We spoke to Mike Hays, managing broker of Adaro Realty in Brentwood, TN. Here’s what he had to say:

1) What first got you into real estate?

I ran my own business for 21 years and other peoples’ business for 5 years. And I decided I wanted to have my own business but I did not want employees, accounts receivable, and inventory. And real estate beckoned. My inventory belongs to someone else. I don’t have any accounts receivable; and I have no employees. That’s what got me into it.

2) Which areas/cities in particular have you served throughout your career?

Middle Tennessee. All the counties that surround Davidson county. Williamson, Wilson, Sumner, Rutherford, Cheatham, etc. I’ve been in all of those counties over the years.

3) How long were you a realtor before you decided to enter the broker side of things?

22 and a half years. So I’ve been in it 25 years total. I’ve been a broker for 20 years but I became a managing broker in 2018.

4) Let's discuss the current market in Nashville and the surrounding areas. Have you experienced market conditions similar to these in the past?

No. This is an exceptional market in that there’s very little to sell, a lot of people moving in, and you’re selling properties on the first day on the market with multiple offers over asking price.
This has gone on in other cities. You’ve heard about Palo Alto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, NY, and Chicago. Nashville is just the latest manifestation of it. There’ve been good times here and and there’ve been slower times, but it’s never been like this.

5) When did you start noticing the first big shift of people moving to Nashville?

People have been moving in and Nashville has been growing since the 80’s. But it seems like it’s been growing much more dynamically since about 2011. We had the downturn in 2008 and it began to recover in 2011. I’d say 2011 is when the influx started.

6) What do you think is the most attractive thing about Nashville to people moving here?

So someone comes here from California for instance, and they see a $1.5 million dollar house. It would cost them $2.5, maybe $3 million in California for the same setting. That’s one thing. But then look at the taxes. Our taxes have gone up 34% but relative to California, that’s probably half of what they’re paying in taxes in California. So they’ve got an income increase, plus cheaper real estate, plus they don’t have any income tax here, and that’s another 10 or 15% to a Californian coming here.

So if they’ve got the same job making the same money, they’re getting a $50,000 a year raise plus cheaper real estate. And I think the same thing from Michigan, Illinois, New York, New Jersey.

If you’re coming from other places like Kansas City, Nashville is expensive. So it just depends on where you’re coming from. But those that come from these high tax states, then it’s a deal.

7) What advice do you have for those looking to buy a home or sell their home in the current market?

If you have to sell your home, you’re going to have to make a temporary move to a rental, and then buy something. If you’re going to sell, if you’re gonna move up and you’re gonna have to move up a lot. And the less you move up, the further out you’re going to have to move.

I tell my agents that the market is great for sellers. The bad news is: where are you going to go?

If you’re willing to go to Murray county, or Cheatham county, or the Ashland City area, you can still find some reasonably good priced homes there.

If you’re trying to move to Williamson from Davidson, or to Sumner from Davidson, or to Wilson from Davidson, it’s just as expensive there. It’s not more expensive than Davidson but it’s just as expensive. And the market’s extremely competitive.

The Current Market in Nashville: A Broker’s Perspective