Cookeville, TN Housing Market
AI-powered market intelligence for the Cookeville, TN metro area.
PropertyIQ Scores
Cookeville, TN Market Analysis
Market Overview
Cookeville, TN is positioned as a weak housing market according to its PropertyIQ Score of 14 out of 100. The score reflects several friction points: 12-month home value momentum is 5.37%, but 3-month momentum is -1.45%, median days on market is 65 days, and 26.0% of listings have had a price cut. Against state benchmarks, Cookeville’s median home value of $296,324 is below Tennessee’s $336,508, which could suggest relative affordability. However, the median household income of $53,328 is also well below the state average of $67,097, meaning local buyers may not have the same purchasing power as the state-level comparison implies.
The rental side is a notable counterpoint. Cookeville’s rent index of $1,489 is above the state average of $1,122, a gap of $367. This means housing costs for renters are relatively high even though purchase prices are lower than the state. The unemployment rate is 3.5%, exactly matching the state average, so the labor market does not explain the weak property score. With 729 homes for sale and a slow pace of sales, the market is not behaving like a high-demand or rapidly appreciating area.
Overall, Cookeville should be classified as a moderate-to-weak market. The flat year-over-year home value change of just $2 reinforces that appreciation has stalled despite the positive 12-month momentum. The combination of price cuts, elevated days on market, and soft recent momentum suggests that buyers currently have more negotiating room than sellers.
Key Trends
The first trend is cooling price momentum. The 12-month home value momentum of 5.37% shows that values rose over the past year, but the 3-month momentum of -1.45% shows recent declines. This is supported by a home value year-over-year change of only $2, which is essentially flat. In other words, earlier gains have not continued into the most recent quarter.
The second trend is rising inventory and longer sale times. Cookeville has 729 homes for sale, which, combined with a median days on market of 65 days, points to a slower-moving market. Additionally, 26.0% of listings have had a price cut, meaning more than one in four sellers has reduced asking price. These are typical signs of a buyer-friendly environment.
The third trend is an affordability squeeze. The median home value of $296,324 is lower than the state’s $336,508, but the local median household income of $53,328 is also lower than the state’s $67,097. While homes may look cheaper relative to the state, local incomes are not as strong. At the same time, the rent index of $1,489 is well above the state average of $1,122, so renters may face elevated housing costs, which could push some toward buying if they can qualify.
The fourth trend is a relatively strong rental market compared with the state. The rent index gap of $367 above the state average suggests that rental demand or rental pricing is stronger in Cookeville than in Tennessee overall. This could attract attention from buy-and-hold investors, even though price momentum is weak.
Who Is This Market For
This market may suit first-time buyers who can find a home below the state median value. With a median home value of $296,324 compared with Tennessee’s $336,508, entry-level pricing looks more approachable. However, first-time buyers should weigh the local median household income of $53,328, which is lower than the state average, and the fact that home values are not currently rising. Those with stable employment, supported by a 3.5% unemployment rate, may be able to negotiate with sellers given the 65-day median days on market and 26.0% share of listings with price cuts.
Buy-and-hold investors may find the rent index compelling. Cookeville’s rent index of $1,489 is $367 above the state average of $1,122, while the median home value is below the state average. That combination could support rental income relative to purchase price, but investors should account for weak 3-month momentum and flat year-over-year growth. This is likely not a market for short-term flippers who rely on quick appreciation.
Move-up buyers may face more challenges. Selling an existing home in a market with 65 days on market and a 26.0% price-cut share could take longer and require concessions. At the same time, buying a larger home may be more affordable than in higher-priced parts of the state, but the lack of price momentum may reduce urgency.
Outlook
The near-term outlook for Cookeville is cautious. The 3-month home value momentum of -1.45%, the flat year-over-year change of $2, and the 26.0% share of listings with price cuts all point to limited appreciation in the immediate future. With 729 homes for sale and a median days on market of 65 days, inventory is not scarce enough to drive strong seller conditions. The stable unemployment rate of 3.5% is a positive, but the median household income of $53,328 remains below the state average and may cap buyer purchasing power. Population growth is not available in this dataset, so any demand-side projection is incomplete. Based strictly on the provided numbers, the most likely path is continued softness in pricing and a market where buyers maintain negotiation leverage.
AI-generated analysis based on current market data. Last updated August 19, 2026.
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Cookeville, TN market data
Cookeville, TN Housing Market Overview
Cookeville, TN's median home value is $296K, up 5.4% over the past year. Homes here sell in a median 65 days. Its PropertyIQ Score of 14 sits below the state average of 50, marking a market positioned to lag its state over the next three years.
PropertyIQ tracks the Cookeville, TN housing market through two complementary lenses: price momentum from Zillow home-value trends over 3 and 12 months, and demand pressure from how quickly homes sell and how often sellers cut prices, drawn from Realtor.com. The PropertyIQ Score distills these into one number that predicts how this TN market is set to perform against its state benchmark.
Southeastern markets benefit from manufacturing investment, logistics infrastructure, and relative affordability compared to national averages. The region's population growth — driven by both domestic migration and natural increase — supports sustained housing demand across metro and suburban areas. Within the Southeast, Cookeville, TN's PropertyIQ Score of 14 runs below the Southeast norm.
Tennessee's no-income-tax status and central location have fueled Nashville's rise as a corporate relocation destination, while Memphis and Knoxville offer more affordable alternatives with their own economic drivers.
The PropertyIQ Score for the Cookeville, TN market is built from four inputs: Zillow home-value momentum over twelve months, Zillow home-value momentum over three months, the median days listings spend on the market (Realtor.com), and the share of listings with a price cut (Realtor.com). The score runs on a 1 to 99 scale computed across all metro markets nationally and calibrated so 50 equals the state average — a score above 50 means this market is positioned to outperform its state, and a score below 50 means it is set to lag. Momentum here has been positive, with home values up 5.4% over the past year.
View Cookeville, TN's complete market profile including historical price trends, score history, and AI-generated analysis. Compare this market against any other US metro to find the best opportunities for your investment strategy.
Counties in the Cookeville, TN metro area
ZIP codes in the Cookeville, TN metro area
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Market data through July 2026. Sourced from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, BLS, and BEA. Per-statistic source and date shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cookeville, TN a good place to buy real estate in 2026?
PropertyIQ doesn't label markets simply good or bad. Instead, the PropertyIQ Score measures a market's demand momentum against its own state, where 50 marks the state average. Cookeville, TN currently scores 14, a very weak-momentum reading that leaves it positioned to lag its state over the next three years. For buyers, cooling demand usually brings more inventory, longer sale times, and real leverage to negotiate on price. Backing that up, the median home value here is $296K, up 5.4% over the past year. So whether Cookeville, TN is right for you comes down to your goals: a rising-momentum market can favor long-term appreciation but offers less room to negotiate, while a cooling one hands buyers more leverage. Treat the score as a timing signal to weigh alongside your budget, holding period, and plans for the property, not a verdict on the market's quality.
What is the PropertyIQ Score for Cookeville, TN?
Cookeville, TN's PropertyIQ Score is 14, indicating very weak momentum on a 1-to-99 scale. The score distills four transparent inputs into a single number: Zillow home-value momentum over the past 12 months, Zillow home-value momentum over the past 3 months, the median days homes spend on the market from Realtor.com, and the share of listings with a price cut, also from Realtor.com. Rising values and faster sales push the score up, while slow sales and frequent price cuts pull it down. The scale is calibrated so 50 equals the state average, meaning a score above 50 predicts the market will outperform its state over the next three years and a score below 50 predicts underperformance. PropertyIQ computes the score across every US market nationally, then recenters it against each state, so 14 places Cookeville, TN below its state benchmark.
Are home prices in Cookeville, TN rising or falling?
Home prices in Cookeville, TN are rising. Over the past year, the median home value increased 5.4%, reaching $296K. Over the latest three months, values slipped 1.5%, a sign near-term demand is softening. PropertyIQ derives these figures from Zillow's home-value index, which tracks the typical value across the market rather than only the homes that happened to sell, giving a steadier read than a raw median sale price. Both the 12-month and 3-month momentum readings feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, so this price trend is one of the core signals behind Cookeville, TN's current score. Keep in mind that appreciation can vary widely by neighborhood and price tier across the metro area, so treat these figures as the market-wide baseline rather than a guarantee for any single property.
How quickly do homes sell in Cookeville, TN?
In Cookeville, TN, homes sell in a median of 65 days from listing to pending sale, based on Realtor.com market data. Median days on market is one of the clearest real-time reads on local demand: when homes move quickly, buyers are competing and sellers hold the advantage, while lengthening timelines signal cooling interest and more room to negotiate. Alongside sale speed, about 26% of active listings here have taken at least one price cut — a complementary demand gauge, since a rising share of reductions often precedes slower sales and softer prices. Both median days on market and the price-cut share feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, where faster sales and fewer cuts push the score higher. As a general guide, medians under about 30 days indicate a brisk, competitive market, while medians well beyond 60 days point to buyers regaining leverage. Actual time on market still varies by price band, property type, and season, so treat the median as a market-wide baseline.
How current is this metro area data?
This Cookeville, TN market data is refreshed on a monthly cycle, with the latest figures current through July 2026. PropertyIQ ingests fresh data every month from a range of authoritative sources: home values and rents from Zillow, days on market and price-cut activity from Realtor.com, additional housing signals from Redfin, demographic and housing-stock data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortgage and macroeconomic series from FRED, and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The PropertyIQ Score itself is recomputed every month once the new source data lands, so the score and its four underlying inputs always reflect the most recent complete reporting period rather than a static snapshot. Because official housing data is typically released with a short lag, the current-through date usually trails the present by a few weeks, which is normal across the industry and not a sign the data is out of date.