MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The pathway to the American dream of homeownership is becoming increasingly narrow for residents of Murfreesboro and the broader Rutherford County area, where rising prices and limited inventory are squeezing out first-time buyers. In fact, it’s a problem that spans a much larger area than Tennessee as historically low levels of home inventory at entry price points continues to grow making homeownership in the U.S. an uphill battle for a huge percentage.
A new housing report analyzing metro areas across the United States ranks the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) at #222 out of 334 U.S. markets in terms of affordability and accessibility for starter homes in 2025. That’s a steep drop from its #146 ranking just three years ago in 2022, indicating a significant decline in housing affordability for middle- and lower-income families.
Locally, the signs of this shift are evident. The median price of a home in 2025 has climbed to $392,083, with only 41.6% of these homes qualifying as having a “starter-size” mortgage payment—defined as one that a household earning the median renter income can reasonably afford. At the same time, 68% of homes on the market are considered “starter size,” reflecting the right square footage, but not necessarily the right price…