KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A report by the East Tennessee REALTORS group said the median price to buy a home in the area was still out of reach for many families making the median income for Knox County, according to 2022 United States Census data.
That data said the median income for Knox County was around $68,580 per year in 2022. The East Tennessee REALTORS group said in its latest Market Pulse report that in August 2024, the median home sale price was $365,000.
The report also said the median sale price was up by around 4.3% compared to August 2023. However, that price marked a drop of almost $10,000 compared to the previous month. The realty group also said the region's total housing inventory went up compared to last year, an increase of around 42.5% compared to August 2023.
Around 43.8% of homes in East Tennessee sold for the asking price or above, and around 21.2% sold for more than the asking price. Around 12.5% of all home sales were newly-built homes, according to the realty group.
August also marked the third month in a row when average mortgage rates stayed under 7%. The report said rates fell to their lowest level since September 2022, averaging around 6.08% for the week ending Sept. 26.
The realty group also said it surveyed realtors in the East Tennessee housing market in the third quarter of 2024. It said 14% of respondents reported seeing more buyer traffic than this time last year — a 2% drop compared to the previous quarter. At the same time, 29% of respondents reported an increase in sellers on the market, a 12% increase compared to the previous quarter.
The survey also found that the average home sold in the third quarter of 2024 received an average of 1.9 offers, a slight drop compared to last year. Most respondents said they expected home prices to increase over the next year, while 25% said they expected home prices to decline over the next year. Around 29% of all home sales were also all-cash, according to the survey.
