, Donelson, Hermitage, Old Hickory, Katie Hill, Priest Lake, Downtown, The Gulch, SoBro, The Market District, Music Row, Villa Place, Fairgrounds, Fisk/Meharry/TSU, Belle Meade Highlands, Bellevue, Brentwood, Nippers Corner, Holt Hills, Grassmere and all areas inside Davidson County Metropolitan.

MLS data based on reports run for January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.