2019 was an unprecedented year in real estate in Middle Tennessee.

Now that the final numbers for 2019 have been counted, The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors found that there were 42,356 homes sold in its nine-county region, compared to the 39,514 closings in 2018, the total sales for 2019 were up 7 percent.

This is the highest number of home sales since 2006.

There were 3,482 closings during the month of December, according to figures provided by Greater Nashville Realtors. This is a 20 percent increase from the 2,881 closings reported for the same period in 2018.

"There is no doubt 2019 set a new precedent with historic home sales," said Kristy Hairston, Greater Nashville Realtors president. "This historical growth is a result of a strong local economy, corporate relocation and continued job growth across the region. Every day more people and companies make the Greater Nashville Area their home, and this boosts consumer confidence, which will move the housing market forward."

Steven Dotson shared similar data in his quarterly Red Report. According to him, closed home sales increased 6 percent in 2019 over 2018 in Rutherford, Williamson, Davidson and Wilson counties while the price at which those homes sold was also up 6 percent. 

County	Closings	Prices	Averages price
Rutherford	Up 11%	Up 8%	$292,742
Williamson	Up 17%	Up 10%	$640,324
Davidson	Up 10%	Up 6%	$395,787
Wilson	Up 33%	Up 6%	$349,740

"2019 ended very strong with a 6% increase over 2018 closings and prices. I think we all expected a modest increase in prices, but a 6 percent increase in closings is a larger increase than most expected," said Dotson, president of Red Realty.

On the national level, home sales were 2.7% higher than a year ago while prices are 5.4% above same period last year with a median home price of $256,400.

The national inventory is 5.7 percent less than year ago with a 3.7-month supply vs a four-month supply a year ago.

"The new home construction seems to be coming to the market, but we are still not seeing the amount of construction needed to solve the housing shortage," the National Association of Realtors report said.

Dotson sees the area's affordable housing issue as a lack of listing inventories and lot supply. With houses selling a a clip, then reasonable lot prices for new builds will be an issue once again in 2020. Even if the economy has a few bumps, the supply can’t keep up with the demand.

"Assuming nothing unexpected happens politically, I would expect 2020 to be fairly level to 2019 with prices continuing to rise modestly," Dotson said.