Tri-Cities townhome sales cooled in May while prices barely moved. Buyers gained negotiating room as homes took about four more weeks to sell than a year earlier, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors® (NETAR).

Inventory grew while sales eased, and that hands buyers leverage they did not have a year ago. An increase in the time a home is on the market before selling is a decrease in consumer demand.

Regional metric:

Regional metric	May 2025	May 2026	Change
Closed sales	38	35	-7.9%
New listings	47	45	-4.3%
Inventory of homes for sale	96	106	+10.4%
Median sale price	$222,201	$225,814	+1.6%
Average sale price	$239,225	$238,131	-0.5%
Days on market	62	89	+45.3%

Time on market tells the real story

 Sullivan Co. drove much of the slowdown. The typical sale in that county was on the market 122 days before selling.

Washington Co. TN anchors the regional market with nearly half of all closed sales. Its numbers carry the most reliable price trend signal.

County (May 2026)	Closed sales	Median price
Washington Co. (TN)	16	$219,250
Sullivan Co. (TN)	9	$220,000
Washington Co. (VA)	5	$267,900
Carter Co. (TN)	4	$192,000
Greene Co. (TN)	1	$308,000
Hawkins Co. (TN)	0	no sales

Greene’s top spot in the price category is an outlier. It’s the price of a single home; not proof it is the region’s costliest townhome market. Read it as a data point, not a trend marker. The same caution applies wherever sales counts are low.

What May’s Market Trend Means

Buyers: More listings and longer market times mean room to negotiate and time to think. Stable prices reward patience.

Sellers: Price to today’s market and plan for a longer wait. Three months is closer to the mark than three weeks.

Real estate professionals: Set seller expectations early on days to contract. Watch Sullivan Co., where the slowdown is sharpest.

Investors: Steady prices and rising inventory reward selective buyers. Longer selling times raise carrying costs, so underwrite for a slower exit.