Rising costs are making townhomes more attractive to builders and consumers. Construction is increasing on both the U.S. and local levels. Robert Dietz, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, thinks they could account for 15% of all single-family starts over the coming years. 

Builders are turning to the product because the sales price point is low, they can build more units, they can be built faster and the popular build-to-rent option. Locally, there’s also the reality that much of the region’s buildable land is moving toward the infill category.  

Consumers are warming to townhomes for affordability and as an alternative to rising prices for detached single-family homes. 

There were 27 local townhome/condo sales closing last month, down 37.2% from last year. One of the reasons for fewer sales is the lack of inventory. At the end of February there were 10 active listings and 11 pending sales. The region had 0.3 months of inventory. By mid-month March active inventory had dropped to eight listings.  

February’s typical listing price was $177,450. The typical sales price was $160,000. 

New townhomes are part of residential developments in Johnson City and Kingsport. Current building permit data from Bristol was not available when this report was written.