Tennessee’s housing market for the first quarter of the year held steady amid solid employment numbers and overall positive trends in permits and home prices, according to the latest statewide report from Middle Tennessee State University.
Murat Arik, director of the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center in the Jones College of Business and author of its statewide report, noted the first quarter housing market “remained balanced” as multifamily permits in particular soared 66% from the previous quarter and 62.25% year-over-year.
Across Tennessee, home prices edged up modestly, rising just 0.11% — well below the U.S. gain of 0.8% — while home values climbed 3.7% year-over-year as national prices grew 4.6%.
Closings diverged in metro areas — Nashville was down 3.75% for the quarter (up 3.44% year-over-year), Memphis was up 6% for the quarter (down 8% year-over-year), Knoxville was down 0.23% for the quarter (up 3% year-over-year). Inventories climbed between 10% and 14.2% quarterly and between 13.6% and 39% over the year.
See the full report and more detailed breakdowns, including employment data, at https://www.mtsu.edu/berc/housing/.
Home price trends
Quarterly trends on home prices include:
- Strong growth areas: Morristown MSA led the state with a 2.7% jump in home prices, closely followed by Kingsport– Bristol MSA, which posted a 1.8% increase in Q1 2025.
- Mixed, slower growth areas: Clarksville MSA saw a slight 0.5% uptick, similar to 0.46% rise inMemphis.
- Declining areas: Three markets slipped: The Knoxville MSA dipped 0.24%, the Johnson City MSA fell 2.2%, and the Jackson MSA dropped 2.7%.
Year over year, Kingsport–Bristol MSA led all Tennessee markets with a 10.3% surge in home prices. Knoxville followed with a 4.13% gain, and Chattanooga posted a 3.8% increase.
BERC’s report is funded by Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA. The quarterly report offers an overview of the state’s economy as it relates to the housing market and includes data on employment, housing construction, rental vacancy rates, real estate transactions and mortgages, home sales and prices, delinquencies and foreclosures.The Business and Economic Research Center operates under the Jennings A. Jones College of
Business at MTSU. For more information, visit http://mtsu.edu/berc/.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
