NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The housing market has slowed down because of the pandemic, that’s been very clear.

The National Association of Realtors says, nationally, home sales have dropped about 18 percent in April. But in Middle Tennessee it's a bit of a different story.

Local Realtor Craig Edwards says they don't have enough houses to sell, meaning the demand is much greater than the supply.

“If it goes on the market, it goes away,” he says. “In Williamson County the average time on the market is 38 days. And that also includes some very high-priced homes that typically stay on the market much, much longer.”

Edwards says homes in the $250,000 - $350,000 range will stay on the market for only about a week.

In April, there were 377 closings in Williamson County, which is about 100 fewer than this time last year. But in Davidson County, he says there were still 929 closings just in that one month.

“The inventory is so low, but Nashville is still growing through all of this which really has kept that market afloat.”

Edwards says most tours have been virtual, which poses plenty of new challenges, but people are still taking advantage of the record low interest rates during this pandemic. Plus, he says homes are still appreciating by about 3 to 4 percent.

Nationally, some are re-thinking their lives in big cities like New York and are moving out, but Edwards says some of those people are moving to Nashville and creating some of the demand in the city.

Edwards does, however, believe some Nashvillians will move out to the suburbs because of this outbreak.

And, on the positive side, he and many analysts think the housing market may lead the country out of the current recession.

“Housing didn't cause this kind of situation like it did back in 2008. When we went through that recession, it was because of the housing market,” he says.