The Housing Nashville Report was released in May 2017 as a working document intended to outline the housing need and identify existing and proposed available tools to ensure that all Nashvillians have access to housing options. The report informs the community of housing policies, guides funding priorities, and provides direction for Metro, our partners, and stakeholders over the next ten years. Specifically, the Housing Nashville Report provides the housing supply-demand gaps by income as well as the projected housing needs by income based on Census data from 2000 to 2015. Thanks to a new partnership with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), this report also includes housing indicators by population and housing stock, owner vs. renter percentages, housing costs, access and affordability, and housing demand. These indicators will be evaluated annually to measure success.

The national housing market has experienced significant changes since the Great Recession. Housing market dynamics in Nashville largely match national trends; however, the impact is intensified in Nashville due to the city’s rapid economic and population growth. An analysis of the gaps in housing demand and supply provides information that is critical to policy and funding decisions. Economic and Planning Systems, Inc. (EPS) conducted a housing needs and gaps analysis in 2017, identifying gaps and demands by census tracts and by income and tenure (owner/renter) countywide using 2000 and 2010 Census data, as well as American Community Survey data for 2015. Nashville’s median household income (MHI) in 2000 was $39,612, while the median household income in 2015 was $52,026. Housing affordability assumes households spend no more than 30 percent of their income on their mortgage, with owners spending including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.