California
Here’s How Nashville Homeowners Can Win Amid a ‘Flood of California People Coming In’
“You’re custom made for movin’ on,” crooned Chris Stapleton in his 2020 country hit “Nashville, TN.” But these days, it looks like Music City is made for moving in.
Nashville made the list of top 10 U.S. migration destinations in November, according to a report last week from Redfin―with more new arrivals from Los Angeles than any U.S. city. And as the domestic migration slows generally from the highs of the pandemic, Nashville is also one of the few cities in the U.S. where the inflow has increased compared to a year ago.
For Nashville sellers who may have already been planning a move, the influx presents an opportunity. And with relatively inexpensive updates, sellers can maximize returns on a sale by appealing to the tastes, needs and preferences of Angeleno buyers, realtors say.
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“There is a flood of California people coming in, and we’re welcoming that,” said Rebecca Norris DiNapoli, an agent with Compass in Nashville. “And they’re buyers who generally want luxury properties.”
Luxury in Nashville, she added, “used to be $2 million to $3 million. Now, it’s $5 million to $10 million.”
In Los Angeles County, the median home listing price was $1.249 million in November according to the latest Realtor.com data; and the most expensive listing is a Bel Air estate asking $139 million.
When a Californian client calls, “I can almost read their minds,” said Michelle Maldonado, an agent with Compass in Nashville. “They want an open plan, 6,000 to 10,000 square feet, high ceilings, lots of light, great outdoor space with a lot of usability outside. What they don’t want is to do any work. They want something ready.”
While a seller can’t change whether a home faces east or west, “you can change paints to reflect the light better,” said Amy Doyle, an agent at the Agency in Nashville. “A lot of people paint the house white with that in mind. We had clients from Los Angeles this week, and the first thing they said when they walked into a property was ‘it’s too dark.’”
More: Too Early to Prep Your Home for a Spring Sale? Think Again.
Outdoor living space is also key, said Doyle, who added that the largest proportion of visitors to the Agency’s website have been from California.
“They’re used to spending time outside, so a patio, deck and pool matter,” she said. “A seller might consider amplifying the outdoor living space by making a porch bigger, adding a fire pit or even presenting a rendering if there’s no pool but room to build one.”
Jessica Harrison, an agent at Zeitlin Sotheby’s International Realty in Nashville, agreed.
“Screen in a back living area―Californians bring this up because they don’t want the bugs, but they like to be out there at night,” she said. “Add an outdoor fireplace, and mount a TV above it. We encourage sellers to think about the home through the lens of the buyer’s lifestyle―entertaining, relaxing and enjoying a luxury moment.”
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For some Angelenos, indoor luxury trumps outdoor extravagance, said Maldonado of Compass.
“They have high-end tastes, and prefer top-end appliances, quality countertops and real wood floors,” she said. “Pre-2020, I would have told sellers it’s not worth doing the floor, except for maintenance. Now, at a certain price point, the house has to be really pulled together to get bang for the buck.”
Paint and lighting are “huge, and they’re easy fixes,” she added. “I’ll even have sellers replace lightbulbs. Angelenos are used to a lot of light.”
Doyle, of the Agency, even recommended replacing tired wooden banisters with more characterful wrought iron―and renovating a dated kitchen if budgets permit.
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“Energy-efficient and smart appliances matter to this buyer,” she said. “People are using smart-home tech and eco-friendly appliances as a way to market homes. That’s a big California thing.”
Guest accommodations can be a sweetener for some Los Angeles buyers, said Chris Grimes, an agent with Corcoran Reverie in Nashville. “These people are relocating from across the country, and leaving behind family and friends. Once the dust settles, those people want to come visit.”
A guest house or suite “is a common desire for transplants,” he noted.
And because nearly all Los Angeles buyers in Nashville want turnkey properties, Grimes said, part of a seller’s presentation to them should include every aspect of a home’s maintenance and upkeep.
“If I were to sell my home right now, I would package all of this information together―here are appliance warranties, the landscape company, the housekeeping people, the services we use,” he said. “And get a clean inspection report to share, even if it means spending on repairs. It’s money well-spent and speaks volumes to potential buyers.”
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Some buyers balk at spending money on upgrades, Grimes said. “They tell us the buyer’s going to make changes anyway, so why bother? But that was 10 years ago. People just want to see themselves moving their lives and their furniture, especially buyers from California.”
This is all advice that carries into the future, too, as Nashville agents don’t see the Los Angeles inflow abating anytime soon.
“We’ll continue to stay in high demand and for good reason,” said Sotheby’s Harrison. “We’re the No. 4 job market in the country, across all industries. We have amazing infrastructure, great schools and incredible jobs. And we’ve still got a lot of land, which they don’t have in L.A. We can handle the number of people coming here.”
Even at the high end, buyers are drawn by Nashville’s “reasonable” property taxes and the absence of state income taxes in Tennessee, according to Harrison.
“As a ballpark, you’d pay less than half in property taxes here on a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home than in L.A,” he said.
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Six of the top-polling candidates in California’s race for governor faced off at a debate in San Francisco Wednesday night.
This marked the first debate since former East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race for governor and resigned from his seat. Despite Swalwell’s exit as well as the departure of Betty Yee from the race, no clear Democratic frontrunner has emerged.
The debate was hosted by Nexstar/KRON in San Francisco.
The candidates at this debate included four Democrats: former Congresswoman Katie Porter, former California State Attorney General Xavier Beccera, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer. The two Republicans at this debate included former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
All candidates are trying to make an impression ahead of the June 2 primary. Ballots will be mailed out to California voters in early May.
Political analyst Larry Gerston examines the first California governor’s race debate since Eric Swalwell dropped out, hosted by Nexstar/KRON in San Francisco.
California
Federal appeals court blocks California law requiring federal agents to wear identification
LOS ANGELES — An appeals court has blocked a California law passed in 2025 requiring federal immigration agents to wear a badge or some form of identification.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law, arguing that it would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that it violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal Wednesday. It had already granted a temporary administrative injunction to block the implementation of the law.
At a hearing March 3, Justice Department lawyers argued that the California law sought to regulate the federal government, violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
The appeals court agreed unanimously, saying the law “attempts to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions,” in an opinion written by Judge Mark J. Bennett. The panel was composed of two Trump appointees, Bennett and Daniel P. Collins, and Obama appointee Jacqueline H. Nguyen.
California lawyers argued that the law applied equally to all law enforcement officers without discriminating against the U.S. government, and that states could apply “generally applicable” laws federal agents. They also argued that the law was important to address public safety concerns.
People are more likely to attack officers in self-defense if there’s no visible identification letting the public know they are law enforcement, California lawyers said in a brief opposing the injunction.
“This confusion has resulted in federal law enforcement officials being mistaken for criminals and vice versa, creating serious risk of harm to peace officers and members of the public,” they wrote.
The appeals court judges said they did not consider the public safety factors because the federal government has demonstrate its constitutional rights would be violated by the legislation, and “all citizens have a stake in upholding the Constitution,” it ruled, quoting previous case law.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called it a “huge legal victory” in a post on X.
The California Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial lawsuit also addressed another California measure signed into law last year that would have banned most law enforcement officers from wearing masks, neck gaiters, and other facial coverings. It was blocked by a federal judge in February.
The legislation did not apply to state law enforcement and made exceptions for undercover agents, protective equipment like N95 respirators or tactical gear, and other situations where not wearing a mask would jeopardize the operation.
California
California Islamic calligraphy artist preserves ancient tradition during Arab American Heritage Month
As Arab American Heritage Month is celebrated, one Northern California artist is keeping the centuries-old tradition of Islamic calligraphy alive, one carefully measured stroke at a time.
Sehar Shahzad is a student calligrapher. Before starting any project, Shahzad said “one of the first things that calligraphers learn is how to cut their pens.”
Her tools must be in pristine condition.
“Your instruments are just as important as anything else in this art,” she said.
Shahzad said that as a young girl growing up in Toronto, she took up Islamic calligraphy while reflecting on her religion.
“It’s not like I’d never seen it before, but it was my first time kind of trying it,” she said. “And there’s no other way to say it except that I just fell in love with it.”
Now married with three children, Islamic calligraphy is very much part of her life.
“I remember thinking that this isn’t something that I just want to learn for fun,” she said. “I really want to be able to master it.”
Shahzad said that every angle and curve follows strict geometric rules and is measured with dots.
“For example, this letter here was just a little bit too long, so we use these nuqtas to help us guide and understand how long that letter should be,” she said.
Like the Arabic language, Islamic calligraphy is read from right to left. Its bold simplicity requires precision and a deep understanding of proportion.
“When you’re creating a composition, it’s not only about the letter itself,” Shahzad said. “It’s about composition as a whole and making sure that everything balances together.”
Even though she’s still mastering her form, Shahzad’s work is featured in the prayer room of a Muslim cemetery in Napa and in the domes of mosques in San Jose, Hayward, and San Francisco.
Still, she considers her work on paper the most special.
“A form of meditation, a form of worship, requires focus, requires discipline, really brings me to a different space,” Shahzad said. “And I think that’s what I love most.”
Proving that in this fast-paced world, this millennia-long tradition is far from disappearing.
Shahzad’s work will be featured at the upcoming Light Upon Light art exhibit at the Tarbiya Institute in Roseville from April 24-26.
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