10/11/2026
Last month I made a call in this space and I want to come back to it, because it's the whole reason I do these.
In August, Cobb homes going under contract were priced at $199 per square foot while homes that had just closed came in at $191. The pipeline was priced above what was actually selling, which meant September's median should move up. I said so.
September came in at $199 per square foot and a median sold price of $479,950, up 4.34% from August.
That's the good news, and it's real. Now here's what's underneath it.
Sold-to-list price came in at 97.84%. That is the first reading under 98% since I started tracking this, and it means buyers are negotiating more than they were.
1,019 homes came on the market in September and 540 went under contract. That's about 53% of new listings finding a buyer in the same month, down from 59% in August. There are 2,304 homes currently active, and months of inventory is up almost 12% against last September.
The one I'd pay attention to: homes going under contract right now took 31 days to get there. Homes that closed in September took 25. A month ago those two numbers were within a day of each other. That gap opening up tells you the market slowed after those September closings went pending.
So what does the same method say about October? New pendings are at $196 per square foot, below the $199 that just closed. By the logic that worked last month, October's price per foot softens slightly.
NAR's tool still classifies this as a competitive seller's market. By their published rule, anything at or under 5.5 months of supply gets that label, and Cobb is at 3.4. So the label is accurate. It is also going to keep saying that through a lot of movement, because their formula runs on a rolling 12 month average and is slow by design.
What it means for you. If you're selling, September was a good month and homes that are priced correctly still move in under four weeks. The negotiating room buyers are getting is real though, and it is growing. If you're buying, there are 2,304 homes sitting and the absorption rate says a lot of them are going to still be there next month.
Expect the numbers to soften into winter regardless. Cobb does that every single year. Pendings fall from the summer peak into a December or January trough and days on market stretch out. That is the calendar, not a turn in the market, and it's worth knowing before the winter headlines land.
Where are you at right now, buying, selling, or staying put? Happy to talk through it in the comments.
Eric Berry, Licensed Georgia REALTOR, Real Broker LLC. Serving Cobb and Paulding County.
Data: NAR Realtors Property Resource, Cobb County.
