Middle Tennessee State University’s latest “Housing Tennessee” report shows drops in construction permits and home sales while home prices continue to rise across the state.

The MTSU Business and Economic Research Center’s statewide report for the fourth quarter of 2022 reveals that the noticeable drops in single-family and total construction permits “are likely to generate pressure on the housing market and overall economy,” noted report author Murat Arik, director of the BERC at MTSU.

Yet home prices continue to rise, and weekly unemployment claims, jobs numbers, homeowner and rental vacancy rates, real estate transfer tax collections, and mortgages past due improved from the same time the previous year.

Other report highlights:

• In Home sales, quarterly and annual closings were negative for the Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis regions. Quarterly closings decreased by 16.7% in Nashville, 12.4% in Knoxville, and 20% in Memphis. Annually, closings were reduced by 35% in Nashville, 24% in Knoxville, and 25.8% in Memphis. 

• Home prices for all MSAs in Tennessee increased, however, the increase in the third quarter was more rigorous than the fourth quarter. The Memphis MSA had the smallest annual growth of 15.3%.

Home prices from the previous quarter rose slightly for Tennessee (1.4%) and the United States (0.57%). Annual expansion for Tennessee was 17.5% and 12% in the United States.

• Tennessee’s total home construction permits all fell both quarterly (down 26%) and yearly (down 52.6%). Total permits for the year declined by 13.8% in the South and 22% in the United States.

• Quarterly and year-over-year closings for the Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis regions were down.

• Inventories were up across the state, though attributed to a drop in closings. Nashville had the most significant quarterly growth of 13%, followed by Memphis with 11% and Knoxville with 7%. 

Yearly changes in inventory were also most significant for the Nashville area, with an increase of 105%. The Knoxville and Memphis areas saw expansions of 71% and 28.8%, respectively.

See the full report and more detailed breakdowns at https://www.mtsu.edu/berc/housing/.

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 https://mtsu.edu/berc/.

About THDA

THDA is the state’s housing finance agency and is committed to expanding safe, sound, affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income Tennesseans. This is achieved through a robust home loan program, competitive funding for local nonprofit and municipal agencies, and the administration of nine federally funded programs. THDA publishes research on affordable housing and THDA 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 for more information.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)