The top end of the Tri-Cities housing market has cooled. Homes priced at $1 million or more still sell for about what they did a year ago. But they’re on the market longer, and sellers are cutting their asking prices to close a deal. The top of the market has tilted toward buyers.

Eight homes sold for $1 million or more last month. That’s down from 11 a year earlier. Buyers who want a high-end home have more choices and less competition than they did a year ago.

There are 119 active listings for homes in this price range and six pending sales.

Eastman Credit Union also continues to see a high volume of construction loans in this price range.

Prices held steady

The median sale price was $1,406,250 last month. That edged up from $1,390,000 a year ago. The average sale price was $1,452,106, also a touch higher than $1,434,909. Values at the top of the market are steady, not falling. For buyers, the price ceiling has not dropped. The top sale was a Kingsport home that closed at $1,953,000. The highest sale a year earlier was a Johnson City home at $2,100,000.

Homes on the market longer

Buyers at this price are in no hurry. A home that once sold in about six weeks can now take over four months. The typical luxury home spent 130 days on the market last month. A year ago the figure was 43 days.

Sellers cut deeper

The average gap between the original asking price and the final asking price was $168,698. That equals 9.8% of the original list price. A year earlier the gap was $48,182, or 3.2%. Six of the eight homes cut their price this year. Only two of the 11 did so last year. Buyers also got a little more space for their money. The average home had 5,235 finished square feet, up from 5,015 a year earlier. The average price was $282.71 per square foot, down from $317.34.

Where the sales happened

Sales shifted toward Johnson City. Three of the eight 2026 sales were there. The rest were spread one each across Abingdon, Gray, Greeneville, Jonesborough, and Kingsport. A year earlier, Kingsport led with three sales. Johnson City and Jonesborough followed with two each. Bluff City, Greeneville, Limestone, and Piney Flats had one each. The lesson for sellers is plain. Price too high and you will likely wait, then cut.

For now, patience favors the buyer. Sellers who set realistic prices are the ones getting to closing.