The story of this market
The typical home in Shelby County, Tennessee sells for about $259,240, or $142 per square foot.
Prices are down 2.4% from a year ago, which gives buyers more room to negotiate. Homes take about 35 days to sell. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 94% since 2000. Last year 69 of 143 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. The biggest natural hazard here is heat wave, which FEMA rates relatively high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,301 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $1,301 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
0%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2022 (+17.2%). Worst: 2010 (-3.9%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
-0.4%
TN · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,717
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
0%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 143 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
71
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $554,679,688.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
73.5%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 35783 | 17170 | 73.5% | 29.6% | $125,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Shelby County, Tennessee
The Shelby County residential housing market is currently stable to softening, characterized by a slight year-over-year price decrease of 2.4% to a median sale price of $259,240. Elevated inventory levels and extended median marketing times of 35 days have expanded buyer leverage across both suburban and urban submarkets. While suburban municipal enclaves maintain steady pricing power, higher mortgage interest rates and inventory absorption dynamics continue to balance market activity countywide.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 7 cities · 33 ZIP reports
Median prices moved down 11.3% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 62 days on market with 0.2 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
1% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 18.17% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 4.8% · poverty 19.3% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Owned and leased federal assets with active or excess status, per the General Services Administration's Real Estate Across the United States inventory (read 2026-09-25). A federal footprint read on this county — not a market valuation, and never an attribute of any individual property or tenant.
Deterministic aggregate of 33 researched ZIP reports — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Shelby County, Tennessee — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 8.2%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
Each property observation weighs one in its ZIP's deterministic roll-up — property-level records (taxes, scores, permits) never roll individually. Latest property research run Oct 7, 2026.
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 21
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 21
researched Sep 16
researched Sep 21
researched Sep 21
researched Sep 17
researched Sep 17
| 38002 | Arlington | $520,000 | $178 | +2.2% | 57 | 98.2% | 18.5% | 3.1 | 342 | $1,753 | researched Sep 17 |
| 38017 | Piperton | $559,734 | $175 | +1.4% | 49 | — | — | — | 401 | $1,609 | researched Sep 17 |
| 38018 | Cordova | $293,750 | $142 | -2.9% | 70 | 96% | — | 2.2 | 198 | $1,716 | researched Sep 21 |
| 38053 | Millington | $248,000 | $165 | -1.7% | 62 | 98.5% | 15% | 4.2 | 160 | $1,161 | researched Sep 17 |
| 38103 | Memphis | $292,425 | $146 | +0.7% | 49 | — | — | 1.2 | 207 | $1,661 | researched Sep 21 |
| 38104 | Memphis | $280,459 | $174 | -22% | 56 | — | — | — | 58 | $1,112 | researched Sep 16 |
| 38105 | Memphis | $185,000 | $109 | -10.9% | 62 | — | — | — | 120 | $997 | researched Sep 21 |
| 38106 | Memphis | $69,785 | $63 | +11.7% | 58 | — | — | — | 198 | $952 | researched Sep 21 |
| 38107 | Memphis | $157,000 | $90 | 0% | 70 | 95% | — | — | 112 | $1,073 | researched Sep 17 |
| 38108 | Memphis | $70,295 | $71 | -5.5% | 31 | — | — | — | 123 | $902 | researched Sep 17 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Shelby County's crime profile is dominated by Memphis, which consistently registers violent and property crime rates significantly above state and national averages. In contrast, suburban municipalities within the county such as Germantown, Collierville, and Arlington report comparatively low crime rates.
Public education is divided between Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), which faces systemic academic challenges and lower state accountability ratings, and six suburban municipal school districts that consistently rank among the top performing in Tennessee.
Shelby County carries a moderate risk of localized riverine and urban flash flooding near the Mississippi River and Wolf River basins, alongside severe convective storm and wind risks. It also sits directly adjacent to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, necessitating seismic risk considerations in local building codes.
Economic momentum is anchored by the Memphis logistics and distribution cluster, including the FedEx World Hub, medical device manufacturing, and major regional healthcare systems. Growth is further stimulated by the nearby Ford BlueOval City mega-site development in neighboring Haywood County.
Shelby County properties are assessed by the Shelby County Assessor of Property, applying Tennessee's 25% assessment ratio for residential property against combined county and municipal millage rates. Tennessee levies no state personal income tax, and standard residential homestead relief is available for qualifying low-income seniors and disabled veterans.
Shelby Farms Park serves as one of the largest urban parks in the United States, complemented by the Wolf River Greenway and the Shelby Farms Greenline trail system. The county also offers major cultural and entertainment attractions along the Memphis riverfront, Beale Street, and Overton Park.
The rental market exhibits strong demand in central and suburban hubs, with substantial presence from institutional single-family rental operators. Median rents remain comparatively affordable relative to national benchmarks, though vacancy rates fluctuate across disparate submarkets.
Shelby County's economy is powered by global logistics, transportation, healthcare, and biomedical manufacturing, anchored by the FedEx World Hub and Memphis International Airport. It features major regional employment centers alongside corporate headquarters such as AutoZone and International Paper.
The county is bisected by major logistics corridors including Interstate 40, Interstate 55, and Interstate 240, with Interstate 69 segments underway. Public transit is operated by the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), providing bus and vintage trolley routes with heavy commuter dependence on personal vehicles.
Major development corridors are focused on infill density along Downtown Memphis and Midtown, medical district expansion, and eastern suburban commercial-residential nodes toward Arlington, Lakeland, and Collierville.
The Shelby County Assessor of Property conducts countywide property reappraisals on a statutory four-year cycle, assessing residential property at 25% of appraised fair market value. Certified tax rates are recalibrated post-reappraisal pursuant to Tennessee state law to maintain revenue neutrality.
Parcels are subject to overlapping jurisdictions including county general services, municipal taxing districts, and municipal school districts. Special entities include the Shelby County Health Care Corporation (Regional One Health) and local drainage and utility authorities.
Homeowners insurance premiums have seen steady upward pressure driven by convective severe storm and hail frequency, regional tornado activity, and broader reinsurance cost adjustments across the Mid-South.
Shelby County has registered modest net domestic outmigration over recent years, partially offset by international migration and localized shifts into outer ring suburbs and neighboring counties.
Tennessee is primarily a non-judicial foreclosure state operating under a deed of trust framework, allowing lender power-of-sale proceedings without court intervention following proper statutory notice, with statutory redemption rights generally waived in the loan documents.
Tennessee law requires sellers of residential real property to provide a standard Residential Property Condition Disclosure statement detailing known material defects, or execute an agreed-upon buyer disclaimer statement prior to contract acceptance.
- Dave & Buster's Memphis49 mi
- K1 Speed Memphis4.75.3 mi
- Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park4.27.6 mi
- Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park4.213.9 mi
- Jumping World4.14.8 mi
- Memphis Zoo4.64.2 mi
- FedExForum4.77.1 mi
- Crosstown Concourse4.75.3 mi
- Renasant Convention Center4.57.3 mi
- B.B. King's Blues Club4.67.3 mi
- Graceland4.57.9 mi
- Memphis Zoo4.64.2 mi
- National Civil Rights Museum4.97.5 mi
- Malco Paradiso4.51.9 mi
- Shelby Farms Park4.85.3 mi
- Graceland4.57.9 mi
- National Civil Rights Museum4.97.5 mi
- Crosstown Concourse4.75.3 mi
- Sun Studio4.86.4 mi
- Lorraine Motel4.97.5 mi
- Shelby Farms Park4.85.3 mi
- Memphis Botanic Garden4.71.2 mi
- Tom Lee Park4.67.8 mi
- Overton Park4.63.8 mi
- Snowden Grove Park4.612 mi
- Topgolf Memphis3.58.1 mi
- TPC Southwind4.89.6 mi
- Windyke Country Club4.810.1 mi
- Cherokee Valley Golf Club4.512.4 mi
- Mirimichi Golf Course4.412.1 mi
- Tanger Outlets Southaven4.513.7 mi
- Wolfchase Galleria4.29.3 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area from Google Maps, ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
Spanning 4,500 acres, it is one of the largest urban parks in the country, featuring paved trails, lakes, a buffalo herd, and extensive recreational amenities.
A 342-acre historic public park housing the Memphis Zoo, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and preserved old-growth forest.
World-famous musical entertainment district in Downtown Memphis featuring live blues clubs, dining, and cultural venues.
Downtown multi-purpose arena serving as the home of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and University of Memphis men's basketball.
Data retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau ACS tables and QuickFacts for Shelby County, TN.