St. Simons Island
The $105,000 Gap: Why St. Simons Homes List High and Sell Lower
In September, the median St. Simons listing asked about $105,000 more than the median home actually sold for. Here's what that gap really means for sellers, and how to stay on the right side of it.
By Dewey "DJ" Snipes · October 20, 2026
Here's a number that stopped me when I pulled September's data for St. Simons Island.
It's tempting to read that and say homes on the island are selling for $105,000 under asking. That's not what it means. And the real meaning is more useful to you if you're thinking about selling.
Two different groups of houses
The active-listing number and the sold number aren't measuring the same homes.
The sold number only includes homes that found a buyer. The active number includes everything still sitting on the market — and in a slower market, the homes that sit longest tend to be the ones priced highest.
So the gap isn't mostly about discounts. It's about which homes sell and which ones don't.
Here's the proof. When a St. Simons home actually sells, it sells pretty close to its final asking price:
That difference between 96.5% and 94.9% is the price cuts. Homes that started too high had to come down before they sold.
Why the gap is widening
The island has more homes for sale than it did earlier this year, and buyers are paying higher rates. That gives them time and choices.
Six months of supply is the usual dividing line between a balanced market and a buyer's market. St. Simons is past it.
A caution about island numbers
St. Simons is a small market. One month's median can jump because two big waterfront sales happened to close, or none did.
Over the past twelve months, the median sale price bounced between about $635,000 and $785,000 — and that's not the market rising and falling every few weeks. It's the mix of homes changing.
That's why I never price a home off a median. The median tells you the weather. Your comps tell you the price.
How to stay on the right side of the gap
1. Price to the homes that sold, not the ones still listed
Your neighbors' asking prices are the most misleading numbers in this market. The homes still sitting are, by definition, the ones buyers passed on. Price off closed sales and pending sales in your part of the island.
2. Get the first three weeks right
A listing gets its most attention in the first few weeks. Every buyer who has been waiting looks at it once. If the price is wrong then, you spend the next three months chasing it down — and you end up in that 94.9% group.
3. Find out the real objection after every showing
This is the part I feel strongly about. After every showing, I call the buyer's agent and ask what really happened. Was it the price? The insurance quote? The kitchen? The HOA rules? You can't fix what you don't know.
A price cut is the blunt tool you use when nobody gathered that information. Sometimes it's the right tool. But it shouldn't be the only one.
4. Consider a buydown instead of a cut
At 7.4%, a lot of buyers are shopping the monthly payment, not the price. Money you put toward lowering their rate can do more for their payment than the same money taken off the price. Ask your agent to show you both side by side for your price point.
5. Make the home easy to say yes to
On the island, that usually means insurance and condition. Have a recent roof and wind-mitigation information ready, know your flood zone, and fix the small things a buyer's inspector will find anyway.
The short version
The $105,000 gap isn't a discount. It's the distance between homes that were priced to sell and homes that weren't.
If you're thinking about selling on St. Simons this winter or next spring, I'm happy to sit down and show you exactly what's sold near you, what's competing with you, and where the price really is. No obligation — just better information than a median.
New Construction & Coastal Home Specialist
Market figures are from the sources named in each #DATA box and were current when this was written. Small markets produce noisy monthly numbers, so use them as context, not as a price for any one property. Engel & Völkers Golden Isles; each office is independently owned and operated.