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Permit-issuing place

Knox County Unincorporated Area

Knox County · Knoxville, TN · Tennessee

Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Knox County index 1975–2025
FHFA house price index for Knox County, which contains Knox County Unincorporated Area, 1975 to 2025Recession 1973–75Recession 1980Recession 1981–82Recession 1990–91Recession 2001Recession 2007–09Recession 202005001,0001,50019801990200020102020United States2025: 1,020
Knox County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Knox 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.

Knox County Unincorporated Area, Tennessee (Knox County), authorised 3,390 housing units through building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, +12.8% on the previous 12 months.

2,171 of those units were single-family houses (64%), 0 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 1,219 in buildings of five or more units.

Since 1995 the place has authorised 54,947 units, with the busiest year 2025 (3,447 units). Knox County's FHFA house price index rose +132.9% over the ten years to 2025.

3,390units permitted, 12 months to August 2026+12.8% on the previous 12 months
2,171single-family units64% of the total
1,219units in 5+ unit buildings36% of the total
—units per 1,000 residentsKnox County 10.1 · Tennessee 5.7

Permits by month and structure type

Housing units authorised in Knox County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 months05001,000Sep 2024: 83 units (83 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2024Oct 2024: 406 units (158 single-family, 248 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2024: 149 units (83 single-family, 66 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024: 164 units (134 single-family, 30 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024Jan 2025: 110 units (110 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2025: 203 units (203 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025: 609 units (177 single-family, 432 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025Apr 2025: 443 units (151 single-family, 292 in multi-unit buildings)May 2025: 144 units (144 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025: 365 units (119 single-family, 246 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025Jul 2025: 183 units (183 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2025: 147 units (147 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025: 222 units (222 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025Oct 2025: 215 units (215 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2025: 637 units (196 single-family, 441 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025: 169 units (169 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025Jan 2026: 140 units (140 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2026: 156 units (156 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026: 493 units (253 single-family, 240 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026Apr 2026: 332 units (168 single-family, 164 in multi-unit buildings)May 2026: 204 units (204 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026: 323 units (173 single-family, 150 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026Jul 2026: 370 units (146 single-family, 224 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2026: 129 units (129 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)

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

Units, 12 months to August 2026Knox County Unincorporated AreaKnox CountyTennesseeUnited States
All housing units3,3905,17941,5561,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)2,171 (64%)2,741 (53%)30,956 (74%)888,241 (63%)
2 units01250834,814
3–4 units0048117,298
5 or more units1,219 (36%)2,426 (47%)9,611 (23%)477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents—10.15.74.1
Change on previous 12 months+12.8%+25.2%−4.5%−0.1%

Permits by year since 1995

Housing units authorised in Knox County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–202502,0004,0001995: 2,119 units (1,966 single-family, 153 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 2,678 units (2,136 single-family, 542 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 1,574 units (1,572 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 1,648 units (1,566 single-family, 82 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 1,686 units (1,649 single-family, 37 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 1,822 units (1,697 single-family, 125 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 2,192 units (1,835 single-family, 357 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 2,155 units (2,002 single-family, 153 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 2,307 units (2,230 single-family, 77 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 2,800 units (2,406 single-family, 394 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 2,570 units (2,514 single-family, 56 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 2,790 units (2,310 single-family, 480 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 2,386 units (1,866 single-family, 520 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 1,441 units (1,000 single-family, 441 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 957 units (659 single-family, 298 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 725 units (647 single-family, 78 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 525 units (519 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 794 units (690 single-family, 104 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 881 units (875 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 940 units (934 single-family, 6 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 1,137 units (1,137 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 1,116 units (1,114 single-family, 2 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 1,960 units (1,372 single-family, 588 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 1,427 units (1,427 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 726 units (726 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 1,505 units (1,394 single-family, 111 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 1,733 units (1,733 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 1,492 units (1,484 single-family, 8 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 3,108 units (2,084 single-family, 1,024 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 2,306 units (1,915 single-family, 391 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 3,447 units (2,036 single-family, 1,411 in multi-unit buildings)2025

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

54,947 units since 1995; the busiest year was 2025. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.

Home prices in Knox County

FHFA's index for Knox County rose +132.9% over the ten years to 2025 (+8.8% a year) and +2.9% 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 Knox County Unincorporated Area, TN?

3,390 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 3,006 in the previous 12 months.

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

2,171 single-family units, 0 in two-unit buildings, 0 in three- and four-unit buildings and 1,219 in buildings of five or more units.

How does Knox 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; Knox County runs at 10.1 units per 1,000 residents and Tennessee at 5.7.

How have home prices moved in Knox County?

FHFA's index for Knox County rose +132.9% over the ten years to 2025 and +2.9% 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 439000); 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.