real estate market knoxville Archives

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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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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.

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Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | September 2024

More Homes to Choose From…

The total housing inventory in the Greater Knoxville area is up over 42% from last year. This is good news for home buyers who were frustrated due to the lack of available homes on the market. For most home sellers, you can likely expect longer days on the market and fewer multiple-offer scenarios.

That said, home prices and the rate of home sales are both up slightly from last year. Overall demand for homes in our area does not appear to be slowing anytime soon. Many factors account for this trend, but the 2 most prevelant are related to declining mortgage interest rates and access to higher-paying jobs in the Knoxville area.

The Knoxville housing market remains strong with a positive outlook heading into 2025. Based on the current numbers, those expecting a major market crash in our area may be waiting a long time…

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Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | June 2024

Overall, June was a relatively uneventful month for the local housing market. That said, there are signs of changes coming…

Mortgage interest rates jumped up in the middle of June but regressed back down to around 7%. The expectations from Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Banker’s Association, and the National Association of Realtors are that rates should continue to move downward to around 6.8% by the end of this year. Lower interest rates could provide some much-needed improvement to housing affordability and potentially lead to more home buyers entering the market.

The most notable trend is the continued rise in housing inventory. The number of active/unsold listings in Knox County is 30% higher than it was a year ago. Higher housing inventory should continue to put downward pressure on home prices, but for now, the high demand for homes in our area continues to push home prices slightly higher.

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Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | March 2024

ARE WE AT THE TOP?!

Housing inventory is not only rising in the Knoxville area but all over the country. More homes hit the market last March than in any other March over the past 3 years. The higher supply of homes has helped to stabilize home prices after the wild ride we’ve experienced over the past 3 years. However, the number of available homes on the market is still way below historical averages from before the pandemic.

The question is now, are we finally at the top of the market? Going forward, the answer to this question will largely depend on where you live. For Knoxville, it’s unlikely that we see any drop in average home prices in the foreseeable future.

While a higher supply of homes is a welcomed trend for home buyers, the demand for housing in our area is still quite substantial, despite the higher interest rates we’ve experienced over the past 18 months. Most homes are still selling at or very close to their asking prices. That said, the number of homes selling over the asking is significantly less than it was a few years ago. Homes are staying on the market longer with relatively few of them in multiple offer scenarios.

If mortgage interest rates drop into the 5% to low 6% range that many expect later this year, this could spark an even higher demand for homes. If our housing inventory remains at historic lows, this could fuel another housing market frenzy driven by multiple offers and homes selling well over the asking prices.

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Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | January 2024

SLOW & STEADY

Similar trends from the previous 2 months continued in January as the number of homes on the market rose and interest rates slowly declined.

That said, average sales prices in Knox County are up around 10% compared to this time last year. In addition, most reputable sources within the real estate industry predict that home prices will continue appreciating in our area for 2024.

The declining trend for mortgage interest rates is a welcomed one for homebuyers. Housing affordability has improved tremendously since last October when interest rates were well above 8%.

The most dramatic change in the metrics we follow is with the average number of days a house is on the market. Just a few months ago, the average number was 19 days, and now we are up to 33 days. This increase is to be expected given that the number of homes hitting the market is rising.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking we’re entering a “buyer’s market”. We’re still pretty far away from that type of a real estate market. For some perspective, the average “days-on-market” for Knox County in 2016 was over 120 days.

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Knox County Housing Market Snapshot | December 2023

SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

2023 has come to a close, and as expected, we did not see a real estate market crash. Home prices are still up around 9% from the end of 2022.

While some appreciation is projected for 2024 (especially in the lower price points) home prices, as a whole, appear to have plateaued in Knox County. The median home price in our area has been relatively flat since September. With interest rates declining, this is a welcomed sight for those looking to buy a home.

Homebuyers should also enjoy more homes to choose from in 2024 as the inventory of homes for sale is projected to rise throughout the year.

As a result of rising inventory, home sellers should expect to experience a longer amount of time on the market. With buyers having more homes to choose from, pricing one’s home correctly will be crucial to getting it sold quickly.

HOWEVER, if interest rates continue to drop into the low-to-mid 5% range, another tsunami of homebuyers could enter the market. This scenario could potentially put Knox County back into a red-hot real estate market status with multiple offers and very short amounts of time on the market for listings that are properly listed.

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