Category: Move To Kingsport
-
Kingsport Leads Region in Sales and Affordability
The mid-year home sales report for Northeast Tennessee highlights a region experiencing steady demand, with Kingsport and Johnson City leading the way. Kingsport recorded 608 home sales year-to-date—just over 10% more than Johnson City’s 548—positioning it as the region’s most active housing market. Yet what makes Kingsport particularly notable is its combination of volume and…
-
Maybe Fun Fest Means a Little Bit More
We all remember the Dr. Seuss book, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. The grouchy grinch lives on a neighboring mountain and each year when the citizens of Whoville come out to hold hands, sing songs, and celebrate Christmas, their joy plucked his last nerve. So, he decided to steal all the presents–to take away the…
-
Kingsport: Year-Long Growth Amid a Summer Slowdown
Move to Kingsport’s rolling twelve-month metrics edged upward in June, signaling steady growth in inbound relocations. Arrivals ticked up to 641 families spanning 46 states (2.9 per workday), and median pricing rose to $345,600 ($165/SF). The previous period had 637 new families from 45 states—averaging 2.6 per workday—and a median home price of $343,078 ($161/SF).…
-
Kingsport, Bristol, and Sullivan County: East Tennessee’s Tightest Housing Market
Realtor.com’s May 2025 supply-demand chart offers a revealing look at home values and market dynamics across 26 communities in the surrounding region. Amid a mix of balanced, buyer, and seller markets, two names jump out: Kingsport, Bristol, and Sullivan County. These areas share a unique—and telling—position in the current housing landscape: they are among the…
-
A Rosy Future for Kingsport
That’s a headline from the 1906 Chattanooga News. I’m fascinated with the period of history between the first Kingsport (1822) and the second one (1917). It started as a riverport but was left behind as commerce moved to railroads, and it had none. It’s often referenced as one of Tennessee’s “ancient” towns, but we only…
-
Kingsport’s Rising Popularity: 637 New Families in a Year
Over the past year, Kingsport has attracted 637 new families from 45 different states, averaging roughly 2.6 out‐of‐region arrivals per workday. In contrast, May 2025 alone saw 78 families move here from 27 states—an equivalent of about 3.7 families per workday. Of those 78, just 33 were home purchases (accounting for nearly $18 million in…
-
Rate vs. Reality: The Real Math of Property Taxes
Explaining how property tax works is difficult at best. Today, in two separate publications from Tennessee and Virginia, I saw articles detailing rate changes. One was in Radford, Virginia, the other in Kingsport/Sullivan County, Tennessee. The articles state that Radford will increase it’s tax rate by almost 20% to $0.92, while Sullivan County’s preliminary certified…
-
From Magic to Momentum: Playing the Long Game in Kingsport
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the natural life cycle of a city—of any built environment really. When you are a city manager, the challenges you face are based on when you arrive on the scene during that life cycle. If it’s a brand-new city, you have a clean slate. But there’s no infrastructure. So you…
-
Sullivan Shines
Most often we focus on cities, but let’s take a look at counties on both sides of the Blue Ridge. Over the past ninety days ending May 26, 2025, single‐family home sales across East Tennessee and Western North Carolina have offered a revealing snapshot of regional real-estate vitality. In Tennessee’s lineup of top markets, Sullivan…
-
Both Sides of the Blue Ridge: How Mid-Sized Cities Are Powering the Region’s Housing Market
We looked at recent home sales across all counties in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina—on both sides of the Blue Ridge. Why? Because these areas share many of the same traits. They’re clustered in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the highest peaks in Eastern North America. The communities in this region are…
Kingsport Spirit 