Springfield is the most affordable market we serve and, for the right buyer, the best value in Middle Tennessee. It is also the strongest USDA story in the region — and almost nobody is telling it.
Springfield by the numbers
| County | Robertson |
|---|---|
| ZIP code(s) | 37172 |
| Median sale price | $357,450 2026 year-to-date closings, Greater Nashville REALTORS® |
| Population | 20,090 U.S. Census Bureau, July 1 2025 estimate |
| Growth | +6.9% since 2020 |
| Median household income | $59,465 |
| USDA $0-down eligibility | Roughly 94% of the ZIP is in an eligible area |
| Schools | Robertson County Schools — Springfield High and Innovation Academy, fed by Krisle, Cheatham Park, Westside, Bransford and Crestview elementaries. South Haven Christian is the main private option. |
Roughly 94% of Springfield qualifies for $0 down USDA financing
ZIP 37172 covers a lot of ground, and only about 6% of that land area — essentially the city core — sits inside a USDA exclusion zone. The other ~94% is in an eligible area. In practical terms, a very large share of the homes for sale in and around Springfield can be financed at 100% loan-to-value with no down payment.
Read that against the price. The 2026 median sale price here is $357,450, and the median owner-occupied home value in the census data is $253,600 — the lowest of any city we serve. A household that has been told it needs $15,000 saved before it can even start looking may already qualify to buy, today, with nothing down.
Two things people get wrong about USDA. First, "rural" is a map designation, not a judgment about your neighborhood — plenty of ordinary subdivisions qualify. Second, USDA has income limits, and for the Nashville area those limits are higher than most people assume: roughly $133,550 for a 1–4 person household. Springfield's median household income is $59,465. Most families here are nowhere near the ceiling.
Eligibility is determined address by address. Send me the property and I will check it the same day.
Loan programs that fit Springfield
- USDA Rural Development — $0 down. The headline program in Springfield and the reason this page exists. No down payment, competitive rates, and a guarantee fee structure that is generally cheaper than FHA mortgage insurance over the life of the loan.
- FHA — 3.5% down. About $12,511 on the median. The fallback when a specific address falls in the excluded city core.
- THDA Great Choice — and this is important. Robertson County is marked as having federally targeted census tracts, which waives the first-time homebuyer requirement entirely. If you have owned a home before and assumed THDA was closed to you, in parts of Robertson County that is not true. Acquisition limit $500,000; income limits $139,320 for 1–2 person households and $162,540 for 3 or more.
- VA — $0 down. Fort Campbell is about 45 minutes northwest.
- Conventional — 3% to 5% down. Robertson County is in the Nashville MSA, so the 2026 conforming limit is $1,029,250.
What it actually takes to get into a home in Springfield
Run against the local median sale price of $357,450. These are down payments only — closing costs are separate, though seller credits and lender credits often cover a large share of them.
| Program | Down payment | On $357,450 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA | 0% | $0 | Property must be in an eligible area and you must be under the income limit |
| VA | 0% | $0 | Eligible service members, veterans and surviving spouses. No monthly mortgage insurance |
| Conventional 3% | 3% | $10,724 | First-time buyer programs; mortgage insurance drops off at 20% equity |
| FHA | 3.5% | $12,511 | Most flexible on credit |
| Conventional 5% | 5% | $17,872 | Lower mortgage insurance than 3% |
| Conventional 20% | 20% | $71,490 | No mortgage insurance at all |
Illustrative only, based on the median sale price shown above. Your actual figures depend on the purchase price, your credit profile, the property, and the program. This is not a commitment to lend.
Who I help in Springfield
A household that had been saving for two years
They were $9,000 short of what they thought they needed. The address was USDA eligible. They needed $0.
A repeat buyer who assumed THDA was closed to them
The property sat in a federally targeted Robertson County tract, which waives the first-time buyer requirement.
A Nashville commuter priced out of Davidson County
The $357,450 median here versus $483,590 in Davidson bought them a bigger house and a 40-minute drive.
Neighborhoods we lend in
- Vesper Village
- Autumnwood Estates
- Kingston Estates
- Hopewell Estates
- Windland Estates
- McAllister Estates
- Old Creek
- Esquire Estates
- Hoods Branch
Not on the list? It does not matter — these are just the ones that come up most. We lend on any residential property in Springfield and throughout Robertson County.
Refinancing in Springfield
Springfield refinances tend to be about payment relief rather than rate arbitrage. With the lowest median household income of the cities we serve, freeing up a few hundred dollars a month matters more here than shaving a fraction off a rate.
If you are in an FHA loan and your equity has crossed 20%, moving to conventional eliminates the mortgage insurance premium for good. If you are in a USDA loan, a USDA streamlined-assist refinance can lower the payment with limited documentation and no new appraisal in many cases — a genuinely underused option in Robertson County.
Cash-out refinancing in Springfield
Cash-out in Springfield is most often debt consolidation, and the math here can be dramatic precisely because the starting rates on the debt being consolidated are so high. Moving consumer debt onto a mortgage at mortgage pricing changes household cash flow in a way that is hard to replicate any other way.
Most conventional cash-out programs go to 80% of the home's value. Note that USDA loans do not offer cash-out — if you bought with USDA financing and want to access equity, you would be refinancing into a conventional loan, which changes the mortgage insurance picture. That is a specific calculation and worth doing carefully.
The honest caution: consolidating unsecured debt into a mortgage converts it into debt secured by your house, stretched over 30 years. It lowers the payment. It does not automatically lower the total cost. I will show you both numbers.
Have a specific Springfield address in mind? Send it over and I will confirm the county, the tax picture, and whether it qualifies for $0-down financing — usually the same day.
Get My Instant Quote or call 615-881-6927Springfield mortgage questions
Is Springfield really eligible for USDA no-money-down loans?
For most of it, yes. Roughly 94% of ZIP 37172's land area sits in a USDA-eligible area; only about 6%, essentially the city core, is excluded. Eligibility is determined address by address, so send me the property you are looking at and I will confirm it the same day.
I make too much for USDA, don't I?
Probably not. The USDA income limit for the Nashville metro area is roughly $133,550 for a one-to-four person household and $176,300 for five to eight. Springfield's median household income is $59,465. The overwhelming majority of local buyers are well under the limit. This is the single most common reason people rule themselves out incorrectly.
I've owned a home before. Am I locked out of THDA down payment assistance?
Not necessarily in Robertson County. THDA marks Robertson as having federally targeted census tracts, and in a targeted tract the first-time homebuyer requirement is waived. Whether your specific address qualifies depends on the tract, which I can check for you.
How does USDA compare to FHA on cost?
USDA requires no down payment where FHA requires 3.5%, and USDA's annual guarantee fee is generally lower than FHA's annual mortgage insurance premium. FHA also keeps mortgage insurance for the life of the loan in most cases. For an eligible property, USDA is usually the cheaper loan. The catch is that the property has to be in an eligible area and you have to be under the income limit.
Is Springfield a reasonable commute to Nashville?
About 30 miles via US-41 or US-431, commonly 35 to 45 minutes depending on the hour. For a lot of buyers that commute is what buys the difference between a $357,450 median here and a $483,590 median in Davidson County.
Other areas we serve
- White House, TN
- Hendersonville, TN
- Gallatin, TN
- Portland, TN
- Goodlettsville, TN
- Nashville, TN
- Clarksville, TN
Sources and data notes. Median sale price: Greater Nashville REALTORS® 2026 year-to-date closings. USDA land-area eligibility estimate: third-party ZIP-level analysis of USDA map data — eligibility is determined address by address at eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov. USDA income limits: Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin HUD Metro FMR Area, 2026. THDA acquisition and income limits effective August 1 2026. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, July 1 2025 estimate and 2020–2024 ACS. Figures are current as of publication and change over time. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. All loans are subject to credit approval.