By DON FENLEY

Home prices in the Tri-Cities rose at a moderate pace in May, and the number of sales stayed flat from a year ago, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors® (NETAR).

The median sale price reached $299,750 in May 2026. That’s up 4.84% from May 2025. The average sale price reached $344,698, up 3.7%.

The price trend takeaway is the median climbed faster than the average. That points to broad price gains across the heart of the market. A small number of high-end sales is not pulling the numbers up.

Total sales held steady. Agents sold 790 homes in May 2026, nearly the same as the 789 closed in May 2025. The market is not growing in the number of homes sold. It is growing in price.

The mix of homes sold continued to shift toward higher price points. Sales in the $400,000 to $499,999 range posted the biggest year-over-year gain. They added 22 closings. The $300,000 to $399,999 range added 11. Sales in the $250,000 to $299,999 range fell by 16, the largest drop.

The lower end of the market kept thinning. Homes priced under $200,000 made up less than one-fifth of May sales. That share was 22.4% a year ago.

A longer view shows how much the market has changed. The average sale price has nearly doubled since May 2019, when it was $176,072. The median has nearly doubled as well, from $154,000.

The biggest shift over those seven years is the rise of higher-priced homes. The move-up segment grew from 10% of sales in 2019 to 35.8% in 2026. The luxury segment grew from 2% to 14.2%. Luxury sales rose from 16 homes in May 2019 to 112 this May.

The entry-level market has nearly vanished. Homes priced under $100,000 made up about 26% of sales in May 2019. This May they accounted for less than 4%.

The affordable segment held a steady share, near 39% of sales. That stability can be misleading. The price point that counts as affordable has risen sharply since 2019. A home that qualifies as affordable today costs far more than one did seven years ago.

The pattern across all three market comparisons is consistent. Sales volume is steady. Prices are rising at a moderate clip. The entire market has moved up the price ladder. The $400,000 range now carries the year-over-year growth, and the lowest price points have all but disappeared

Categories: REAL ESTATE