In the News

West Brow Development In The News

Townhomes move to rural setting

New Soddy development a ‘serene’ option 16 miles from downtown

Jennifer Lively remembers when the sign welcoming people to Soddy-Daisy proclaimed the town was home to just 5,000-plus residents.

Lively, who at the time was a young girl growing up in Soddy, says she loved seeing someone paint over the previous tally with a bigger number.

“When it reached 7,000, I told my Papaw, ‘More people are moving to Soddy!’” she recalls. “I thought that was neat.”

Although the fabled sign is long gone, Lively, who’s now 47, estimates about 15,000 people live in Soddy today following decades of steady growth in Hamilton County. As a residential Realtor with Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty, she even helped some of them move there.

While this would have thrilled Lively’s younger self, her frustration with the meager number of houses currently available for sale locally recently tempered her excitement about more and more people wanting to make Soddy their home.

“I have 13 buyers right now – all of whom also need to sell – but they’re afraid to list because there’s nowhere for them to go,” she grumbles.