Ogie Oglethorpe wrote:
The NWA program is pretty restrictive and I think something like only 1% of applicants get approved because so many have applied. They are looking at people from tech fields and have made a concerted effort to target Austin with it as people see Austin becoming more unaffordable.
They should hit Nashville with some marketing. I was down there last month to help some friends sort out housing for an upcoming move. Nashville rental market has gone off the rails; you can't find anything under around $2K a month for a 2 bedroom. And that's for a basic college apartment type situation. They'd have to spend closer to $3K a month to get any place livable. They ended up delaying their move to give em time to get approved for a low down-payment mortgage and buy a place, less monthly than any of the rentals. $3K+ a month for a rental that isn't in NY or SF is insane.
Migrants from California, the East coast and Upper Midwest moving to Nashville have driven up real estate prices and maxed out rental occupancy. Even when houses go on the market, you have to compete with AirBnB investors who snatch up any property close to downtown. With AirBnB rates being several hundred a night for a multi-occupancy place, all you need is to have it occupied one 4 night minimum weekend a month to cover the mortgage. The other weekends end up being profit. A lot of them don't advertise availability during the week. Too difficult to turn the places over after bachelorette parties and other groups of tourists spend a weekend reliving their college days in your AirBnB. So you have large swath of housing that sits empty Tuesday to Thursday.
Rent commiseration threads pop up on nashville reddit monthly.