Williamson, Inc. discusses local residential, commercial real estate during market update | Business
Williamson, Inc. recently partnered with Wilson Bank & Trust, Williamson County Association of Realtors, Williamson Medical and Blue Bridge Improvements to update the community on commercial and residential real estate in Williamson County.
The event was hosted at the Factory at Franklin Thursday and featured panels and presentations from realtors, government workers and developers.
County planning overview
WC Planning and Zoning Director Matt Matteson was the first to speak to the crowd. He summarized the county’s growth plan and how booming growth will be addressed in years to come. After reading through public input in 2007, Matteson and others realized there was a policy fork in the road while updating the comprehensive growth plan.
“Does the county still want to preserve rural character in outlying areas by focusing the majority of growth in and around the municipalities?” Matteson said. “[Or,] do we want to conclude that the continuation of suburban development sprawling into rural areas in the east is acceptable and that the previous policies are no longer appropriate?”
Public input made clear that there was a strong desire for rural preservation, concern about traffic impacts of growth, concerns about loss of open space and that the character of whatever development was important.
The planning team had two key recommendations based on the input: reduce allowable residential density in rural areas from one unit per acre to one unit per five acres and increase collaborative growth management between the county and its six municipalities.
Residential real estate panels
Kim Randell of Habitat for Humanity, Sean Simons of Fridrich & Clark Realty and Misty Woodford of the Williamson County Association of Realtors (WCAR) discussed the housing market and state of affordable housing in Williamson County.
According to the WCAR, the median sales price of a home in the county is $874,995, and the average price is $1,025,917. The average home stays on the market for 21 days.
“This is a normal market,” Woodford said. “This is the way markets are supposed to operate. All markets are cyclical. Whether it’s a stock market or a real estate market or anything, you have ups and downs and ebbs and flows. Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it, we just haven’t seen that, so we forgot [this is] how the real estate market is supposed to behave.”
Randell spoke about the lack of affordable housing in the county, why it’s so important, and how to increase affordable housing in the area.
“The way for us to have affordable housing in Williamson County is if we have the support of the government and the community,” Randell said. “We can’t do it on our own. Fortunately, there are three other housing nonprofits in Williamson County. We have a partnership that’s happening with Hard Bargain Association, Franklin Housing Authority and Community Housing Partnership of Williamson County. We have a project we’re planning to start this coming year. We’re in the infancy of it now, but that’s really the only direction we can do it unless there was some sort of systemic change.”
Commercial real estate
Katie Lester of Colliers presented trends and the future of commercial real estate in the county, while Elizabeth Goodwin of CBRE and Jamari Brown of Newmark discussed.
According to Lester, there has been a shift in most businesses from majority office hours to hybrid hours. Pre-pandemic, 78% of workers were in the office full-time, and 20% were hybrid. Post-pandemic, 76% of workers work hybrid hours, and 11% are in the office full-time. Most business owners specify the days a worker is supposed to be in the office. Thirty-five percent of workers work three days in the office, and 25% work three to four days.
“We are definitely in a market that is bracing for change,” Lester said. “There are political and national security problems, supply chain, a pandemic that we’re still in. These macro things do trickle down locally, and there is not much we can do about that, but the good news is that the fundamentals that have made this county and this region so fantastic…haven’t changed.”
Update on the Factory at Franklin
Allen Arender from Holladay Properties spoke to the crowd about changes coming to Franklin’s Factory. It will include a 2,600-square-foot carousel building, new shopping options, outdoor gathering spaces, history tours, a wonderarium that will change based on seasonal events and more event spaces.
“The Factory has always been really a magnet for Williamson County and Franklin industry,” Arender said. “That’s what we really see this as when we are finished: this magnet for the community, a magnet for the area, a big mix of uses. … It’s this place to spend loose time.”