September Newsletter
Monthly Newsletter October 1, 2026
Monthly Newsletter October 1, 2026
Before COVID, roughly 25% to 30% of listed homes in Rockdale County failed to sell.
By 2021, the market had completely flipped. About 85% of listings sold, often for more than the asking price.
Today, we've swung back hard in the other direction.
Only 54% of listed homes are actually closing.
The rest eventually expire—or the seller withdraws the listing in frustration.
That's a dramatic change.
There ARE fewer buyers—and they are choosing the homes that represent great value today.
The difference shows up clearly in how long homes are spending on the market:
29 DAYS — SOLD HOMES
Median DOM
56 DAYS — ACTIVE LISTINGS
Median DOM
106 DAYS — EXPIRED/WITHDRAWN
Median DOM
This isn't 2021, when sellers had tremendous leverage over buyers fueled by easy money, low interest rates and very little inventory.
Today's buyer has more choices and less urgency.
They don't have to overlook an unrealistic price, poor condition or deferred maintenance just to win a home.
And the numbers make that pretty clear.
The right homes are still selling—and selling relatively quickly.
The others are sitting. Increasingly, many never make it to the closing table.
Sellers are on notice: get the pricing, condition and presentation right from the beginning, or risk not selling at all.
The new-home market is telling us much the same thing from a different direction.
Buyers still want new homes.
What has changed is how much attention they are paying to the monthly payment.
Nearly two-thirds of builders nationally are now using incentives to help generate sales, and more than one-third are cutting prices.
Large production builders have always needed to appeal to the biggest possible group of buyers. In today's market, that makes affordability their number-one challenge.
There are basically two ways to lower the payment:
Lower the interest rate or lower the price.
Builders can use incentives to buy down a buyer's mortgage rate.
Lowering the actual price without giving up profit is harder. One of the easiest ways around that is to build a smaller house.
I have watched that happen across Metro Atlanta over the past three years.
Homes are getting smaller. Lots are getting tighter. Included features are changing.
Builders are trying to get the payment back into a range where the largest number of buyers can qualify and feel comfortable.
Smaller and custom builders face a different set of challenges, but they also have two significant advantages.
First, they can be more fluid and flexible with floor plans, features and design.
Second, the luxury buyer is generally less sensitive to affordability than the broader market.
And I think there is another factor that is particularly important in Metro Atlanta:
There are more buyers looking for true luxury new construction than there are builders and communities doing it well.
As long as that remains true, I believe good smaller builders with the right product can continue to perform very well—even while the larger production market struggles with affordability.
Sources: Rockdale County MLS resale analysis, August 2026; NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Most homeowners follow mortgage rates and home prices.
Very few follow zoning.
They should.
Rockdale County has spent the past 20 months working through a significant update to its Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO—the body of rules governing zoning, permitted uses, development standards, subdivision requirements, environmental protections and many of the procedures developers have to follow.
The Rockdale Board of Commissioners held a second reading of the UDO rewrite on September 8 and delayed the vote for final approval for an additional two weeks.
Why should the average homeowner care?
Because the decisions being made through planning and zoning today influence what Rockdale County may look like five, ten and twenty years from now.
Development was a major issue during the 2024 County Commission elections, which resulted in the election of two new commissioners and reflected a clear desire among many residents to rethink the direction of growth in the county.
What was the problem?
Too many townhome developments.
No move-up housing communities.
The wrong type of retail going in.
The list is endless.
Everyone had their pet issue, but the common complaint was that the zoning code did not seem to be producing the kind of sensible growth many residents wanted.
We are now close to seeing the results of nearly two years of work.
The new zoning rules will eventually affect housing availability, land values, traffic patterns, commercial development and potentially property values.
This is an area I have been following closely for obvious reasons.
In the coming months, I hope to provide a simple scorecard of the changes—what changed, what didn't, and what I think it means for the future of Rockdale County.
Just remember:
What gets approved today often tells us what the market will look like tomorrow.
I hear some version of this all the time when I meet with potential sellers:
“I'll sell if I can get the right price, but I'm not going to give my home away.”
Maybe they bought it for a certain amount and have already calculated what they think their profit should be.
Maybe a neighbor sold six months ago and that sale became the new measuring stick.
Or maybe they simply have a number in their head that feels right.
Then the market gives them a different answer.
And when reality doesn't match that internal number, the natural reaction is often to stay put.
But I think that misses the bigger question.
Where do you actually want to live?
What would you rather be doing?
Is the home you own today still helping you live the life you want?
Because there is a cost to waiting that never shows up on a closing statement.
Sometimes it is another year spent in a home or a location that no longer fits.
Sometimes it is simply putting off something you've wanted to do for a long time because the numbers didn't line up exactly the way you hoped they would.
That doesn't mean everyone should sell.
Far from it.
But your home is worth what today's market says it is worth—not what you paid for it, what your neighbor got, or what your future plans require it to be worth.
That can be a difficult distinction.
The decision shouldn't start and end with:
“Can I get my number?”
It should start with:
“Where am I trying to go, and what is the best way to get there?”
Then determine what your current home, your equity and today's market can realistically do to help you get there.
We have several specific new-construction opportunities taking shape here in the Conyers area.
There are three SmithBuilt projects to watch as we head into the fall.
Waterford Reserve
The final home at Waterford Reserve is nearing release.
This is the last opportunity to purchase a new SmithBuilt home in the community, and it offers something different from the traditional pre-sale process because the home is already well into construction.
For someone who likes Waterford but doesn't want to wait through an entire build, this may be the best opportunity we've had in some time.
Klondike Heights
At Klondike Heights, we have secured one basement homesite for the Versailles plan.
This gives us another luxury pre-sale opportunity in an established Conyers community, with pricing expected to be in a similar range to Waterford Reserve.
Because there is only one homesite available, this is a very specific opportunity rather than the beginning of a larger community release.
Legacy Grove
Work continues toward Legacy Grove, SmithBuilt's upcoming community in Conyers.
The project has been moving through the approval and development process, and we will share additional information as the community moves closer to site preparation and construction.
This will eventually become SmithBuilt's next major new-home opportunity in the Conyers market.
EXPLORE SMITHBUILT COMMUNITIES
https://harpercorealestate.com/smith-built-communities
We are also getting much closer to introducing the first homes from Calitus Homes.
I've been working with the builder for several months as we refine the product, floor plans and positioning for the community.
The first plans are being finalized, permitting work is underway, and we currently have 15 homesites positioned for future pre-sale opportunities.
Calitus will not be trying to compete directly with the large production builders.
The focus is move-up and entry-level luxury, generally in the $650,000 to $850,000 range, with modern Mediterranean and transitional architecture.
The goal is to provide buyers with something more distinctive than the typical production home while still offering a much more predictable process and timeline than a full custom build.
For buyers who have been waiting for the right luxury new-construction opportunity in the Conyers area, this is the project I would be paying attention to.
EXPLORE CALITUS HOMES
https://harpercorealestate.com/calitus-homes
Each month, I want to highlight one local company or professional that homeowners may find useful.
This month, it's Southeast Mortgage, a lender serving clients throughout Georgia.
Pete Peters
404-406-3837
https://southeastmortgage.com/petepeters/
I have worked with Pete Peters for over ten years. He has been one of the preferred lenders with nearly all of my builder clients during that time.
His knowledge and expertise are second to none, and Southeast Mortgage's rates and programs are competitive in today's market.
If you need to purchase or refinance a home, give Pete a call.
If you mention this newsletter, you can receive a lender credit of 1% of the loan amount, up to $2,500.
As always, you are free to use any service provider you choose. I share vendors simply as a resource.
If you've made it this far, thank you.
This is the first issue of a newsletter I plan to send once a month.
My goal is pretty simple: give you a clearer picture of what's happening in our local real estate market, what I'm seeing in new construction, what is changing around Rockdale and the surrounding area, and occasionally what I think it all means.
I don't want this to become another email filled with headlines you can find anywhere else.
I want it to be useful.
That means local information, real market context, and enough perspective to help you make better decisions whether you're thinking about buying, selling, building—or just trying to understand what is happening around you.
If you found something useful in this issue, feel free to forward it to a friend, neighbor or family member.
And if they would like to receive future issues, they can join the Harper & Co. newsletter list.
Thanks again for reading.
Ken Harper
Team Owner | Harper & Co. Real Estate
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