britneys 9th husband's Journal: Even the GNAA is jumping onto the real estate bandwagon

Are you a homeowner yet? If not, why not? If you don't buy now, you may never have a chance to buy again... how does it feel to be renting when even the GNAA has achieved the American Dream?

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=45094

Investors eye apartment properties
By Don Mooradian, [e-mail]
October 12, 2005

Apartment properties are apparently an attractive investment, especially if they are converted to condominiums, according to figures from the Greater Nashville Association of America (GNAA).

As of the end of the third quarter, 14 apartment properties within the greater Nashville market had sold this year for a total of more than $231 million, GNAA reported.

In comparison, 13 apartment properties had sold for about $175 million by the end of the third quarter in 2004.

"We'll probably set a new record for sales this year," said Kirby Davis, president of First Management Inc., a property management firm, and chairman of GNAA's statistics committee. "It's been a red-hot market."

The properties that have been sold contained a total of 3,456 rental units for an average price per unit of about $67,000.

The highest price tag a property garnered in the third quarter, and thus far for the year, was the $43.8 million paid for the 598 units at The Lexington at Bellevue apartments.

But the sale of The Cumberland and the then-Post Bennie Dillon Building - both in GNAA's West End/downtown submarket - brought in the highest per-unit prices at $106,920 and $119,767, respectively.

The two sales, which closed in April, also resulted in the highest prices per square foot at $133.14 and $167.56, respectively.

All of the 86 units in the Bennie Dillon and the top four floors of The Cumberland have been converted to condos.

The Cumberland and Bennie Dillon likely will set price records, Davis said, adding that the conversion of for-rent apartments to for-sale condos is a trend that might continue for a while.

Areas most likely to see conversions, he said, are Bellevue, Franklin and the West End/downtown submarket, which includes Green Hills.

Other examples of the trend, said Davis, include some large new projects, such as the Bristol on Broadway, located in Midtown, and The Enclave, located at 21st Avenue South and Interstate 440. The developers of both those projects converted the units from apartments to condos before the construction of the buildings was completed.

In the meantime, apartment occupancy rates and rental fees have remained relatively stable in recent months.

Occupancy at the end of the third quarter was 94.58 percent compared to 93.54 percent a year ago. The average rental rate was $687 compared to $696 at the end of the 2004 third quarter.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=10&screen=news&news_id=45094