New home construction in unincorporated Walker County slowed last year, as the cost of construction drove new home prices higher. Still, 2025 ranked as the third best year on record for the county, despite an 11% decline from the previous year.
Walker County’s Planning Office issued 244 permits in 2025 for the construction of new single-family homes. 2025 was on pace through July to outperform 2024, when contractors pulled 276 permits, but slumped over the final five months.
“Construction costs and market uncertainty slowed new home starts in the second half of 2025,” said Jon Pursley, director of planning. “However, permit levels remain well above historical averages, and we expect steady activity to continue as market conditions improve.”
Most of the new home construction occurred in the unincorporated areas near Rossville, Rock Spring and LaFayette. Homebuilders pulled 87 permits in the Rossville district, which includes homes in subdivisions around Happy Valley Road. This area led the way in growth for the third consecutive year, continuing a turnaround from 2022, when just five new homes were built on the north end of the county.
Construction on 57 homes also got underway in the Rock Spring area and 48 homes near LaFayette. In addition, roughly 43 permits were issued in both the Chickamauga and Rising Fawn districts last year.
The average size of a new home built in unincorporated Walker County in 2025 dropped 114 square feet to 2,405. The average cost of construction jumped $91,489 to $359,119. Higher building material costs and labor contributed to the increase in construction costs per home over the previous year. Total valuation of all homes built in 2025 reached over $87 million, an 18% increase over 2024.
The higher cost of a new build encouraged more buyers to purchase an existing home. Housing data from Greater Chattanooga Realtors shows 690 of the 807 homes sold in Walker County last year were previous builds, with an average sale price of $236,517.
Still, county officials remain optimistic 2026 will be another solid year for new home construction, based on the number of land disturbance permits that have been issued for new subdivisions.
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Walker County Single Family Home Permits – 2016 to 2025 |
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| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 123 | 135 | 124 | 128 | 150 | 157 | 142 | 352 | 276 | 244 |