The Record · Atlanta Residential · 2026
Atlanta residential, 2026
Rates climbed from 6.10% in January to 6.86% by September while supply built to a record.
The market got busier and more negotiable at the same time, a supply-led softening into firm rates.
30-year fixed, monthly average
6.86% (Sep)▲
Open 6.10% · High 6.86% · Low 6.05%
Change +0.76 pts on the year
Metro ZHVI
$377,428 (Aug)▼
Open $381,319 · High $381,319 · Low $377,428
Change -1.0% on the year
Active inventory
34,194 (Aug)▲
Open 28,684 · High 34,194 · Low 27,810
Change +19.2% on the year
Months of supply
5.0 (Aug)▼
Open 6.3 · High 6.3 · Low 3.8
Change -1.25 on the year
Median sale price
$392,500 (Jul)▲
Open $358,150 · High $392,500 · Low $358,150
Change +9.6% on the year
Median days to pending
42 (Aug)▼
Open 61 · High 61 · Low 33
Change -19 days on the year
Sales count (nowcast)
6,812 (Aug)▲
Open 4,576 · High 8,421 · Low 4,576
Change +48.9% on the year
Price-cut share
30.5% (Aug)▲
Open 22.6% · High 30.5% · Low 22.5%
Change +8.0 pts on the year
ZORI (rent)
$1,853 (Aug)▲
Open $1,805 · High $1,853 · Low $1,805
Change +2.6% on the year
01 · Rates and affordability
Rates and affordability
The year's rate path set the affordability math for every corridor file.
FREDDIE MAC PMMS VIA FRED · UNITED STATES · JAN-SEP 2026 · MONTHLY AVERAGE, PERCENTConstruction is The Record's own. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, series MORTGAGE30US.
How it got here
Opened at 6.10% and closed 6.86% (Sep), a move of +0.76 pts against the since-1971 norm of 7.68%.
The other side
The ten-year Treasury led the path, so the year's move was a base-rate move, not a widening spread.
In the corridor
Every hundred basis points on the 30-year reshaped the north-metro payment stack more than any price move did.
02 · Prices and valuations
Prices and valuations
Value drifted while the mix of what sold moved the headline median.
ZILLOW RESEARCH · ATLANTA METRO AND COUNTIES · JAN-SEP 2026 · ZHVI, MID-TIER, $Construction is The Record's own. Zillow Research ZHVI, metro and county, mid-tier seasonally adjusted.
How it got here
The metro ZHVI ran from $381,319 to $377,428 (Aug), a change of -1.0% on the year.
The other side
Typical value and the median sale price can diverge: a richer mix of closings lifts the median even when the index drifts.
In the corridor
Fulton's typical value held near $415K, above the metro, the corridor's premium band.
03 · Inventory and supply
Inventory and supply
Supply is where the year broke from the prior two.
ZILLOW RESEARCH · ATLANTA METRO · JAN-SEP 2026 · ACTIVE LISTINGS, COUNTConstruction is The Record's own. Zillow Research active for-sale inventory, metro.
How it got here
Active listings ran from 28,684 to 34,194 (Aug), a change of +19.2% across the year.
The other side
The build came from accumulation, homes listing at a normal pace and clearing slowly, not from a flood of new listings.
In the corridor
More selection and more time is a buyer's condition; for a seller it is the year the default advantage narrowed.
04 · Buyer and seller activity
Buyer and seller activity
The pace carried the year's negotiation, not the asking price.
ZILLOW RESEARCH · ATLANTA METRO · JAN-SEP 2026 · MEDIAN DAYS TO PENDINGConstruction is The Record's own. Zillow Research median days to pending, metro.
How it got here
Days to pending ran from 61 to 42 (Aug), a change of -19 days on the year.
The other side
Clearing shifted to concession and days rather than a cut at the list price, which the price-cut share tracked.
In the corridor
A listing that would have cleared in a weekend now waits, so pricing to the corridor's pace matters more than the asking headline.
05 · Rent and the carrying cost
Rent and the carrying cost
Rent climbed steadily while the rate reset the own-versus-rent line.
ZILLOW RESEARCH; COMPUTED P&I · ATLANTA METRO · JAN-SEP 2026 · DOLLARS PER MONTHConstruction is The Record's own. Zillow ZORI and computed principal-and-interest on the median home, 20% down, 30-year.
How it got here
Rent ran from $1,805 to $1,853 (Aug), a change of +2.6%, a steadier climb than values.
The other side
As the rate rose, the cost to own on principal and interest widened against the typical rent, moving the margin toward renting.
In the corridor
For a corridor client weighing rent against a purchase, the rate, not the price, moved the own-versus-rent line this year.
06 · The month reads
The month reads
Each month of 2026, its one-sentence read and three figures, linking to the full page: nine months, January to September.
What the year meant
- For a buyer
Selection and time arrived together; purchasing power carried from spring was stale by fall.
- For a seller
The default advantage ended; clearing moved to concession and days, not the asking headline.
- For a practice
A supply-led softening into firm rates reads as a late-cycle plateau, not a downturn.
What to watch
- Whether the September rate move holds or fades on the October survey.
- Whether the record supply build keeps climbing into the fall, when listings normally thin.
- Whether the median-sale strength was a spring mix effect that fades with the season.
- Zillow's September and fourth-quarter releases, for whether the value drift steadies.
The close · Sources
Sources and method
Sources and method
Rates from Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED (MORTGAGE30US, MORTGAGE15US) and the US Treasury (DGS10). Values, inventory, pace, price cuts, and rent from Zillow Research, pulled for the month each figure summarizes. Months of supply and the payment stack are computed from those public series; the long-run norm on the rate exhibit is the since-1971 average from the history base. Each month page states its own vintage; nothing here is backdated.
Data credits. Source: Federal Reserve · Source: Freddie Mac via FRED · Data Provided by Zillow Group
The Record · Atlanta residential · 2026 · Full-year study · compiled October 2026
Educational, not professional advice. Nothing on this page is affiliated with or endorsed by its publisher.