A Post-Holiday Surge in Distressed Properties Is Building in Nashville, Broker Says

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

04 Jan 2026

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Nashville’s distressed property market is showing early signs of a significant increase, even as overall market activity remains subdued for the holidays. According to Moren Adenubi, owner and managing broker at Crown Realty Experts, the underlying numbers point to a growing wave of bank-owned properties that most market observers have yet to notice.

In December 2025, Adenubi noted, “This time last year, I probably had two listings. Right now I have six,” says Adenubi, who has represented major institutions including Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Chase Bank over her 30-year career. “That’s triple.”

Adenubi says the current visible inventory is only part of the story. “This is Christmas time, which means that they are holding on artificially until the holidays are over,” she explains. Asset management companies and lenders, she says, are deliberately delaying foreclosures to avoid releasing inventory into a slow holiday market.

Delayed Inventory Will Surface in January

Adenubi believes the accurate scale of Nashville’s foreclosure problem will only become clear at the start of the new year. “January will give us a better number than December, because I know that they’re going to hold things for Christmas to get past,” she says.

This kind of delay is common in the distressed property sector, but Adenubi notes that the current increase is starting from a higher baseline than in previous years. Her REO listing count has tripled year over year, indicating a larger distressed-property pipeline than public records currently reflect.

Adenubi’s observations are consistent with economic indicators suggesting rising financial stress among property owners. “I expect an increase over the next few months for sure,” she says, viewing the current uptick as the start of a longer trend, not a seasonal blip.

Distressed Properties Rising While Overall Inventory Remains Tight

Adenubi’s experience in distressed sales offers a direct perspective on market conditions that broad statistics may miss. Nashville’s overall inventory sits at 4.8 months of supply, still below the six-month level that marks a balanced market. However, the distressed segment is growing independently of these aggregate numbers.

“We’re headed for a recession,” Adenubi says, linking the rise in bank-owned properties to broader economic forces. “In 2020 and 2021, we saw high volumes, lower interest rates, higher prices, and lots of competition. Now, prices have become unaffordable.”

She points to the combination of higher prices, elevated interest rates, and economic uncertainty as drivers of increased bankruptcies and foreclosures. “We’re going to be seeing a lot of short sales and foreclosures coming in 2026,” Adenubi predicts.

While the exact size of the coming distress cycle is unknown, Adenubi is sure about the trend. “How bad will it get? I do not know, but I know that it’s definitely going to be significantly higher than what we’ve seen in the last 10 years.”

Banks and Asset Managers Are Preparing for Increased Volume

What sets the current situation apart from regular market cycles is the degree of institutional preparation underway. “Banks are preparing. Asset management companies are preparing, and REO agents are buckling up, getting ready for this,” Adenubi says.

This level of preparation suggests that lenders and asset managers expect a substantial increase in distressed properties and are organizing operations accordingly. The anticipated surge is not a surprise to industry insiders, even if it remains under the radar in public discussions.

Tighter Lending Standards Reflect Market Caution

Preparation for a distressed property wave is also affecting lending practices. “They have become more stringent, for sure, and justifiably so,” Adenubi says of current underwriting standards. “Lenders are seeing what’s happening, so they’re a little scared to release those funds. They’re very strategic about what they’re releasing, because again, they’re going to be seeing quite a bit of short sales and foreclosures.”

Opportunity for Investors Amid Distress

For investors, Adenubi sees the coming months as a window of opportunity. “There’s definitely opportunity for investors right now, both on the residential side and the commercial side,” she says. “People who buy over the next few months are going to be buying for a lesser amount of money than people who bought one or two years ago.”

Adenubi frames the increase in distressed properties as a wealth transfer: overleveraged owners who purchased at peak prices may be forced to sell at a loss, while investors with available capital can acquire properties at discounted valuations.

What Happens Next?

Whether the coming surge in distressed properties results in a manageable correction or a deeper market downturn will depend on how quickly foreclosures move through the pipeline and whether the post-holiday inventory release overwhelms the market’s ability to absorb new listings. Adenubi expects that the artificial holiday suppression of foreclosures will create a backlog, with January and early 2026 revealing the real extent of Nashville’s distress cycle.