KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The price of owning a home is still pushing homeownership out of reach for most East Tennessee families, according to a new report by the East Tennessee REALTORS group.
It said the median home sales price in July was $374,950, a drop of around $50 compared to the previous month. It was the first time that prices dropped in the region since March, according to the report. However, the price is still around 7.13% higher than the price last year — keeping affordability concerns prevalent in the area.
It also said the amount of homes sold in East Tennessee in July also increased by around 5.2% compared to June and is up by around 9.3% compared to last year. The report also said housing inventory was up by around 4.7% compared to June, and around half of all homes sold in the region were under contract in 15 days or less. Around 13% of all sales were newly built homes, the report said.
"Over the past few years as affordability has continued to decrease the conversation has been that more units are needed in order to solve the affordability crisis," the realty group said in the report.
It said the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission said 2023 was a "record breaking year" for the number of residential building permits given out. It said the amount of development in the Knoxville area this year was also outpacing rates from last year.
"This trend is consistent across comparable metropolitan areas in Tennessee and the country as a whole has seen a 13.7% increase in building permits year over year," the report said. "If this trend continues with the decrease of mortgage rates we would anticipate greater inventory and possibly even affordability in the future."
The report said mortgage rates stayed below 7% throughout August, with rates for 30-year fixed loans averaging around 6.35% for the week ending July 29. Around this time last year, the average rate was 7.81%.
