22 Chattanooga Townhomes Break Ground as Inventory Jumps 21%

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga broke ground Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 on Shallowford Hites, a 22-townhome community on 4.8 acres of Shallowford Road land donated in 2023 — directly across from the Shallowford Road YMCA and about a mile from Hamilton Place.

What is being built on Shallowford Road?

Twenty-two townhomes in buildings of three to four units, each home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two parking spaces arranged around a horseshoe driveway off an existing streetlight on Shallowford Road. The 4.8 acres were donated by Drs. Ruth and C.Y. Liu in August 2023 through the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. Because the site slopes and a stream runs through the middle, construction is focused on the front half, with the back half preserved as greenspace. Completion is expected within two years.

How does the affordability piece actually work?

Buyers earn the homes. Future residents complete hundreds of hours building alongside volunteers, take financial-literacy courses and carry a mortgage sized so housing costs stay at or below 30% of household income. It is not a giveaway — it is a mortgage with a sweat-equity down payment.

What are Chattanooga home prices doing?

Inventory is the story. Per Greater Chattanooga REALTORS July data: median sales price rose 2.9% to $360,000, inventory jumped 21.3% to 4,099 homes, pending sales climbed 10.7% to 1,031, new listings edged up 0.7% to 1,552, days on market fell 2.0% to 48, and months' supply rose 15.4% to 4.5. Nationally the median existing-home price hit a record $440,600, up 1.8%, per the National Association of REALTORS.

What this means if you own or buy here

• East Brainerd and Shallowford owners: 22 owner-occupied townhomes near the YMCA is stable, long-hold ownership — a different neighbor profile than a rental complex of the same density.
• Buyers: 4,099 active listings and 4.5 months of supply is the most choice Chattanooga buyers have had in years. Use it on inspection repairs and rate buydowns.
• Sellers: 48 days on market with inventory up 21.3% means your first two weeks decide the outcome. Overpricing costs more now than it did last summer.
• Investors: pending sales up 10.7% against flat new listings says demand is absorbing what comes on. Watch months' supply, not headlines.
• Move-up sellers: the Catch 22 is competing against 4,099 listings while trying to buy. The third door is settling your sale first with a guaranteed-sale plan,* then shopping with leverage.

What's happening in Chattanooga this week

• Chattanooga Handmade & Artisan Expo — Aug. 28-30, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. · Coolidge Park, 150 River St. (free)
• UTC Jones Observatory Open House — Aug. 28, 8-10 p.m. · Jones Observatory, UTC campus
• First Wave — Aug. 29, doors 7:30 p.m. · Barrelhouse Ballroom, Chattanooga (18+)
• Chattanooga City Council — Tuesdays, 6 p.m. · City Council Building, 1000 Lindsay St. (open to the public)

Relocating to Chattanooga? Hixson, East Brainerd and North Shore price very differently for the same square footage.

Sources: WDEF and NewsChannel 9, Aug. 13-14, 2026 (Shallowford Hites groundbreaking); Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga project page; Greater Chattanooga REALTORS July 2026 market report via Chattanoogan.com, Aug. 12, 2026; National Association of REALTORS; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Aug. 13, 2026.

*Tracy and seller must agree on price and possession date