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Clarksville TN Market: "Better Than Almost Anywhere"

Originally published in The Leaf Chronicle Written by Brian Eason

A U.S. market analyst praised the Clarksville-Montgomery County housing market Thursday evening, reminding local developers that maybe the grass is greenest in their own backyard.

"I know some of you ain't happy (with the market), but you need to be really stinking happy you live here," said Edsel Charles of Market Graphics, a statistical research firm. "It's better than almost anywhere."

Bobby Powers of Prudential Professionals Realty, who hosted the gathering of about 40 Realtor and developers, said Charles regularly analyzes housing in more than 20 states.

"I've had friends from several areas of the country say that Edsel tells them about how good Clarksville-Montgomery County is," Powers said.

During his presentation, Charles put Clarksville on a short list of about five markets he said were faring the best nationwide, based on a number of criteria.

One positive Charles noted was 177 fewer new homes were unoccupied than 3 years ago.

"I can't tell you how impressive that is and how hard that number is to keep down," he said.

But the majority of empty homes, he said, are concentrated in the same subdivisions. Usually, excess inventory can arise from several factors, such as a location or price range that doesn't fit the demand. But Charles said current slow sales in some subdivisions has more to do with poor upkeep.

"Right now, it's almost exclusively about not taking care of our stuff," he said. "The grass is overgrown, the shrubs are dead, it just looks bad."

Future outlook

Charles said it won't be long before demand overtakes supply in this market, predicting a housing shortage within a few years.

"I think developers are going to go from dying (now) to being short of developers in 2015," he said, adding that more than 10,000 new building lots could be needed by then. "I'm telling you a day is going to come when some of you are going to regret not making a number of land deals."

Though the outlook was mostly rosy, he offered a couple notes of caution. Unemployment is a concern for the area, he said, as is the potential of future interest rate hikes.

Charles predicted the Federal Reserve could raise the interest rate by as much as 1 percent in the near future, with potentially disastrous effects if the increase is not gradual.

"Please, be conscious of this issue," he said. "It's a very serious issue."

The Clarksville, TN real estate market consists of 54,000 single family homes and over 2,000 condos and town homes. Ft. Campbell real estate is affordable to most military ranks and located mostly on the north side of Clarksville. To learn more about Ft. Campbell properties, click here.