Just a day after the CDC finally provided updated guidance on the next steps to return to cruising, one of the three largest cruise companies has taken a bigger step.  In a letter to CD… Read More

Vacancy rates for half of the Tri-Cities area investor-owned, single-family homes are above the national average. That seems out of sync in a housing market with a record-low inventory of ho… Read More

Almost anyone who has cruised before will tout the value of cruising when compared to land vacations.  Most cruises include your meals, entertainment, transportation (to various ports o… Read More

The Tri-Cities labor market appears to be shaking off a tepid close to 2020 and the beginning of the new year. February’s local labor market reports, and the most current unemployment… Read More

Some locals who want to buy a home – just not at today’s prices – have marshaled their reserves and are waiting for the current local housing market to crash. It could be a… Read More

As many of us start to see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”, when it comes to cruising from the US, the situation remains quite dark.  It’s not because… Read More

Today (Friday Mach 19), Celebrity Cruises announced that starting in June they'll be offering seven night Caribbean cruises from Sint Maarten.  Sister company Royal Caribbean also annou… Read More

Despite a record soggy spring and a pandemic, 2020 was the best year for new Tri-Cities home permits since 2008.  And much of that new home surge is carrying over to this year. All but… Read More

The past week has been a wild one for cruising in the US: The cruise industry pleaded with the CDC to stop it's months of radio-silence on it's Conditional Sailing Order. The CDC t… Read More

Local, local, local is a mantra for reports on this page because much of the time local conditions don’t mirror what you read or see on media reports. The 2020 house flipping story is… Read More

Homeowners took advantage of basement-level mortgage rates and made 2020 the year for refinancing. Almost half of the Tri-Cities loan originations (45.5%) went to refinancing, according to A… Read More

Unemployment claims in the Tri-Cities region have declined for the second straight week. There were 2,312 continued claims for Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washingt… Read More

The Tri-Cities economy is stirring. Builders, Realtors, and lenders are scrambling to keep up with the housing demand. Local retail home improvement firms followed the national model in thei… Read More

New foreclosure filings continue declining in the Tri-Cities while mortgage delinquency rates are increasing. Government-imposed moratoriums have pumped the brakes on foreclosures, but accor… Read More

Washington County had the best housing affordability index in Tennessee during the first three months of this year. Washington and Williamson were the only state counties in ATTOM Data Solut… Read More

After pressure from politicians and the public came to a head over the past week, finally there are signs of potential progress on the return of cruising to from the US.  Following a ca… Read More

Increasingly, guests appreciate knowing what their total vacation costs will be ahead of time, rather than separately accounting for cruise fare, drinks, dining, excursions, and more.  … Read More

The CDC has taken the next step in moving forward with the safe return of cruising from the US, but for some, it’s not a big enough step. It’s been over a year since the CDC sto… Read More

WETS’ Business Matters cited NETAR’s March and Q1 Northeast Tennessee Commercial Real Estate Report. Momentum has been building since the fourth quarter of last year. It released… Read More

Soon you’ll be able to again cruise the Caribbean.  After a year without cruising in the region, lines have coordinated with several island nations and gained permission to set sa… Read More