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This post is created from content I wrote in an email to my client, Royal Martin.
He owns 3645 Larkspur Drive in Decatur, GA. It’s a lovely 3/2 for sale for $275,000. He purchased a distressed asset from Starwood Property Trust, the multi-billion dollar REIT, and we got them to knock $12000 off of their listed price. That was a win, because this property needed a diligent owner like Royal to take it to the next level – secure, exclusive, nicely appointed living.
We expect that it will sell within a few weeks and it has been on the market 31 days today – the market average for “days on market” for sellers stands at 77 days right now in 30032, Southern Decatur, Georgia.
Today’s showing at 2pm is the 8th showing since showings started.
When I began selling houses full time in 2004, this trainer named Mark Leader taught me that you want to get to 8-10 showings as fast as possible, and that amount will usually net 1 offer.
At the time, that was 8-10 showings in one month on market. “8-10 showings in about 30 days” – that’s the language I used to set expectations.
That language changed slightly but not by much, even during 2007-2012, the “economic downturn.”
By 2013 – 2024, the velocity of the markets picked up, and depending on what you might be shopping for in post COVID, late 2020-Spring 2022, the velocity was 8-10 showings on day 1, or at least within one week. A very fast seller’s market indeed.
Today, the late Winter 2026 market is a buyer’s market according to NYT, locally at WSB and according to a chart from Zillow’s “Showingtime” (that’s the product that most RE agents use to schedule appointments with sellers nowadays) showings are up 20% in 5-6 weeks, nationwide.
That’s certainly an annual, week by week by week upturn that we expected between January and March.
And we can expect it to continue through August. By September, showings often gradually drop. We sometimes see spikes in November and December.
What’s not expected in our precious, peaceful Amercian lives is a near nuclear apocalypse about to go down in Southwest Asia, on two fronts – Pakistan and Afghanistan and of course, numerous countries are now involved in shooting wars and violence on many fronts, with a few different enemies, and a few different alliances, some new alliances – some, not so new. And, some armed, violent actors who not just nation states like Israel and Iran. And, lots and lots of propagandizing, and extra yellow, extra shocking, often extra outrageous journalism…
These disruptions will make some hesitate. These disruptions will help some take advantage of lower interest rates, and make first time buyer purchases in 2026.
Optimism still reigns for my Atlanta housing outlook – because just like the NYT and WSB said – buyers are ramping up.
No need to do anything other than see how fast we get 8 more showings, or just 1 good offer at 3645 Larkspur – located “at the perimeter.” What I learned many years ago from Atlanta’s venerable consumer watchdog, Clark Howard (from WSB) is that residential properties “at the perimeter” are often well-built mid-late 20th century housing stock, often with nice flat yards and often in idyllic, quiet-tree lined streets with fenced yards and parks and walkable to schools. Convenient to commutes.
Come to Decatur’s lovely Meadowdale neighborhood and buy 3645 Larkspur!
Here’s another link to the property website:
