85-Unit Strawberry Plains Townhome Community Sells for $24.4 Million

An 85-unit Class A rental townhome community in Knoxville's Strawberry Plains area sold for $24.4 million, according to an Aug. 5 announcement of the closing. That works out to roughly $287,000 per unit for a rental product that lenders originally doubted the submarket could support.

What sold, and why is the price notable?

Strawberry Meadows Townhomes, an 85-unit community built as the first Class A rental townhome product in the Strawberry Plains community, changed hands at $24.4 million. When it was proposed, the open question was whether that part of Knoxville could command premium rents at all. Some lenders were skeptical. The project ultimately exceeded its original pro forma, achieved rents above projections and leased quickly — and that performance is what produced investor demand at this price.

Why should a homeowner care about an apartment sale?

Because $287,000 per door on the east side is a repricing of the entire submarket. Institutional capital paying Class A prices in Strawberry Plains tells every land owner, builder and homeowner within a few miles that the area now underwrites like inner-ring Knoxville, not like the county edge. The seller here served as his own general contractor, lived on site during construction and demolished his own home to fit additional townhome units — a level of local conviction that predated the institutional interest by years.

What is the Knoxville housing market doing at mid-year 2026?

Loosening, not falling. The metro's average monthly median sale price for January through June was $397,365, up 1.7% year over year, with active listings up 5.2% and median days on market at 65.7 — 6.6 days slower than a year ago.

Read those last three lines together and you get the real story: only 15.7% of Knoxville homes now sell above original list, down 4.5 points, while 34.2% still sell inside two weeks. The market is splitting between homes priced correctly on day one and homes that sit — and 4.2% of listings are now pulled off the market without selling at all, nearly double last year's share.

What this means if you own or buy here

• East Knox and Strawberry Plains owners: a $24.4 million Class A trade in your submarket is a comp for the neighborhood's trajectory, not just for apartments. Rental demand at premium rents supports resale values around it.
• Sellers anywhere in the metro: the above-list share dropped 4.5 points in a year. Overpricing no longer costs you a week — it costs you the 65.7-day median and often a price cut on top.
• Buyers: 5,661 active listings and 3.9 months of supply is the most choice Knoxville buyers have had in years. Ask for repairs and rate buydowns; the leverage is in the aged inventory.
• Investors: per-door pricing on the east side has moved. Underwrite acquisitions off current rents, not off 2024 basis assumptions.
• Move-up sellers: with 4.2% of listings failing to sell, the risk in a move-up is timing, not price. A guaranteed-sale plan fixes the sale date first* so you are not carrying two mortgages or losing the house you want.

Sources: Announcement of the $24.4 million closing of Strawberry Meadows Townhomes, Knoxville, TN, Aug. 5, 2026; Redfin mid-year 2026 metro housing data (average monthly median, January-June 2026), as reported Aug. 3, 2026.

*Tracy and seller must agree on price and possession date