[104] Q2 TENN. HOUSING MARKET REPORT: Home prices, sales on the rise across state; foreclosures at 18-year low

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Home prices across the state continued to rise in the second quarter, according the latest quarterly housing report from the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center.

Tennessee home prices increased 8 percent year-over-year, BERC Director Murat Arik noted. The increase in home prices remains above the national average, which has fluctuated around 6.5 percent over the past two years. 

Significant areas of year-over-year increase include Nashvilleat 9.7 percent, Clarksvilleat 9.7 percent, and Clevelandat 8.1 percent. Meanwhile, home sales also increased in all three regions of the state.

Arik also noted the state’s low jobless rate and workforce stability as contributing factors in the state having its lowest foreclosure rate in 18 years.

Other report highlights: 

• Both single-family home permits and total home permits “bounced back from their short dive last quarter,” Arik noted. Single-family home permits increased by 6.7 percent, while total home permits increased by 2.4 percent. 

• The most significant improvement from last quarter was a near doubling of Tennessee’s multi-family building permits, leading to an 18.1 percent jump in total building permits. That compared to a 7 percent increase for the entire South and 3.5 percent drop for the U.S. overall.

•  For home sales, the most significant improvements in quarterly growth were in the JacksonMSA, from 0.6 percent to 4.8 percent, and theClarksvilleMSA, from 6.1 percent to 9.7 percent.

• Conversely, Johnson Cityand MorristownMSAs experienced a significant drop from their double-digit growth last quarter, Johnson Cityfrom 10.2 percent to 3.1 percent and Morristownfrom 11.1 percent to 2.9 percent.

See the full current and previous reports with detailed breakdowns and summaries by going to http://mtsu.edu/berc/housing.phpand clicking the appropriate links.

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 Businessat 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-planningfor more information.