Middle Tennessee State University’s latest “Housing Tennessee” report shows continued increases in home prices and construction permits across the state, though closings were down both quarterly and annually.

With strong employment numbers, the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center’s statewide report for the third quarter of 2023 is “leaning toward a more positive outlook” overall, noted report author Murat Arik, director of the BERC at MTSU.

Report highlights include: 

• Home prices for all Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, were again up, “with most areas surpassing the national growth average, though the state’s annual price growth showed signs of slowing compared to the previous year,” Arik noted.

Most MSAs exceeded the national annual growth average of 4.7%, with the Knoxville MSA seeing the highest at 10.5%, while Nashville saw the most modest annual jump at 0.6%. The Chattanooga and Johnson CityMSAs reported robust annual growth rates of 8% and 9%, respectively. 

• Home sales were down for the Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis regions. Specifically, Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis saw quarterly closing reductions of 2.8%, 7.6%, and 6.9%, respectively. Annually, these decreases were more pronounced, with Nashville experiencing a 13% decline, Knoxville 17%, and Memphis 27.6%. 

• The single-family permit sector across Tennessee, the South, and nationally was characterized by both annual and quarterly growth, the report says. Multi-family permits also showed increases from the previous quarter but were mixed annually, though Tennessee saw a significant 92.6% jump year over year.

• Tennessee saw slight increases in quarterly mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates, while a slight decrease in annual foreclosure rates.

“While some metrics demonstrate resilience and growth, others highlight the importance of vigilance and an understanding of potential economic challenges,” Arik noted.

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 http://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)