Friday, October 30, 2026. Atlanta housing, by the numbers.

That's what the typical metro Atlanta luxury home gave up, compared with its first asking price, when it sat on the market for more than two months. And it's not rare. About 1 in 3 luxury sales over the last 12 months sat that long (29.9%, 1,113 of 3,724 sales).

Meanwhile, the homes that sold in the first week got their full asking price, actually a little bit more: 100.2% of the first ask.

Here's the full ladder, $1 million plus sales in our 20 areas, October 2025 through September 2026:

One honest caveat: the homes that sat also started higher (a median first ask of $1.6 million vs. $1.3 million for the first-week sales). So not every one of them was overpriced. Some are just harder to sell. But the longer it sits, the more it costs, every single step.

Haven’t seen the video yet? Link below.

The sellers who got the reality check this year priced for the market they wanted, not the one they were in. And you see it the most clearly above $3 million. That's a buyer's market, almost a year of supply. But the typical $3 million plus home that sold went under contract in 51 days, down from 70 a year ago, and 26% sold at or above their asking price. So the ones that are priced right are moving faster than they were a year ago.

The ones that aren't are just sitting. 46% of the $3 million plus homes for sale have been on the market for at least 120 days, and only 22% of them have cut. That's the lowest of any price range.

The Tuxedo Park sale is the whole lesson in one house. The seller cut early, which was the right instinct. It just wasn't enough. It closed $1.6 million below the price they'd already cut to. So when you cut, cut all the way to where the market is. One real cut beats three small ones.

The Top 5 are in the video. Here's the rest of September's top 10, FMLS closings in the 12 core counties.

#6, The River Club, Suwanee. You met this one in the video. 11,900 square feet, built in 2018, under contract in just 8 days, cash, at 97% of its first asking price. And Suwanee is a buyer's market right now, 6.5 months of supply. That's what pricing it right looks like, even in a slow market.

#7, Lake Forrest, Sandy Springs. The opposite story. It first asked just under $5 million and sold for $4 million after 135 days. That's 80% of the first ask, call it $999,000 given up. Built in 2003.

#8, Powers Ferry Estates, Sandy Springs. Brand new, built in 2026, about 7,800 square feet. Sold at 97.1% of its first ask in 62 days. A well-priced new build in a seller's market area: Sandy Springs is at 3.7 months of supply.

#9, Brookhaven. Asked $3,895,000 and sold for $3,865,000, cash. That's 99.2% of the first ask, only $30,000 off. It took 118 days, but the price held. Brookhaven is one of the tightest luxury markets we track, 3.1 months.

#10, Ivy Ridge, North Buckhead. New construction, built in 2025, about 8,800 square feet, sold at 96.4% of its first ask. The 686 days looks wild, right? But new construction often goes on the market before it's finished, so that count can include the build. Treat it as a long listing, not necessarily a stale one.

The pattern: four of these five sold within about 4% of their first asking price. The one that didn't, Lake Forrest, gave up almost $1 million. Same story as the Top 5.

$1 million plus, tightest to loosest. Homes for sale and months of supply are as of the end of September; sales are the last 12 months vs. the 12 before.

Months of supply in each area, by price range.

So the leverage flips at the top. Under $2 million, sellers still have it almost everywhere. Above $3 million, buyers have it everywhere we can measure, and in Milton it's 17.8 months. That's a year and a half of homes.

Tightest luxury zips (50+ sales, months of supply):

Most supply:

Across all the zips we track, 30 favor sellers, 7 are balanced and 23 favor buyers.

By market type, $1 million plus sales over the last 12 months (averages):

So even in a buyer's market, the average luxury sale landed about 6% under its first ask. On a $1.5 million first ask, that's about $90,000. In a seller's market, it's about $45,000.

Price cuts: 32% of the $1 million plus homes for sale right now have cut their price at least once.

Seller-paid closing costs (share of sales where the seller paid some, and the median amount when they did):

Failed listings: 46% of $1 million plus listings over the last 12 months ended without a sale. That counts homes that were withdrawn and put back on, so it overstates true failures a little bit. But Canton is the highest at 62%, and that's a lot of sellers who didn't get where they wanted to go.

If you're buying:

If you're selling:

Reply with your area and your price range, and I'll tell you which side has the leverage there right now.

See you next month. Reply anytime, I read them.

Terence

How the numbers work: FMLS closed and active listings at $1 million or more in 20 metro Atlanta areas (12 core counties), single family, townhouse and condo. A home's area is the city on its mailing address, corrected by zip and high school zone. Months of supply is homes for sale at the end of September divided by the average monthly sales over the last 12 months: under 5 is a seller's market, 5 to 6 balanced, over 6 a buyer's market. "Of first ask" is the sale price divided by the original list price. Days on market are total days, relists included, so they run longer than some other sources. Kennesaw (30 sales) and Acworth (35) are thin samples. This is my read of the data, not an appraisal of any one home, and it isn't financial advice.