Knoxville metro HousingGauge — October 5, 2026 | RED 44

Welcome to the Knoxville metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. Knoxville metro's HousingGauge score is 44 out of 100, which puts the market in the RED zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Knoxville metro turned RED. The score moved from 46 to 44, crossing from YELLOW into RED.

Second: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Third: Score down 13 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 57 to 44 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points).

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 56 out of 100. Inventory is 4.4% lower than a year ago (4,000 active listings), with 4.0 months of supply. Homes take a median 62 days to sell at 97.8% of list price, and 18.3% of listings have had a price cut. Negotiating leverage is fairly balanced between buyers and sellers.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 54 out of 100. Pending sales are 6.2% higher than a year ago and closed sales are 12.9% lower. Days on market are 8.8% shorter than a year ago. Demand is steady.

Valuation & Affordability scores 57 out of 100. The median home costs 5.5 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 36.3% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 0.8% lower than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Rental Economics scores 47 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 5.2% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 19.2). Rents are up 1.0% year over year. Rental economics are middling.

The score is down 2 points from last week's report (46 to 44). Over 13 weeks it is down 13 points, from 57 to 44. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points) and Monetary Conditions (−3.2 points).

So what would move Knoxville metro into the yellow? It is close: any one of these would likely do it on its own: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 7.20% (now 7.28%); pending sales grow more than 7.0% year over year (now +6.2%); fed rate hikes stay under 0.20 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); and policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below +0.15 pts (now +0.23 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.60% (now 7.28%); pending sales growth slows below 2.0% year over year (now +6.2%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.45 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.55 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 3.3 months (now 4.0 months).

That is the Knoxville metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.