Skip to content

The Report

The State of Housing Report is published annually by the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® to provide its members, community stakeholders, and policymakers a comprehensive analysis of East Tennessee’s housing market using the latest available data. The report explores emerging demographic and housing market trends to help real estate practitioners and industry leaders better understand the region’s housing challenges and how to address them.

An Introduction

Improving economic conditions, low mortgage rates, and increased migration in 2021 pushed the demand for all types of housing in the Knoxville area to record-breaking levels, leading home prices to appreciate faster than any other time on record and pushing housing inventory to an all-time low. As a result, housing costs grew by double digits from the previous year and have continued to rise through the early months of 2022.

The extent of the current supply-demand gap – and the price growth it has spurred – is truly unprecedented. Only about 40% of U.S metro areas experienced more than 10% annual home price growth at the height of the financial crisis in 2006. But, in 2021, nearly 80% of metros experienced price growth of 10% or more and a full quarter of metros experienced price growth of 20% or more.

Fortunately, unlike the years preceding the Great Recession, the current housing market is not plagued by manipulated demand and loose lending standards. In fact, lending standards are higher than ever before with a disproportionate share of loans going to borrowers with strong credit history and sizable down payments. Home buyers are more qualified than ever too, with mortgages going to borrowers with a median credit score of 778 as of Q4 2021.

A full copy of the report can be downloaded HERE.


The Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® provide housing market statistics at various geographic levels. Data requests can be emailed to Hancen Sale, KAAR’s Government Affairs and Policy Director, and must include your organizational affiliation along with a detailed description of your request.