Headline Homes: October 2021

The year is beginning to wind down, but real estate prices are still flying high — only one home on this month’s list dips below the $4 million mark.

Among the list is a 19th century farmhouse, a home with an “activity barn” and a brand new build that manages to play it cool with regards to reclaimed wood.

Below are October’s top 10 home sales in Nashville and the surrounding counties, ranked by sale price.

1. 6473 Peytonsville Arno Road, College Grove

Buyer: Peasy LLC

Sale price: $6,400,000

Seller: Scott and Jamie Fischer

Sellers’ agent: Paula Hinegardner, Keller Williams Realty

Buyer’s agent: Fran Wolfe, Compass RE

This month’s top sale is a fully furnished 8,279-square-foot contemporary home complete with carriage studio, pool, pool house and cabana. The property sits on more than five acres in College Grove, and the house features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two half bathrooms, an exercise room, three fireplaces, and what the listing refers to as “maid quarters.”

Sellers Scott and Jamie Fischer purchased the home last year for $2.3 million. What’s with the price jump? Is the housing market that volatile right now? Surely the addition of a resort-like backyard has something to do with it — it appears the pool, pool house, cabana, grilling station, etc. were recent additions as they were still under construction when the home was first listed.

2. 4411 Truxton Place

Buyer: 4411 Truxton Place Trust U/A

Sale price: $6,000,000

Seller: Eleanor M. Parkes

Seller’s agent: Fiona Parish King, Worth Properties

Buyer’s agent: Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich & Clark Realty

Zero days. That’s how long this six-bedroom, seven-bathroom, 8,683-square-foot estate was on the market. The all-brick three-story home was built in 1970, and it sits on more than two acres in the heart of Belle Meade.

Interior features include a pretty stunning entrance with a balcony and spiral staircase, three fireplaces, central vacuum, a gathering room with a wet bar and an updated kitchen with a gas range and double electric oven, while the exterior boasts a spacious covered porch as well as a screened-in balcony, a three-car garage and private gardens.

In 2018 seller Eleanor M. Parks became the first female Master of Foxhounds of the Hillsboro Hounds.

3. 1 Webster Lane

Buyer: Randall and Davonna Wachtler

Sale price: $5,500,000

Seller: The Noel B. Williams Living Trust

Seller’s agents: Suzanne Snyder and Elizabeth Snyder, Pinkerton Realtors

Buyers’ agent: Richard B. French, French King Fine Properties

Here’s another big Belle Meade sale. This 7,798-square-foot estate has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two half-bathrooms and a kitchen that was renovated in 2015 by architect Ron Farris and interior designer Mark Simmons. There is also a butler’s pantry and catering kitchen. Exterior features include multiple covered seating areas, a saltwater pool and a pool house with a half bath and dressing room.

Buyer Randall Wachtler is the former president and CEO of Warner/Chappell Production Music and is currently the founder of RJW Music Consulting and 615 Music. Fun fact: Wachtler topped Headline Homes in December 2014 when he sold his Brentwood home to Justin Timberlake’s mother Lynn and stepfather Paul.

4. 9276 Exton Lane, Brentwood

Buyer: Sarah and Todd Douglass

Sale price: $4,900,000

Seller: Shawn and Lauren Cannon

Sellers’ agent: Amy N. Pappas, PARKS

Buyers’ agent: Paula Hinegardner, Keller Williams Realty

According to the real estate listing, this Brentwood home, which is part of the Annandale subdivision, “underwent a tremendous renovation this year.” There must’ve been some impressive changes because sellers Shawn and Lauren Canon purchased the home last year for $2.95 million, two million less than this year’s selling price.

The 8,902-square-foot home only sits on one acre but the property includes a gym, an indoor basketball court, a covered porch with two oversized porch swings, and an outdoor cooking station with a grill, a Big Green Egg and fridge. In one bathroom there is also a square toilet. I don’t think I have seen a square toilet before!

5. 436 Royal Oaks Drive

Buyer: Mitch Puin and Karen McKibbin

Sale price: $4,500,000

Seller: Kevin and Deborah McDermott

Sellers’ agent: Steve G. Fridrich, Fridrich & Clark

Buyers’ agents: Laura Stroud and Lisa Fernandez-Wilson, French King Fine Properties

Here’s a home that’s a who’s who of local design. Architect Ron Farris designed the 8,440-square-foot home, Will Andrews built it in 2003, Ben Page designed the pool and grounds and Mary Spalding did the interior design.

Sports fans may recognize the sellers’ names. Deborah McDermott is the CEO of Standard Media Group and was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2013. They’re the parents of former NFL long snapper Kevin McDermott Jr. and New York Jets offensive tackle Conor McDermott.

6. 3589 Woolard Road, Santa Fe

Buyer: Aubrey Preston Et Al. ℅ Strange Oliver

Sale price: $4,500,000

Seller: 2019 Davis Community Property Trust

Seller’s agent: Dan McEwen, McEwen Group

Buyers’ agent: Dan McEwen, McEwen Group

Here we have one of the oldest homes to appear in this column, at least in recent memory, as this 429-acre Maury County farm features a four-bedroom/two-bathroom house that was built in 1875! It is utterly charming. The sale also includes a barn, a smokehouse and a woodshop with a sign outside that reads “Follow your hunch.” Pretty good advice, really.

The buyer is businessman and preservationist Aubrey Preston. Preston helped save RCA Studio A from destruction in 2014 and earlier this year he purchased the historic Puckett’s Grocery in Leiper’s Fork.

7. 1024 Gateway Lane

Buyer: Jason and Joelle Maynard

Sale price: $4,445,000

Seller: Stone Oak Builders LLC

Seller’s agent: Richard F. Bryan, Fridrich & Clark

Buyers’ agent: Beth Molteni, Fridrich & Clark

It would appear the reclaimed wood trend is finally dying down in Nashville because this new construction features just enough naked wood to look cozy, while the rest of the home's features — iron railings, exposed brick painted black and a NanaWall — look sleek and contemporary. Hooray! We made it!

8. 8154 Heirloom Blvd., College Grove

Buyer: Maverick Decatur Georgia LLC

Sale price: $4,150,000

Seller: Brandon and Courtney Rickman

Sellers’ agent: Ben Jenkins, Grove Realty

Buyer’s agent: Maile Stover, PARKS

It’s not rare for Headline Homes to feature a sale or two of a unit in The Grove subdivision, but this one is the custom homebuilder’s personal home, with 20-foot vaulted ceilings, an infinity pool and floor-to-ceiling steel windows.

Buyer Maverick Decatur Georgia LLC is a California-based limited liability company with a Long Beach mailing address so let the speculation begin on which SoCal millionaire has relocated to College Grove.

9. 6453 Penrose Drive, Brentwood

Buyer: Todd and Kristi Alexander

Sale price: $4,025,000

Seller: 6453 Penrose Drive LLC

Seller’s agent: Cara Hudson Owen, Compass RE

Buyers’ agent: Unknown

The most interesting feature in this listing’s real estate photos is the one piece of art hanging on the wall in the home theater. It’s a framed movie poster for the 2020 film One Nation Under God. The movie, starring Isaak Presley, Kevin Sorbo and Antonio Sabato Jr., is a drama about “a student boldly standing up for God when a presidential candidate visits his school.” It has a 1.9/10 rating on IMDB.com.

What a random movie poster to have on the wall! Is the seller someone affiliated with the film in some way? Was it randomly grabbed from a stack of wall art simply for staging purposes? How curious.

10. 811 Lynnbrook Road

Buyer: The Caissa Douwes 2020 GST-Exempt Family Trust

Sale price: $3,850,000

Seller: Jason and Elizabeth Sheer

Sellers’ agent: Richard B. French, French King Fine Properties

Buyer’s agent: John T. Hendon, Coldwell Banker Barnes

No mystery movie posters in this listing, but I would like to know more about the painting of Ray Charles that’s hanging over the fireplace.

The home, which was built in 2009 and “revived” in 2015 features a pool, cabana with a bathroom, a playing field, multiple fire pits and an “activity barn.” I would also like to know more about the “activity barn.”