The Q1 Tri-Cities housing market data suggest that the region’s overall resilience is increasingly dependent on strength in its urban cores. Despite fluctuations in mortgage rates during the quarter and lingering consumer caution tied to geopolitical uncertainty, buyers in the region’s major markets remained active. The urban volume gains were sufficient to lift the region’s aggregate totals even as smaller communities absorbed declines.
Whether that concentration of activity broadens into surrounding markets in the coming quarters or whether it signals a structural realignment of demand toward the region’s employment and amenity centers will be among the key storylines of the 2026 housing market.
The market posted a broadly positive 2026 first quarter of 2026, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR).. Regional home sales were up 10.9% year over year with 1,721 closings. The regional median price edged up 1.9% to $275,000. But those headline numbers masked a market increasingly split between sub-markets accelerating into growth and others pulling back from recent highs.
The divergence was sharp. Of the 16 markets with meaningful sales volume, nine posted year-over-year sales gains while seven declined — and the gains were concentrated in the region’s largest urban cores.
Urban Markets Drive Regional Volume
Johnson City and Kingsport, the region’s two highest-volume markets, led the charge. Johnson City recorded a 25.9% increase over Q1 2025. The median price was up 15.4% to $349,000. That was also the strongest price appreciation among the region’s major markets.
Kingsport closings were up 20.6%. The $263,134 median price reflected more modest price growth of 4.4%.
The standout performer on a percentage basis was Bristol, TN, where closings surged 55.4%. Bristol, TN’s median price of $218,000, however, slipped a marginal 1% from a year earlier. That suggests the volume gain was driven by increased activity in lower price ranges rather than broad appreciation.
Greeneville sales were up 12.1%, with a 2.2% price gain. Church Hill and Piney Flats both posted sales growth above 17%. Both recorded price declines.
Smaller Markets Show Retreat
Several smaller sub-markets posted notable pullbacks in both sales and prices, underscoring the uneven recovery underway across the nine-county region.
Jonesborough’s closings fell 15.7%, and its median price dropped 10%. It was the sharpest price correction among mid-sized markets. Rogersville sales declined 16.3%. Prices were flat. Abingdon, VA., recorded a 10.7% sales decline with a steep 19.4% price drop.
Blountville sales fell 11% and its median price of $350,763 remained elevated with only modest price erosion of 1.2%. Erwin’s closings were up 13.5%, but its median price dropped 17.4%.
Premium Markets Hold Value
At the upper end of the price spectrum, Gray, and Piney Flats maintained their positions as the region’s highest-priced sub-markets. Gray’s median price reflected 4.7% appreciation on a slight 2.9% sales dip. Piney Flats posted the region’s highest price, but it was a 4.1% decline from the prior year.
Jonesborough and Blountville also remained in the upper price tier.
Bristol, VA, showed some of the strongest price dynamics in the region with an 18.3% year-over-year increase.
| Market | Q1 Sales | Sales YoY | Median Price | Price YoY |
| Tri-Cities Region | 1,721 | +10.9% | $275,000 | +1.9% |
| Kingsport | 298 | +20.6% | $263,134 | +4.4% |
| Johnson City | 267 | +25.9% | $349,000 | +15.4% |
| Jonesborough | 102 | -15.7% | $378,140 | -10.0% |
| Greeneville | 120 | +12.1% | $285,000 | +2.2% |
| Bristol TN | 87 | +55.4% | $218,000 | -1.0% |
| Elizabethton | 72 | +4.3% | $255,000 | +6.3% |
| Bristol VA | 55 | 0.0% | $207,000 | +18.3% |
| Blountville | 45 | -11.0% | $350,763 | +1.2% |
| Rogersville | 41 | -16.3% | $235,000 | 0.0% |
| Bluff City | 34 | +3.0% | $331,000 | -0.6% |
| Gray | 34 | -2.9% | $382,000 | +4.7% |
| Piney Flats | 29 | +20.8% | $442,500 | -4.1% |
| Erwin | 27 | +13.5% | $237,500 | -17.4% |
| Abingdon | 25 | -10.7% | $290,000 | -19.4% |
| Church Hill | 20 | +17.6% | $231,500 | -12.6% |
| Mountain City | 22 | -4.3% | $252,500 | +3.7% |