Kingsport Spirit

People vote with their feet, but they also invest where they see value.

The latest housing numbers give us a useful look at the first four months of 2026. Taken together, they show that home sales remain healthy across the Tri-Cities and the Northeast Tennessee-Southwest Virginia market.

They also show something worth noting for Kingsport: our market is showing unusual strength.

Across the broader regional market, there were 2,478 home sales during the first four months of the year, up about 11.2% from the same period last year. That is a healthy regional number.

Kingsport did even better.

During the first four months of 2026, Kingsport recorded 420 home sales, compared with 373 in Johnson City and 190 in combined Bristol TN/VA.

That means Kingsport had the highest sales total among the three primary cities of the Tri-Cities.

The year-over-year comparison is also strong. Kingsport’s four-month sales were up about 19.0% from last year. Johnson City was up about 19.9%, and combined Bristol TN/VA was up about 16.6%. So this is not a story about one city rising while the others struggle. The Tri-Cities market is broadly healthy.

Kingsport’s position is especially noteworthy because it had both the highest total sales and one of the strongest growth rates.

That becomes even more meaningful when adjusted for city size. On a population-adjusted basis, Kingsport had about 7.4 sales per 1,000 residents during the first four months of the year, compared with 5.1 in Johnson City and 4.3 in combined Bristol TN/VA.

In plain English, Kingsport is punching above its weight.

The price story is also important, though it has to be handled carefully because median sales prices are reported by period rather than as a single four-month average. Still, the pattern is clear. Kingsport’s reported median price was below Johnson City’s in both the first quarter and April, while generally higher than Bristol TN and Bristol VA.

That puts Kingsport in a familiar middle position: not the cheapest market in the Tri-Cities, but still a relative value when compared with Johnson City and several higher-priced suburban markets.

That is the point. Kingsport is not simply competing as the cheapest option. It is competing as a full-service city with established neighborhoods, employment centers, schools, parks, medical access, downtown momentum, and relative affordability.

Every Tri-Cities community has its own role. Johnson City has the university, a younger demographic profile, and a fast-growing housing market. Bristol has its two-state identity, historic downtown, major entertainment venues, and a strong regional brand. Kingsport’s strength is different. We have scale, established neighborhoods with good bones, major employment centers, infrastructure already in place, and a housing stock that ranges from modest homes to higher-end properties.

Of course, rising prices are not all good news. They can make it harder for young families, first-time buyers, and workers to enter the market. A healthy community needs both market strength and housing attainability.

But the first four months of 2026 point in an encouraging direction. Kingsport is not too hot, not too cold, still accessible, still growing, and still competitive.

The market is telling us something: Kingsport is very much in the game.

Source: Housing sales and price data from the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors, covering the first quarter of 2026 and April 2026 market reports.