Hot housing market means trouble for East Tennessee renters

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Knoxville housing market is leaving many renters feeling left out of the picture.

With the influx of people moving to East Tennessee during the pandemic and the price of lumber skyrocketing, home prices in Knoxville and East Tennessee have soared.

What’s called a seller’s market, many homeowners are selling their properties to try and make money off the bloated prices.

While this is happening the number of homes is still low.

Shannon Foster-Boline, the President of the Knox Area Association of Realtors, says in an average year Knoxville will have nearly 1,200 homes for sale at a time, but in January of 2021, only 700 were on the market.

The average home price in East Tennessee according to Foster-Boline is almost $250,000 and could be closer to $275,000.

Because of this movement, many renters are now feeling the pinch.

Some are being given a 30-day notice while landlords look to sell.

This is leaving renters scrambling to find an affordable place to live, in a market where affordability is often almost nonexistent.

“It makes affordability definitely a challenge, and I think that’s something we need to look at as a community is how do we keep affordable housing part of the picture,” said Foster-Boline. “Because, while I say inventory is tight under 250,000 really under 275, take the competition and double it because it’s the most pressed area for housing.”

While the housing market is hot, the rental market is hot too, leaving many of these renters searching hard for something affordable that will fit their needs.