Tennessee’s housing market in the first quarter of 2017 “is strong and stable,” according to the latest statewide quarterly report from the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center.

New single-family construction permits were up 4 percent from the previous quarter, and up 9 percent year-over-year.

Dr. Murat Arik

“The indicators outlined in this report reveal a housing market that is strong and stable,” noted BERC Director Murat Arik. “This quarter, mortgages past due are at a 17-year low, and housing prices are rising in all areas of the state, especially the Nashville MSA.”

Other report highlights include:

• Housing prices rose more than 10 percent in the Nashville area year-over-year and more than 5 percent in the Clarksville and Knoxville MSAs. The Memphis MSA was up 4.5 percent.
• Over the year, single-family permits are up 22 percent. Multi-family and total permits are down 58 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
• Closings increased in all three large metro areas (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville) over the year.

See the full latest and previous reports with detailed breakdowns and summaries at http://mtsu.edu/berc/housing.php.

BERC’s report is funded by Tennessee Housing Development Agency. 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/.

THDA publishes research on affordable housing, its programs and beneficiaries. THDA also coordinates state planning for housing through the Consolidated Planning process, annual Action Plans, and annual Performance Reports.  See http://thda.org/research-planning/research-planning for more information.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)