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.’”

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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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