Nashville residents say they are finding it increasingly difficult to afford a home as an influx of out-of-state buyers drives up real estate prices, leaving many with nowhere to go.
Chronic homelessness rates in Tennessee’s capital have soared 77 percent this year, according to official city statistics.
There were 1,525 chronically homeless people (when someone has been homeless for more than a year and has a mental health condition or disability) in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period last year.
The founder of a local nonprofit, Heather Young, he told WKRN that the increase is due to a sharp increase in the cost of living.
Chronic homelessness rates in Nashville, Tennessee, have skyrocketed 77 percent this year.
‘There’s no way these people are going to get going. “They can’t get affordable housing,” he said.
Nashville has experienced a population boom in recent years, with wealthy people from out of town flocking to take advantage of cheaper real estate and lower taxes, discounting locals.
In just 23 years, the Nashville metropolitan region has gone from 1.3 million residents to 2.1 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, increasing property values and the cost of living.
Between 2021 and 2022 alone, more than 22,500 former Californians moved to Tennessee, according to U.S. Census migration data.
Young told WKRN that the homeless problem is due to a sharp increase in the cost of living.
He added: ‘I have seen an increase in the number of women and children. “I’ve seen an increase in mental health that needs to be addressed.”
Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Nashville area shot up $200 last year to $1,442 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
There were 1,525 chronically homeless people in the city last month, compared to 863 in the same period a year earlier.
Young said without more affordable housing, the problem will get worse: “I guarantee you it will double from where we are now.”
Prices have increased due to the influx of people and businesses moving to the state.
In recent years, large corporations like Oracle have chosen to move their headquarters to Tennessee, bringing their workers with them.
Attracted by lower property costs and taxes, Amazon also announced it would set up major operations in downtown Nashville, and New York money manager AllianceBernstein said it would move its headquarters to the city, the Wall Street Journal.
The median home sale price in Nashville at the end of February was $414,012, compared to $290,983 five years earlier.
Remacia Smith, who grew up in Nashville, told The Wall Street Journal that she was recently forced to move to the suburbs with her five children.
“It almost doesn’t look like Nashville anymore,” he said. ‘Wow, Lord, I wish people would stop moving here.’
Local nonprofit founder Heather Young told WKRN the increase is due to a sharp increase in the cost of living.
Meanwhile, lifelong resident John Michael Morgan, for his part, told the outlet that he is concerned about Nashville maintaining its essence.
“Nashville has always been a big city that felt like a small city,” Morgan said. “Now we’re a big city that feels like a big city.”
The Metro Council pledged $50 million in American Rescue Plan funding to fight homelessness in 2022, but the problem hasn’t gone away.
India Pungarcher, advocacy and outreach specialist at Open Table Nashville, told WKRN: ‘If a one-time $50 million investment were to end homelessness in Nashville, you know, homelessness wouldn’t exist anymore, right?
“We need hundreds of millions of dollars to, you know, even make a dent in the homeless problem here in Nashville.”