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Permit-issuing place

Hamilton County Unincorporated Area

Hamilton County · Chattanooga, TN-GA · Tennessee

Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Hamilton County index 1975–2025
FHFA house price index for Hamilton County, which contains Hamilton County Unincorporated Area, 1975 to 2025Recession 1973–75Recession 1980Recession 1981–82Recession 1990–91Recession 2001Recession 2007–09Recession 202005001,0001,50019801990200020102020United States2025: 958
Hamilton County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Hamilton County's FHFA index, with the national index rebased to the same start.

Census Bureau notes: building permit figures cover new privately owned housing units authorised by permit-issuing places; permits do not mean the units were started or completed, and places that report less often than monthly are imputed in monthly totals. FHFA notes: The FHFA HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The FHFA HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.

In the 12 months to August 2026, building permits in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area, Tennessee, covered 854 housing units (+3.0% year on year); the place lies in Hamilton County.

809 of those units were single-family houses (95%), 38 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 7 in buildings of five or more units.

Since 1995 the place has authorised 24,230 units, with the busiest year 2021 (1,394 units). Hamilton County's FHFA house price index rose +116.5% over the ten years to 2025.

854units permitted, 12 months to August 2026+3.0% on the previous 12 months
809single-family units95% of the total
7units in 5+ unit buildings1% of the total
—units per 1,000 residentsHamilton County 5.2 · Tennessee 5.7

Permits by month and structure type

Housing units authorised in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 months050100150Sep 2024: 71 units (67 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2024Oct 2024: 88 units (81 single-family, 7 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2024: 46 units (46 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024: 80 units (65 single-family, 15 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024Jan 2025: 44 units (40 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2025: 84 units (82 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025: 107 units (96 single-family, 11 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025Apr 2025: 70 units (68 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)May 2025: 61 units (47 single-family, 14 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025: 70 units (70 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025Jul 2025: 50 units (46 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2025: 58 units (58 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025: 79 units (79 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025Oct 2025: 66 units (66 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2025: 54 units (48 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025: 57 units (51 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025Jan 2026: 76 units (68 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2026: 57 units (50 single-family, 7 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026: 69 units (69 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026Apr 2026: 79 units (79 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)May 2026: 67 units (67 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026: 88 units (81 single-family, 7 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026Jul 2026: 76 units (76 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2026: 86 units (75 single-family, 11 in multi-unit buildings)

Housing units authorised in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 monthssingle-family2+ unit buildings

Units, 12 months to August 2026Hamilton County Unincorporated AreaHamilton CountyTennesseeUnited States
All housing units8542,02141,5561,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)809 (95%)1,600 (79%)30,956 (74%)888,241 (63%)
2 units611050834,814
3–4 units326848117,298
5 or more units7 (1%)243 (12%)9,611 (23%)477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents—5.25.74.1
Change on previous 12 months+3.0%+2.8%−4.5%−0.1%

Permits by year since 1995

Housing units authorised in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–202505001,0001,5001995: 931 units (923 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 937 units (927 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 893 units (759 single-family, 134 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 900 units (878 single-family, 22 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 781 units (777 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 560 units (560 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 654 units (600 single-family, 54 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 794 units (774 single-family, 20 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 941 units (935 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 1,011 units (977 single-family, 34 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 1,105 units (1,083 single-family, 22 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 1,065 units (1,065 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 770 units (770 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 414 units (414 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 441 units (441 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 430 units (430 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 458 units (456 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 607 units (605 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 594 units (590 single-family, 4 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 823 units (509 single-family, 314 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 639 units (639 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 617 units (605 single-family, 12 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 786 units (786 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 819 units (817 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 692 units (690 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 919 units (910 single-family, 9 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 1,394 units (1,029 single-family, 365 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 749 units (666 single-family, 83 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 759 units (717 single-family, 42 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 947 units (900 single-family, 47 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 800 units (753 single-family, 47 in multi-unit buildings)2025

Housing units authorised in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–2025single-family2+ unit buildings

24,230 units since 1995; the busiest year was 2021. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.

Home prices in Hamilton County

FHFA's index for Hamilton County rose +116.5% over the ten years to 2025 (+8.0% a year) and +1.8% in the latest year, against +113.5% and +2.4% for Tennessee. Full county page: decade table, peak-to-low declines, every ZIP code and every permit-issuing place in the county.

Questions and answers

How many homes are being built in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area, TN?

854 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 829 in the previous 12 months.

What kind of housing is being permitted in Hamilton County Unincorporated Area?

809 single-family units, 6 in two-unit buildings, 32 in three- and four-unit buildings and 7 in buildings of five or more units.

How does Hamilton County Unincorporated Area compare with its county and state?

No population estimate is attached to this permit-issuing area, so a per-resident rate is not shown; Hamilton County runs at 5.2 units per 1,000 residents and Tennessee at 5.7.

How have home prices moved in Hamilton County?

FHFA's index for Hamilton County rose +116.5% over the ten years to 2025 and +1.8% in the latest year; the county page has the full series.

What does a permit count?

A housing unit authorised by a building permit for new privately owned residential construction, as reported to the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey by the permit-issuing office. Permits are not completions; some permitted units are never built, and places that report only annually are imputed in monthly figures.

Provenance

Permits: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level monthly and annual files through August 2026 (permit office 339000); county and state comparisons from the county and state files. Population: Census Bureau vintage 2025 estimates for incorporated places, matched on FIPS place code where the permit office is one. House price index: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public domain. Corrections · Building Permits Survey.