Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | May 2025
Knox County, TN – Housing Market Summary (May 2025)
The median sales price in Knoxville rose to $400,000, a 3.1% increase (up from $388,000 a year ago), reflecting a trend of continued (though cooling) higher prices in the area. Homes are now spending an average of 40 days on the market, up from 30 days in May 2024, indicating a modest slowdown in buyer activity.
The sales price-to-list price ratio stands at 98.9%, suggesting that homes are generally selling slightly below asking price, consistent with a more balanced market.
Mortgage rates remained relatively flat throughout most of May, with 15-year fixed rates at 6.1% and 30-year fixed rates at 6.8%. That said, many mortgage experts are still predicting rates to fall throughout the rest of the year.
Overall, the market remains stable, but flattening home price appreciation and extended days on market point to a gradual shift toward more favorable conditions for buyers.
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | April 2025
GOOD VIBRATIONS
As we head into what has traditionally been the peak months for home sales, there are some positive signs in our housing market. Both pending home sales and housing inventory have risen steadily since the start of 2025. Median home prices are also still about 7% higher than they were at this time last year.
That said, the uncertainty of the direction that mortgage rates and the economy are going continues to keep many potential homebuyers on the sidelines. Should we see a moderate decline in mortgage interest rates in the coming months, it is likely we’ll have a significant increase in home sales. However, most of the experts in the mortgage industry are not expecting interest rates to change much in 2025.
Overall, the supply of homes in Knox County is still well below what is needed to meet the present and future demand. This is the primary factor that is keeping median home prices higher, despite more homes being on the market in our area.
Conclusion? While homebuyers do have a lot more leverage than they did a few years ago, Knox County is still a “seller’s market”…
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | March 2025
HOUSE LISTINGS & INVENTORY ON THE RISE…
The upward trend of new listings and housing inventory continued in March. More specifically, our total housing inventory is up over 35% from a year ago.
The increased number of homes on the market continues to push up the number of days that homes remain unsold. In addition, fewer homes are selling for the full asking price because of increasing competition in the market.
That said, home prices in Knox County are still slightly higher than a year ago. Despite higher housing inventory, the overall demand for homes in our area is keeping prices relatively steady.
Our local economy remains very strong with tremendous growth potential. Therefore it’s still a good time to be buying or selling real estate in this area, especially with recent declines in mortgage interest rates.
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | February 2025
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE…
Despite housing inventory being up over 33% from this time last year, home prices have remained steady. This shows us that there is still a high demand for homes in the Knoxville area.
And while it’s taking longer for homes on the market to sell, and the days of multiple offers coming in tens of thousands of dollars over the list price are gone, it is still a good time to sell your home in this area.
As for mortgage rates, they’ve trended downward over the past 30 days. Last month, 30-year mortgage interest rates were well over 7%. This month, they’re well below 7%. Hopefully this trend continues, but with so much uncertainty in the current economy, it is next to impossible to predict where interest will go.
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | January 2025
NAVIGATING FOGGY WATERS
Home sales and home prices both continue to remain higher than they were 12 months ago. This indicates that the demand for housing in Knoxville remains relatively strong.
That said, total housing inventory is up almost 30% from this time last year. Should our housing inventory continue to increase, this will put downward pressure on home prices as homebuyers will have more listings to choose from. Also, the number of homes sold at or above the list price is WAY down from what it was in early 2024, which is another indicator that we may be heading into a more “buyer’s market” in 2025.
Housing affordability remains a major issue for our area. Some experts believe that only about 25% of those looking to buy or sell a home right now are able to do so comfortably. Should interest rates drop significantly in the coming months, this should spark more demand for homes that could potentially push prices upward.
Overall, the direction of our housing market is murky at best right now. Depending on how some key factors play out will determine how home prices, housing inventory, and home affordability evolve in the Knoxville area.
Selling Knoxville | Episode 10
Selling Knoxville is a local lifestyle show highlighting the Greater Knoxville area! The show is currently streaming on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Roku.
In this episode, Holli sits down with board members from the Greater Knoxville Homebuilders Association to discuss the housing challenges in Knoxville and what the association is doing to improve them.
To learn more about the Homebuilders Association of Greater Knoxville, visit https://www.hbaknoxville.com/
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | December 2024
COOLING DOWN…
Despite home prices being up over 7% from last year, several indicators reveal that the Knoxville housing market is slowing down as we close out 2024.
Our average “days-on-market” for homes listed shot up to its highest level in years (54 days). Our list price-to-sales price ratio also continued its downward trend and fell to its lowest level in 2024.
A year ago, many predicted that mortgage rates would be in the 5% range at the end of 2024 and the housing market would be booming. What actually happened was that 30-year mortgage rates finished the year above 7% and 2024 was one of the slowest housing markets in terms of transactions our country has seen almost 30 years.
Experts, once again, predict that interest rates will decline in 2025, but not by much. And those waiting for a market crash will likely need to be very patient because there is no indication of any massive home price depreciation coming to our fast-growing area any time soon…
Our advice? Don’t try and time the real estate market. Go ahead and buy or sell a home if it helps improve your lifestyle and/or financial situation. Nobody is predicting that homes will get cheaper over the next 5 years…
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | November 2024
Home prices in Knoxville remain higher than at this time last year (just over 7% higher to be exact). That said, the total housing inventory in our area is almost 40% higher year-over-year. This should help keep local home prices relatively steady, despite the demand for housing continuing to remain strong.
It is also good news for home buyers as they have more homes to choose from than at any point since early 2020. Home buyers also have a little more leverage when it comes to making offers and negotiating contracts.
Interest rates ticked down a bit from earlier in the month. As of now, the consensus from credible sources such as Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association is that rates should remain in the mid-to-low 6% range throughout 2025. Some outliers say rates could drop below 5% in 2025, but all sources agree that rates will continue a downward trend next year.
Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | October 2024
SLOW & STEADY…
adequately explains the Knoxville real estate market right now… Despite the inventory of homes on the market being up over 30% compared to the summer and the overall number of homes sold declining for the 3rd straight month, home prices remain fairly consistent.
The limited supply of homes relative to the housing demand in the Knoxville area is a major factor in why home prices remain slightly higher than last year. This demand is fueled by a strong local economy with a relatively low unemployment rate.
On the surface, the ongoing trend of more list price reductions (year-over-year) would suggest that home prices are declining. However, that is not really what is happening…
More home sellers have been listing their homes at “above-market” prices. While this was an effective strategy to get top-dollar for one’s home in 2021, and most of 2022, it is not nearly as effective in today’s market. As a result, more home sellers are reducing the prices of their homes in order to sell them at current market prices.