Atlanta vs Houston

**Price Trends & Trajectory**

Atlanta and Houston are telling notably different stories on price direction. Atlanta's median sits at **$412,500** as of March 2026, up **3.1% year-over-year**, and the 24-month series shows a resilient pattern: a mid-2024 peak near $425,000, a trough around $398,894–$400,000 in early 2025, and a clean recovery back toward current levels. The market has now recaptured nearly all of its seasonal drawdown. Houston, by contrast, is posting a **–4.0% year-over-year decline**, with a current median of **$350,500** — roughly $62,000 below Atlanta. Houston's price series peaked near $374,999 in August 2024 and has drifted lower since, with only a marginal 0.1% month-over-month uptick in March 2026. For buyers, Houston's softer pricing represents a meaningful entry-point advantage; for existing owners or investors underwriting appreciation, Atlanta's trend line is meaningfully more constructive.

**Inventory & Market Velocity**

Both markets remain technically below the 4–6 months of supply that typically defines a balanced market, but their recent trajectories diverge. Atlanta's months of supply compressed from a December 2025 peak of **4.8 months** all the way back to **2.4 months** by March 2026 — a sharp tightening that aligns with its price recovery. Houston followed a similar seasonal pattern but is resolving more slowly, contracting from a 4.7-month December peak to **2.8 months** in March 2026. Atlanta's 25,361 active listings versus Houston's 31,970 reflect the metro size difference (6.2M vs. 7.8M population), but on a supply-absorption basis Atlanta is the tighter market right now. Days on market are nearly identical — **51 days in Atlanta, 50 in Houston** — and cash buyer share is a virtual tie at **23% vs. 24%**, indicating comparable investor and all-cash activity at the transaction level despite the price and trend divergence.

**Economic Fundamentals & Cost of Ownership**

Houston's headline economic case is compelling on two dimensions: lower home prices and **no state income tax**. Atlanta buyers face a flat **5.19% state income tax** (phasing to 4.99% by 2029), which meaningfully offsets Georgia's relatively modest property tax rates of **~0.79–1.09%** depending on county. Houston flips the equation — Texas levies **no income tax** but imposes one of the country's highest property tax burdens at approximately **2.09% of assessed value** in Harris County. On a $350,500 Houston home, that's roughly $7,325 in annual property taxes; on a $412,500 Atlanta home at Fulton County's ~1.09% rate, it's approximately $4,496. Buyers need to model the full carry cost. Houston also carries a structural risk not present in Atlanta: flood exposure and rising homeowners insurance premiums that the market narrative explicitly flags as an increasing factor in neighborhood selection. Atlanta's cost-of-living index of **100.4** is essentially at the national average; Houston's **97** is modestly cheaper. Both metros have median household incomes within a similar band — Atlanta at **$77,589** and Houston at **$81,417** — though Houston's higher unemployment rate of **4.4%** (vs. Atlanta's **3.7%**) reflects some labor market softness, likely tied to energy sector cyclicality.

**Livability & Growth Context**

Houston is the faster-growing metro in absolute terms — up **9.5% from 2020–2024**, adding population at a pace that ranks second among large U.S. metros. Atlanta grew roughly **5% over a similar window**, adding approximately 75,000 residents in the 2023–2024 period alone, which is still substantial for a market its size. Both are car-dependent metros with nearly identical Walk Scores (Atlanta **48**, Houston **47**) and similar commute times (~31–32 minutes). Houston runs hotter — **94°F average July high** vs. Atlanta's **90°F** — and logs fewer sunny days (**204 vs. 217**). Atlanta's employer base spans film, fintech, logistics, and healthcare under a single diversified canopy; Houston's economy is more energy-concentrated but partially hedged by the Texas Medical Center (world's largest), NASA/JSC, and the Port of Houston. Buyers weighing long-run economic resilience should consider how sensitive each metro's employment base is to commodity price cycles versus secular industry trends.