In two towns around Knoxville, a brand-new house sold for less per square foot than a used one. In most of the others, you pay extra for new, sometimes a lot extra.
So I pulled every single-family home that sold in 12 areas around Knoxville from May 1 through November 2, 2026: 578 new builds and 3,746 resales, straight from our MLS. Here's where new is worth it, where it isn't, and the catch that comes with the cheap ones.
How I Did This
The areas: the same 12 from my ranking video: Farragut, Hardin Valley, Powell, Halls, Knoxville (inside city limits), Maryville, Alcoa, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, Loudon, Sevierville and Seymour.
New construction: never lived in. Finished, under construction or built to order. Everything else counts as resale.
The numbers: medians, so a few very expensive or very cheap homes don't skew them.
What New Really Costs
Median price: new $517,000 vs. resale about $418,000. That's about $100,000 more for new.
But new homes are bigger: about 2,350 square feet vs. about 1,920.
Price per square foot: new about $229 vs. resale about $225.
So across all 12 areas, new costs only about $4 more per square foot. On a 2,000-square-foot house, that's about $8,000. But averages hide a lot. Town by town, the story is completely different.
Where New Costs a Lot More
Loudon: about $293 a foot new vs. $243 resale
Farragut: about $295 new vs. $242 resale
Sevierville: about $289 new vs. $273 resale
A real example: in Loudon, for a home between 1,800 and 2,400 square feet, the median new one sold for $655,000. The median resale that size sold for $570,000. That's $85,000 more for about the same size house, just because it's new.
My take: in those towns, if new isn't a must-have, look hard at the resales. That's where the first-owner premium goes away.
The Towns in the Middle
Hardin Valley: about $226 a foot new vs. $221 resale. Basically a wash, because the median resale there was built in 2018. For a 1,800 to 2,400 square foot home, resale actually sold for about $485,000 vs. about $465,000 new. Don't assume new costs more there.
Halls: about $202 new vs. $206 resale.
Lenoir City: about $235 new vs. $224 resale. Same size range: about $500,000 new vs. about $448,000 resale.
Knoxville (inside the city): about $246 new vs. $224 resale. But the median new house in the city was only about 1,340 square feet on about 0.17 acres. Many are infill: a new house on an older city lot. You get new, close to downtown, but you pay more per foot for a smaller house.
The Two Towns Where New Is Cheaper
Maryville: new sold for about $206 a foot vs. $226 for resale. For a home between 1,800 and 2,400 square feet, the median new one sold for about $386,000. The median resale that size sold for $440,000. That's about $54,000 less for the new house.
Powell: new sold for about $187 a foot vs. $208 for resale.
The catch is the lot.
Maryville: the median new build sat on about 0.15 acres. The median resale sat on 0.43 acres.
Powell: about 0.14 acres new vs. 0.35 acres resale.
The new house is cheaper because it sits on a much smaller piece of ground, usually in a newer subdivision with the houses close together. If you want new and don't care about the yard, Maryville and Powell are where your money goes furthest. If you want room for a garden, a dog or a shop, that lower price comes with a tiny yard.
Looking at Powell? See our Powell neighborhood guide and Powell High School Zone guide.
What You Give Up With New
About half the yard: across all 12 areas, the median new build sat on about 0.19 acres vs. about 0.35 for resale.
An HOA, usually: about 79% of new builds that sold had an HOA fee, vs. about 35% of resales. Some people want the HOA. Just ask what it costs and what it covers before you fall in love with the model home.
Location: new subdivisions go where there's still open land, which usually means farther out. Drive from the subdivision to your work at 7:30 in the morning before you sign.
Why Builders Don't Cut Their Price
Sold vs. original asking price: new builds sold for a median of 100% of their original price. Resales sold for about 97%.
Price cuts on homes for sale now: as of November 6, about 41% of new-construction listings in these 12 areas had a price cut, vs. about 59% of resales.
Builders hold firm because one price cut lowers the value of every house they still have to sell in that neighborhood. So instead of cutting the price, many offer help with closing costs or pay to lower your interest rate.
My take: with a builder, don't just ask for a lower price. Ask what incentives they're offering this month. And if the deal depends on using their lender, compare it with an outside lender to make sure it's actually a deal.
The Tax Bill Surprise on New Homes
In Tennessee, property is assessed based on what was there on January 1. So if your house was still being built on January 1, the tax bill on the listing is usually just for the lot or a partly built house.
I saw it all through this data. Of the new builds over $400,000 that showed a tax bill, about 2 out of 3 showed less than $1,000 a year. In Loudon, some showed less than $100 on a house that sold for $750,000.
That's not your real tax bill. In Knox County, if a new house is finished in the first eight months of the year, you can get a second, prorated bill for the rest of that year, and the next year you get the full bill. So don't budget off the listing's tax number. Ask your lender to estimate the tax on the finished house, or your mortgage payment can jump when your escrow catches up.
More on how tax bills work here: Knox County Property Tax Guide.
Before You Buy New, Do These Four Things
Drive one of that builder's five-year-old neighborhoods. Not the model home. Look at the siding, driveways, gutters and trim. That's what your house will look like in five years.
Get your own inspection, even on a brand-new house. If you can, get one before the drywall goes up and another before closing.
Find out what the base price includes. The model home is loaded with upgrades. Ask for the list: flooring, counters, appliances, the lot premium. That's how a $450,000 house turns into a $510,000 house.
Read the HOA rules before you sign. Fences, sheds, parking, rentals. If you have a boat or a work truck, you want to know now.
The Near-New Surprise
You'd think the sweet spot is a house that's only a few years old. Not around here. Resales built from 2015 to 2023 sold for about $247 a foot, vs. about $229 for brand new.
A lot of those near-new resales sit in the pricier areas, and they come finished: fenced yard, blinds, landscaping, punch list done. The good news: about 44% of near-new resales had a price cut before they sold. So shop both, the brand-new house and the five-year-old one down the street, and make the five-year-old one negotiate.
What You Inherit With Resale
The median resale around Knoxville was built in 1995.
About 37% were built before 1980.
Inside Knoxville, the median resale was built in 1956.
With resale, you get a bigger yard and an established street, but you also buy the roof, the HVAC, the water heater and whatever's under the house. That's why the inspection matters even more. The flip side: resale sellers negotiate. About 59% of resale listings have already cut their price.
My Call: New or Resale
Go new if you want low maintenance for the first few years, you're fine with a smaller yard and an HOA, and you're buying in Maryville or Powell, where new is priced right.
Go resale if you want land, you want to be closer in, or you're looking in Loudon, Farragut or Sevierville, where new costs a big premium.
In every town, compare price per square foot and lot size, not just the sticker price. A new house that looks $50,000 cheaper might be sitting on a third of the land.
What the Numbers Can't Tell You
They can't tell you how a builder's homes hold up, how a resale was taken care of, or what matters most to you: a yard, a shorter commute, or never touching a paintbrush for five years. Use these numbers to narrow it down. Then go look.
Stuck Between New and Resale?
Text me the town and your budget at 865-548-7676. I'll send you what both new and resale actually sold for there, including lot sizes.
Want to browse first? Search homes here, or read I Ranked 12 Towns Around Knoxville and What's Coming to Knoxville.
Sources: 4,324 closed single-family sales in 12 areas from the Knoxville MLS, May 1 to November 2, 2026 (578 new construction, 3,746 resale); price-cut figures for active listings from the MLS as of November 6, 2026. New construction means never occupied, under construction, to be built or under roof. Areas are by mailing address or ZIP code, except Knoxville, which is limited to inside city limits. Same-size comparisons cover 1,800 to 2,400 square feet. Property tax timing from the Knox County Property Assessor (prorates) and UT County Technical Assistance Service.