As the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area approaches the milestone of 1 million residents, news headlines this month have highlighted the exceptionally high cost of housing, rising homelessness and expected growth.

This underlines the continuing need for action but shouldn't incite panic. Healthy economic growth sustains our region; the bulk of in-migration happened over the last 5 years and population increase has slowed to a healthier 1.1% annual increase.

There is good news in housing. October home sales in East Tennessee increased over 1.3% last month, 8.2% over last year and 4.7% year-to-date. Recent easing in mortgage rates and increased active inventory were welcome updates for homebuyers last month, opening the market to previously locked-out consumers.

For the first time since 2020, the median home sale price in October dropped 1.9% year-over year to $367,500, showing that the market is continuing to normalize.

So do we still need to take proactive steps on housing? Yes. While the market has improved slightly, it is too slow and we're still falling behind. Many existing residents are priced out of homes, both to buy and to rent. To achieve a meaningful long-term effect on home affordability will also require action to accommodate growth by incentivizing density, removing consumer barriers and investing in infrastructure.

We dive into updates on the Knox County Unified Development Ordinance below, an opportunity to make those positive changes to better prepare for the future.