Nashville ranks No 1. in the country for yard size

Music City has the most spacious properties in the country, according to a recent study.

Of the 50 largest cities in the country studied by digital storage space marketplace StorageCafe, Nashville’s median lot size of 11,810 square feet emerged at the top of the list. Atlanta was a close second, with 11,560 square feet.

If buyers are looking to enjoy that extra space, Wendy Monday, a broker with Parks Real Estate, said it’s usually low on the list of priorities.

“If we’re speaking about people moving here from another city, … what’s most important is being able to walk from their house to X location, like nightlife, grocery stores or schools,” Monday said. “People who are from here are used to having yards but it’s still further down the list of priorities. If you’ve got kids, the school zone and some outdoor space is important. If you’re single, having an outdoor space for a dog say, that’s important but even then that can be satisfied by a dedicated dog park in a townhome community.”

A survey from the National Association of Realtors published in June found that the majority of the 2,000 people surveyed preferred smaller homes in walkable neighborhoods with sidewalks and access to public transit, as opposed to larger suburban properties that require a car to get around.

Many real estate agents, Monday included, have said buyers are generally uninterested in the upkeep required for a large yard.

“The idea of spending your weekend maintaining an acre yard is not attractive to people. You’re so busy, there’s so many things you can be doing, and you don’t have an entire Saturday to dedicate to that,” Monday said.

So is the extra space a point of pride or a remnant of a fading era of housing development?

The National Association of Realtors survey found that millennials and members of Gen Z are more interested in transit and walkability, whereas baby boomers prefer living in detached, single-family homes that require a car to get around.

Homebuilder David McGowan, the president and owner of Regent Homes, said many younger buyers just want to get a home, and larger properties carry a hefty price tag that is unattainable for first-time buyers, but it’s not a hard-and-fast rule.

“A young millennial coming into the marketplace, they’re just happy to find a townhouse, something probably under $400,000. A lot of builders are making that townhouse product, or ever condos,” McGowan said. “Buyers with families do want that extra space. They want a lot with a pool and a backyard. If they’re buying a four-bedroom house, they really want a minimum of a third of an acre lot, but they’d probably prefer a half-acre or more.”

The problem with larger lots, he said, is that they limit supply of housing and raise the overall cost of homes. And Nashville’s market doesn’t need another reason for prices to climb.

The median cost of a single-family home in Nashville was $490,000 in the second quarter of 2023, according to Greater Nashville Realtors. That number in 2019 was $316,000.

Nashville became a destination for Americans looking to relocate in large part because of its relative affordability. People selling homes in California, Chicago or New York got a lot more house for their money in Music City, something which is far more important to buyers, Monday said.

“Post-Covid, you expect your home to be your home, but also your office now. So when people move here, it’s more about getting more living space for their money. They can have an office space and room for their family,” Monday said. “A blanket of grass is not as important to you as how much your living space functions for you because that’s more important than it was a few years ago.”

The StorageCafe report ranked the top 50 most populous American cities by median home size, median lot size, crime rate, median income and house price. The study considered single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes.

StorageCafe pulled home prices from Zillow and used digital property data company PropertyShark for information on median home and lot sizes.