Franklin has landed near the top of a list no city wants to top: the second most unaffordable place to buy a home in the United States heading into 2027, trailing only Scottsdale, Arizona. The ranking cites an average home value of $913,277 and median rent of $2,111 in Franklin — numbers that have longtime residents like renter Jack Bryant wondering how much longer they can hang on.
Finance Buzz Puts Franklin Behind Only Scottsdale
The ranking, compiled by Finance Buzz and reported by WSMV, places Franklin behind Scottsdale, Arizona as the two U.S. cities most likely to become unaffordable in 2027. Separately, Finance Buzz has said Franklin's overall cost of living runs about 39.4% above the national average, according to Finance Buzz. The station's report ties the surging cost of living to growth pressures that have been building in the city for years.
According to the station's report, downtown Franklin, Williamson County Schools and the city's proximity to downtown Nashville are drawing more people to Franklin every day. That same pull that makes Franklin attractive is also what's pricing out longtime residents like Bryant, who grew up in Franklin and now rents in Cool Springs.
A Renter Fears Being Priced Out
Bryant told the station he wants to buy his first home and eventually start a family, but a small one-bedroom apartment is not going to cut it when that day comes. For now, he's stuck paying a steep price just to stay put. “I'm paying almost two grand for one bedroom, 760 square feet,” Bryant said, per the same account. He said he fears he could soon be priced out of the rental market entirely.
The rental squeeze Bryant describes lines up with other recent reporting on Tennessee rents. A separate report cited by the station ranked Franklin as Tennessee's most expensive city for one-bedroom rent, at $1,690, with Nashville second at $1,470 and the statewide median one-bedroom rent at $1,142, according to WSMV.
What the Sales Data Shows
Home sale figures from Redfin offer another, separate window into Franklin's market. Over the three months ending in October, Franklin's median sale price was $849,000, up 5.5% from the same period a year earlier, according to Redfin. That figure uses a different measure and time period than the ranking's $900,000 median, so the two numbers shouldn't be read as interchangeable snapshots of the same market.
The median time to sell was 61 days, compared with 54 days a year earlier; the median sale price per square foot was about $331, up 1.5% year over year, Redfin data shows.
Central Franklin homes were on the market for 71 days. Williamson County had 364 closings in October, and its median sale price was about $975,000 in October 2025.
Realtor Sees Opening for Buyers Amid the Slowdown
Real estate agent Kate Goerlinger told the station that high interest rates could present challenges for sellers heading into 2027, and that longer listing times could actually work in buyers' favor depending on price point. She called it a great opportunity for buyers, who may not have to pay closing costs or bid over asking price the way they might have in a hotter market, per the station's reporting.
Still, not every price point is sitting unsold. Realtors say homes priced around $500,000 do not stay on the market long, the report notes, leaving little relief for buyers at the entry level. For those priced out of Franklin altogether, the options are limited: rent longer or look at nearby communities including Nolensville and Spring Hill, according to the same report.
A methodology note adds another layer of caution to any day-on-market comparisons in the area. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warns that Williamson County median-days-on-market data released since October 2022 uses a revised methodology and is not directly comparable with earlier releases, according to FRED. For renters like Bryant, the bigger picture is simpler than any of the competing data sets: the math on staying in Franklin is getting harder every month.
