Davidson County’s most private estate enclave — wooded ridgelines above Radnor Lake where inventory is scarce and patience wins.
Radnor Lake State Natural Area sits partially within Forest Hills city limits — the wooded, hilly terrain that defines the city and keeps lot density unusually low for a Davidson County estate market.
Forest Hills is Oak Hill’s quieter sibling — a 9-square-mile incorporated city of roughly 5,000 residents tucked between Belle Meade, Oak Hill, and Green Hills, sharing the wooded, hilly terrain of Radnor Lake State Natural Area. Forest Hills trades in lower volume than its neighbors, with a similar lot-driven dynamic, modestly lower price-per-square-foot, and unusually thin high-end inventory. Third Coast Real Estate represents Forest Hills buyers and sellers on-market and off, led by Principal Broker Chris Milfred.
Forest Hills market snapshot — early 2026
Forest Hills is the lowest-volume of the four Davidson and Williamson County estate markets we cover. Inventory at the high end is consistently thin, transactions are episodic rather than continuous, and price-per-square-foot tends to run modestly behind Oak Hill on equivalent lots. The data below is pulled from RealTracs MLS and Third Coast Real Estate transaction records. Updated quarterly. Last refresh: Q1 2026.
| Metric | Q1 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction volume | Episodic | Lower than Oak Hill or Belle Meade — measured in units, not dozens, per quarter |
| Typical lot size | 1–3 acres | Heavily wooded, sloped terrain; many estates back to ravines or creek lines |
| Days on market — core tier | 60–120 days | Longer than Oak Hill; small buyer pool |
| Price-per-square-foot vs. Oak Hill | Modestly lower | Equivalent lot size + finish typically trades 5–10% behind comparable Oak Hill |
| HOA constraints | None | Single-family residential zoning only |
| Commercial zoning | None | City charter restricts to residential |
What defines Forest Hills
Forest Hills is its own incorporated city within Davidson County, established in 1957 — three years after Oak Hill — for the same reason: to lock in single-family low-density residential zoning before Nashville’s post-war growth could change the character of the neighborhood. The city has held to that municipal posture since: no commercial zoning, no apartments, no chain retail, no through-traffic shortcuts. The terrain does most of the rest of the work — Forest Hills is the most topographically dramatic of Nashville’s estate enclaves, with hillsides, ravines, mature hardwood canopy, and a noticeable share of the city’s residents living within walking distance of Radnor Lake.
The defining sub-areas are Tyne Boulevard / Otter Creek Road corridor (the largest concentration of $2M+ estates), the Hillwood Boulevard / Old Hickory Boulevard junction (where Forest Hills brushes against Belle Meade and the architectural styles begin to overlap), and the Radnor Lake fringe (where the largest wooded parcels and longest-tenured original ownership concentrate, with parcels occasionally reaching 5+ acres).
Schools serving Forest Hills
Forest Hills shares the Metro Nashville Public Schools zoning of Belle Meade and Oak Hill, with public-school feeders running through Julia Green Elementary and Hillsboro Comprehensive High depending on address. The local private school network is the same dense cluster Belle Meade families opt into: Harpeth Hall, Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA), University School of Nashville (USN), Ensworth, Currey Ingram Academy, and Father Ryan. Most of these sit within a 10-minute drive of central Forest Hills.
Live Forest Hills listings
Active inventory on the MLS, refreshed in real time:
Listings shown within the Forest Hills area (city limits plus the adjacent corridors toward Belle Meade and Oak Hill), updated in real time.5M floor. The 37215 ZIP corridor also covers Green Hills and the southern edge of Belle Meade — for a Forest Hills-only filter, off-market inventory not shown publicly, or the rare upper-tier listing that doesn’t appear here, contact Chris directly.
Off-market representation in Forest Hills
Forest Hills’s small transaction volume makes off-market representation particularly relevant — at any given time, the universe of high-end listings inside the city limits often runs in the single digits. A buyer specifically targeting Forest Hills can spend six months waiting for the right MLS listing to appear, when the right home may already exist in private inventory or be quietly available from an owner not yet ready to commit to a public listing. Conversely, a Forest Hills seller who wants to test the market without committing to a public listing has more pricing optionality than the same seller would in Belle Meade or Oak Hill, where buyer attention is higher but the comparative pressure to publicly list is also higher.
The Q1 2026 off-market premium pattern observed in Belle Meade and Oak Hill (a 2–4% price advantage on private exclusive transactions vs. comparable MLS sales) extends to Forest Hills, though with smaller sample size and less consistent data. The structural argument is the same: in a market where mispriced public listings sit through reductions and well-priced public listings face buyer-side concession pressure, sellers who can afford to wait for the right private buyer often clear at full ask without public exposure. The constraint is patience — private process timelines are longer than open-market timelines.
Scarce inventory and wooded-estate privacy demand discreet representation. We track every closed comp behind the tree line.
Frequently asked questions about Forest Hills real estate
What is the typical home price in Forest Hills in 2026?
Forest Hills trades in lower volume than Belle Meade or Oak Hill — transactions are episodic rather than continuous, and at any given time the active high-end inventory inside the city limits often runs in the single digits. Equivalent Forest Hills lots tend to trade 5–10% behind Oak Hill on a price-per-square-foot basis, primarily reflecting the smaller buyer pool rather than any quality difference in the housing stock. Days on market run 60–120 days for the core tier; ultra-luxury timelines vary widely with the small sample size.
Why is Forest Hills inventory so thin?
Three reasons compound. First, the city is small — roughly 5,000 residents on 9 square miles, much of which is the heavily wooded Radnor Lake terrain that doesn’t get subdivided. Second, the residential character has been stable since the 1957 incorporation, which means original ownership tenures are unusually long; many Forest Hills estates have been in the same family for 30+ years. Third, the buyer pool is genuinely smaller than Belle Meade or Oak Hill — Forest Hills doesn’t carry the same name recognition with relocation buyers, which means most of the demand is local and word-of-mouth.
What schools serve Forest Hills?
Forest Hills shares the Metro Nashville Public Schools zoning of Belle Meade and Oak Hill, with public-school feeders running through Julia Green Elementary and Hillsboro Comprehensive High depending on address. The local private school network — Harpeth Hall, Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA), University School of Nashville (USN), Ensworth, Currey Ingram Academy, and Father Ryan — is the same dense cluster the rest of the Davidson County estate market opts into.
How does Forest Hills compare to Belle Meade and Oak Hill?
Forest Hills is the smallest of the three by transaction volume and the most topographically dramatic — hillsides, ravines, mature canopy, and proximity to Radnor Lake. Oak Hill is similarly lot-driven but with a slightly larger buyer pool and modestly higher price-per-square-foot on equivalent lots. Belle Meade is denser, more architectural, and trades in materially higher volume — 55 transactions in 2025 at a $2.75M median, more name recognition, more relocation-buyer attention. The three together form Davidson County’s estate corridor; most buyers consider all three before committing.
What’s the property tax situation in Forest Hills?
Forest Hills is its own incorporated city, so homeowners pay both Davidson County property tax and a separate Forest Hills municipal tax. Like Oak Hill, Forest Hills funds limited municipal services and contracts most public services through Davidson County, which keeps the municipal rate low. The combined effective rate is materially below equivalent Williamson County properties. Tennessee has no state income tax, which continues to anchor in-migration from the Northeast and West Coast.
Related Forest Hills reading
- Oak Hill Nashville luxury homes — full market guide
- Belle Meade real estate — full 2026 market guide
- Nashville private schools near Belle Meade & Oak Hill
- Nashville luxury home staging — what sells $800K+ properties faster
- How Nashville property taxes affect your home’s value
- Best time to sell a home in Nashville — 2026 seasonal market guide
- Crieve Hall homes for sale — neighboring South Nashville hub
Considering a Forest Hills sale, purchase, or confidential valuation? Contact Chris Milfred directly — most conversations start without commitment, and most start by phone.
