by INHABIT EDITORS
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HAMPTONS
That last idea is particularly visible in Bergen County, New Jersey, where David Arabia of Corcoran Infinity Properties sees buyers adapting to a market in which the median single-family home price sits around $925,000, often for a property that still requires significant investment. Some buyers who spent years waiting for a correction are changing tactics instead. New construction remains a powerful draw, but first-time buyers are also seeking out “diamonds in the rough” they can renovate, while townhouses are increasingly filling the gap for both first-time buyers and downsizers. More than 20 new townhouse developments are underway or approved across Bergen County. The larger attraction is distinctly North Jersey: nationally ranked schools, easy access to Manhattan and places such as Ridgewood and Montclair that offer what Arabia calls a sophisticated “micro-urban” lifestyle, pairing shopping and restaurants with a close-knit community.
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Bergen County
The Bottom Line
For all the differences between Bergen County and Wine Country, Nashville and the Dolomites, this quarter’s outlook contains a remarkably consistent message. More choice has not eliminated demand. It has raised expectations. Buyers have the freedom to be more thoughtful about where they live, how they live and what deserves their investment, which is allowing truly special properties to separate themselves from the pack. Just as importantly, buyers are becoming more imaginative about how they get there, whether that means embracing a renovation, choosing a townhouse or condominium, expanding the geographic search or simply waiting for the home that earns a yes. As Pamela Liebman puts it: “More choice makes for smarter buyers, not absent ones. Give people a special home, a lifestyle they genuinely want and a price that makes sense, and they’ll still know when it’s time to move.”
Corcoran’s Fall 2026 Market Outlook
The Corcoran network
Find your place
Broker/owners from selected Corcoran affiliates reveal what’s driving their markets now, and the trends and opportunities they see shaping real estate through year-end and into 2027.
Nashville
That “best of both worlds” proposition has a Southern counterpart in Nashville, where city life and breathing room can exist surprisingly close together. Hilary Farnum-Fasth of Corcoran Reverie sees buyers becoming far more intentional about exactly where and how they want to live. “They’re not just saying, ‘I want to move to Nashville.’ They’re really focused on finding the right neighborhood, the right lifestyle and a home that feels worth the investment.” At the luxury level, that translates into quality, privacy, great design and convenience, but increased choice has raised the bar. “The homes that really stand out are the ones that feel special the minute you walk in.” Going into 2027, she expects that divide to become even sharper: exceptional, move-in-ready homes that are priced correctly should continue to command interest, while dated, highly customized or aspirationally priced properties may have to wait.
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Athens
A few hours away, Athens, Georgia, demonstrates how dramatically the definition of a second home can change from one market to another. Sarah Ellis of Corcoran Classic Living describes a small city with an outsized offering of restaurants, music, sports and entertainment, one that welcomes roughly 150,000 visitors on college-football weekends and has built a robust second-home market around that energy. One especially interesting beneficiary is the high-end condo. Buyers seeking second and third homes are gravitating toward amenity-rich, “lock-and-leave” properties within walking distance of downtown and University of Georgia athletic facilities. For traditional single-family buyers, borrowing costs remain a factor, although Ellis sees savvy buyers responding to softer prices with the knowledge that refinancing may eventually be possible. Cash buyers, meanwhile, have a considerably simpler trigger: “a fabulous home that comes on the market that they have been eyeing.”
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Raleigh
Elsewhere in the region, having more to choose from is producing a different kind of momentum. In Raleigh and Central North Carolina, Frank DeRonja of Corcoran DeRonja Real Estate sees location and condition continuing to rule the most in-demand neighborhoods, while price and seller concessions are generating activity farther out. But there is one constant: buyers are more selective. “They’re doing their homework, comparing options and waiting for the right home rather than settling.” Intriguingly, greater inventory isn’t simply encouraging buyers to shop. It may also be persuading would-be sellers to move. After years of staying put, homeowners who can finally see multiple possibilities for their next home are more willing to enter the market themselves. Combined with a strong regional economy, a highly educated population and access to both mountains and coast, DeRonja sees that expanding choice as a source of activity rather than a sign of weakness heading into 2027.
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Napa-Sonoma
Choice is equally important some 2,500 miles west, although Napa and Sonoma Counties add one particularly persuasive ingredient: Wine Country itself. “People aren't just buying a house in Napa or Sonoma, they're buying the Wine Country lifestyle,” says Steve Belloumini of Corcoran Icon Properties. Privacy, views, outdoor space and room for family and friends are all part of the package, as is the ability for Bay Area buyers to get away without going terribly far. Yet the romance hasn’t made buyers less rigorous. They’re more patient and selective, and Belloumini expects the difference between the standout properties and the rest to become increasingly evident. A turnkey home, correctly priced and offering the privacy, views and outdoor living buyers want will attract attention. An overpriced home requiring considerable work is easier to pass by. “I don't think the demand for Wine Country is going away. Buyers just have more choices today, and they're taking their time.”
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Portland
Head north to Portland, Oregon, and selectivity becomes caution, but certainly not indifference. Becky Jackson of Corcoran Prime describes the current pool of buyers neatly: “Our buyers are fewer than usual, but serious.” They take their time choosing a home, and their careful approach continues through inspections because, quite simply, they don’t want to make a mistake. That puts an increased premium on competitive pricing, flexible terms and seller strategy. The underlying appeal of Portland, though, hasn’t changed. Jackson points to an extraordinary natural setting and a range of ways to experience it, “from the ocean to the mountains, parks and sports and bocce ball.” External uncertainty may encourage buyers to proceed carefully through year-end, but the lifestyle proposition that brought them to Portland in the first place remains remarkably durable.
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Cortina, Italy
And if Portland illustrates the enduring power of the outdoors, Cortina and the surrounding Dolomites take that idea international. Following the exposure generated by the 2026 Winter Olympics, Maddalena Magri of Corcoran Magri Properties is seeing greater interest from buyers outside Italy, but what they’re discovering extends well beyond skiing. Buyers increasingly want a home they can enjoy year-round,
prioritizing quality, views and ease of use while broadening their searches into villages surrounding Cortina when the right property in town is unavailable. Limited supply keeps attention trained on homes that are thoughtfully renovated and immediately usable, but perhaps the more lasting evolution is one of mindset. Cortina has long been a place Italian families return to across generations; now a wider international audience is discovering the same possibility. As Magri puts it, “Buyers are choosing a property for the life they can build around it, not just its proximity to the slopes.”
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Before checking in on individual markets, Pamela Liebman, President and CEO of Corcoran, sees several ideas connecting the dots. Buyers have choices again, and they’re using them: taking more time, doing more homework and becoming increasingly unwilling to compromise. That’s creating a distinct separation between exceptional homes and everything else, with well-located, beautifully designed and move-in-ready properties commanding attention. At the same time, what constitutes “value” is expanding beyond the four walls. Increasingly, buyers are shopping for a life as much as a house, whether that means schools and a lively downtown, space and privacy, food and wine, easy access to the outdoors or a home designed to make second-home ownership genuinely simple. And when the conventional path to that lifestyle proves elusive, buyers are getting creative, considering townhouses, condominiums, renovation projects and nearby communities that might once have fallen outside the search.