Georgianomics: Buyer’s market?
Happy fall!
It’s exactly that time of year when Skelly, the 12-foot-skeleton, emerges out of the storage shed to a lawn near you.
I’m Amy Wenk, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution business reporter and the curator of this week’s Georgianomics newsletter — and I may also be researching ways to startle trick-or-treaters this Halloween.
Here are some highlights:
🏠 Housing market update
🏢 A new HQ for Atlanta
🗣️ How to speak up at work
Let’s go!
1: Housing’s spooky season 🎃
Cooler weather hasn’t yet arrived, but metro Atlanta’s housing market remains chilly heading into fall.
Pending sales, or the number of homes put under contract, decreased 29% in August year over year, according to data from the Georgia Multiple Listing Service for the 12-county metro region.
This comes as mortgage rates rise, reaching nearly 7% last week, the highest level this year. A year ago, mortgage rates averaged 6.26%, according to Freddie Mac.
Why do pending sales matter? Signed contracts typically close in one or two months, offering a forward look at the housing market. Throughout 2026, pending sales have shown declines from last year, according to Georgia MLS.
- The housing market typically slows in August as school starts back, but the continued decline in pending sales suggests the market is experiencing “more than a seasonal pause,” Georgia MLS said.
- “Atlanta has moved from a market where buyers competed for homes to one where homes compete for buyers,” John Ryan, Georgia MLS chief marketing officer, said in a news release.
What is keeping buyers sidelined? The housing market has been grappling with affordability issues and shaky consumer confidence, said Kristen Jones, broker and owner with Re/Max Around Atlanta.
- “Consumers don’t like uncertainty, and there’s just been so much uncertainty in so many areas,” Jones said, such as higher gas prices amid the war in Iran.
What’s the bright side? During the pandemic, when mortgage rates hit historic lows, bidding wars erupted and some homes sold above list price or without an inspection.
Redfin says Atlanta is now a top buyer’s market, along with other Sun Belt cities, with sellers here outnumbering buyers by nearly two to one in August. This gives buyers more negotiating power and time to make a decision.
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2: What about home prices? 💰
The median sales price in metro Atlanta fell in August to $400,000. That’s down 1.7% year over year, a reversal from the slight gains seen most of the year.
But it’s no reprieve from the affordability challenges that beset many would-be homebuyers.
- Consider that the median sales price has increased 57% since August 2019, when it was $255,000 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Experts don’t expect steep price declines as the region still lacks housing inventory, especially as homeowners with low mortgage rates remain reluctant to move, what’s known as the lock-in effect.
In related news: The Atlanta Regional Commission recently released its first-ever regional housing strategy, which outlines initiatives to create 367,000 new homes by 2035, shrink the affordability housing gap and activate underused land.
💡Georgianomics readers: Are you in the process of buying or selling a house and want to share your experience? Write us at businessnews@ajc.com.
3: Meet Amy Wenk
Hi! I cover consumer brands including Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Chick-fil-A, along with residential real estate and economic trends.
Fun fact: I love game shows and was the big winner on a 2018 episode of “Let’s Make a Deal,” while dressed in costume as the leg lamp from “A Christmas Story.”
Next week’s author is Scott Trubey.
4: A new headquarters 🏗️
Civil construction giant FlatironDragados has opened its new U.S. headquarters, taking the penthouse floor at a Brookhaven tower.
FlatironDragados is one of the companies with a massive contract to build Ga. 400’s new toll lanes. The AJC’s Zachary Hansen took a tour of the company’s new digs.
🔍 Read more: Civil construction giant FlatironDragados moves HQ to Atlanta
5: Trophy towers 🏢
The owner of the State Farm regional campus in Dunwoody has listed the two towers for sale.
Park Center 2 and 3 at Perimeter Center Parkway and Hammond Drive have hit the market. State Farm isn’t going anywhere, they have a long-term lease. But a sale could come at an eye-popping price.
🔍 Read more: Dunwoody’s State Farm office towers are for sale. It could be a bellwether.
6: The power of waffle fries
🐔 Chick-fil-A is now metro Atlanta’s largest private company by revenue, surpassing Cox Enterprises, the AJC’s parent company, which has long held the spot, according to research from Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Last year, the College Park-based chicken chain increased its U.S. system-wide sales 5.2% to nearly $24 billion.
7: Lawsuit over 👩⚖️
A lawsuit filed by a dozen states aiming to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery will be settled, ending the biggest remaining hurdle to completing the blockbuster deal.
The AJC’s Savannah Sicurella reports the terms of the deal include Paramount increasing the amount of its production currently filmed in the U.S. from 5% to 40% if California and New York pass an uncapped film incentive, which Georgia has had for more than a decade, and if Congress passes a federal incentive.
- “If Paramount is looking for a competitive, production-friendly environment, Georgia is ready to work with them,” said Brennen Dicker, chair of the Georgia Screen Entertainment Coalition.
The settlement also includes establishing a board to ensure the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News.
The settlement provides some clarity about what’s to come, but with the combined company looking to save billions as it integrates operations, painful times may lie ahead.
🔍 Read more: Paramount antitrust settlement: What it means for Warner deal and Atlanta
8. More top stories 📰
⚡ Nuclear upgrade: Georgia Power and Google have struck a deal for the tech giant to pay a premium for new electricity coming from planned upgrades to the utility’s nuclear reactors.
🛞 Burning rubber: Pirelli plans a $1.2 billion expansion of its Georgia factory, plus 1,000 jobs over the next several years.
🧑🏻💻 Tech Square expands: Georgia Tech has completed the third phase of Midtown’s Technology Square, adding a two-tower project.
🎬 Media mogul moves: Tyler Perry is relocating to Puerto Rico but his namesake Atlanta studio will stay here.
🏛️ Big legal settlement: Atlanta payments company Corpay has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it charged customers hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden and unwarranted fees.
9: On the move 💼
The Atlanta Ballet has named Zachary Brown as chief development officer.
The CFO Forum, an Atlanta community for chief financial officers, has appointed David Gamsey as its inaugural board chair.
Top office broker Ellen Stern has joined the leasing team at Cousins Properties, one of Atlanta’s largest landlords.
10: Speaking up 🗣️
If you’ve ever wondered why your voice goes unheard at work, you might be interested in a new book being released Wednesday by a former Newell Brands marketing executive.
Kristine Sickels moved to Atlanta nearly 20 years ago to work for Newell, and she drew on lessons learned there and beyond to write “The Clearest Voice in the Room: How to Speak with Power and Intention at Work.”
Sickels, the focus of this week’s AJC Her+Story profile, said a key “aha” moment for her came out of a 360 review. “What I realized is that how I felt, and what I thought and valued about people, was not coming through in how I showed up at work every day,” she said.
🔍 Read more in this Q&A with Sickels: Want your voice heard at work? This Atlanta marketing exec explains how.
Thanks for reading to the bottom. Help us shape future editions of Georgianomics. Got a tip or an idea worthy of coverage or a key new hire you want to tout? Email us at businessnews@ajc.com.