In 86 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, the median-priced home costs more than three times the median salary of a local teacher, and in 15 counties it is more than six times as much. The reasons driving affordable housing are complex: increased cost of construction materials, high interest rates, demand to purchase short term rentals, and large institutional investors outbidding ordinary home-owners. Supply has not kept up with demand due to: disruptions of the pandemic years, the prolonged construction slowdown from the 2008 recession, and past changes in land use policy. This report analyses the causes and recommends several solutions.

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tacir/tacir-insights/2024_Housing_Insight.pdf

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tacir/2024publications/2024_HousingAffordability.pdf

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/5fb2573a3bbb40838d20ab2cf6bf7a65