The Record · Atlanta Residential

Atlanta residential, January 2026

Period: January 2026. Compiled: October 3, 2026, from the public series on file and figures recorded in research during the period. Part of The Record, a retrospective archive: each page is written after its period from the data as it stood, and says so. Tier B page: no contemporaneous written read exists for this month; the figures are the series and the transcribed library items named below, and the commentary was written in October 2026. Corridor: the north metro counties the series cover (Cherokee, Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett) and the metro as a whole.

Buyer demand sat near the lowest on record, buyers backed out of deals at the fastest pace in a decade, relistings accelerated, and the income needed to buy had fallen from its 2025 peak.

Rates and affordability

The thirty-year fixed averaged 6.10% across the month's weekly surveys, ending the month at 6.10%; the prior month averaged 6.19% and the same month a year earlier 6.96% (Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, via FRED series MORTGAGE30US). The ten-year Treasury averaged 4.21% (U.S. Treasury via FRED series DGS10).

Metric	Value	Prior	Change	Source
30-year fixed, monthly average of weekly surveys	6.10%	6.19% (prior month); 6.96% (year earlier)	-8 bps MoM	Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED
30-year fixed, last survey of the month	6.10%			Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED
10-year Treasury, monthly average	4.21%			U.S. Treasury via FRED

Mortgage rates, weekly

30-year fixed 6.10%10-year Treasury 4.24%

Freddie Mac; U.S. Treasury via FRED · 52 weeks ending Jan '26 · Freddie Mac and U.S. Treasury via FRED, pulled October 4, 2026 · Construction is The Record's own.

Prices

The metro Home Value Index stood at $386,384 for January 2026, -2.76% on the year and -0.14% on the month (Zillow Research, ZHVI all homes, Atlanta metro, from the series pulled August 2, 2026). By county, year over year: Cherokee -0.99%, Forsyth -2.09%, Cobb -2.88%, Fulton -3.26%, Gwinnett -3.41% (Zillow Research, ZHVI by county, same pull). The metro median list price was $386,666 (+1.41% on the year); the median sale price $358,300 (+0.08% on the year) (Zillow Research, same pull). Atlanta's Case-Shiller index was 245.55, -0.15% on the year (S&P Cotality Case-Shiller via FRED series ATXRNSA, not seasonally adjusted).

Measure	Value	YoY	Source
Metro ZHVI, all homes	$386,384	-2.76%	Zillow Research CSV, pulled 8/2/26
Cherokee County ZHVI	$483,782	-0.99%	same
Forsyth County ZHVI	$630,960	-2.09%	same
Cobb County ZHVI	$433,281	-2.88%	same
Fulton County ZHVI	$424,889	-3.26%	same
Gwinnett County ZHVI	$416,922	-3.41%	same
Metro median list price	$386,666	+1.41%	same
Metro median sale price	$358,300	+0.08%	same
Case-Shiller Atlanta index (NSA)	245.55	-0.15%	S&P Cotality Case-Shiller via FRED

Metro and county ZHVI

Metro $386,384Fulton $424,889Gwinnett $416,922Cobb $433,281Cherokee $483,782Forsyth $630,960

Zillow Research · 24 months ending Jan '26 · Zillow Research, August 2026 vintage (ZHVI and portal series pulled August 2, 2026; days to pending August 23, 2026) · Construction is The Record's own.

Inventory and supply

Metro active inventory was 28,684, +10.30% on the year and -5.60% on the month; new listings were 4,911, -6.22% on the year (Zillow Research, inventory and new-listings series, Atlanta metro, pulled August 2, 2026). The listing-portal count of active listings for the Atlanta area was 23,422, +10.00% on the year (FRED series ACTLISCOU12060, sourced from the national listing portal).

Measure	Value	YoY	Source
Metro active inventory	28,684	+10.30%	Zillow Research CSV, pulled 8/2/26
Metro new listings	4,911	-6.22%	same
Active listings, portal count	23,422	+10.00%	FRED ACTLISCOU12060

Metro inventory and new listings

Active inventory 28,684New listings 4,911

FRED · 24 months ending Jan '26 · Zillow Research, August 2026 vintage (ZHVI and portal series pulled August 2, 2026; days to pending August 23, 2026) · Construction is The Record's own.

Buyer and seller activity

The metro sale-to-list ratio was 97.47 percent against 97.91 percent a year earlier (Zillow Research, sale-to-list series, pulled August 2, 2026). Median days to pending were 61 against 50 a year earlier (Zillow Research, days-to-pending series, pulled August 23, 2026).

Metric	Value	Year earlier	Source
Sale-to-list ratio	97.47%	97.91%	Zillow Research CSV
Median days to pending	61	50	Zillow Research CSV

Sale-to-list and days to pending

Sale-to-list (left) 97.5%Days to pending (right) 61

What the month's research recorded

Figures transcribed from the chart library collected during the period, each credited to the publisher printed on the item; no chart image is reproduced. Items marked "publisher as printed" are confirmed against the library item before publication.

The household income needed to buy a typical U.S. home was $93,061, down from the $98,900 peak of January 2025 but still about twice the 2016 level (ResiClub on Zillow data, as of January 2026).
The administration said it would target institutional buyers in Atlanta and floated a 401(k) down-payment plan (press reports, as of January 2026).

What it meant for a practice

Buyer demand sat near the lowest on record, buyers backed out of deals at the fastest pace in a decade, relistings accelerated, and the income needed to buy had fallen from its 2025 peak. Read against the series, the month belongs to the stretch in which the metro's values were falling on the year and inventory was building; the practice question each month was how far asking prices had to travel to meet the buyers who were actually in the market.

Source block. Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, weekly, via FRED MORTGAGE30US (public). U.S. Treasury constant-maturity ten-year, via FRED DGS10 (public). Zillow Research CSVs: ZHVI all homes (metro and county), inventory, new listings, median list price, median sale price, sale-to-list, days to pending; series pulled August 2 and August 23, 2026 (terms: attribution to Zillow Research; confirm wording before publication). S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Atlanta index, not seasonally adjusted, via FRED ATXRNSA. Active listing count via FRED ACTLISCOU12060 (sourced from the national listing portal). Library items as credited inline, transcribed from the chart library collected during the period; each is confirmed against the item and its printed publisher before publication. The Practice, 2024 Atlanta Metro Market Report, November 20, 2024 (Stoa-authored; MLS county counts, Census, the national association's data). Federal Reserve FOMC statements as cited.

Educational, not professional advice.