"Even if we approved any level of apartments, multifamily housing, it won't be built for another two years. We don't even accept applications for housing right now."
That came from the dais at the Clayton County Board of Commissioners work session on October 13, 2026. Most of it describes a delay. A buyer touring model homes around Jonesboro this month won't see that delay. Lots are staked, sales centers are open, and builders are still putting out price sheets. Those homes are what's left of approvals granted before Clayton County stopped accepting new applications for residential subdivisions. Once those approvals are built out, nothing new is coming through the county to replace them until the rules change.
What the Pause Actually Covers
At its December 16, 2025 regular meeting, the Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution 2025-269. It stopped the county from accepting applications for new single-family residential subdivisions and multifamily developments in unincorporated Clayton County. The resolution's findings cite a rising ratio of residential to commercial development and its effect on county revenue, the ongoing zoning and comprehensive plan review, and the orderly delivery of transportation and other public services.
The resolution also protected permits already issued and development plans already approved. That exemption explains why the pause hasn't shown up on the ground. A subdivision approved in 2024 can keep pulling permits and closing homes. Applications for new subdivisions are what stopped.
At the June 2, 2026 meeting, county staff asked the board to extend the pause, saying the current residential code "have some gaps in it" and that the moratorium was meant to "slow down our residential zoning" until the rewrite was done. Staff also said the rewrite would address affordability and "missing middle" housing such as duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes. The board approved the extension as Resolution 2026-120.
The Deadline and the New Code Don't Line Up
Here are the key dates, in order:
- December 16, 2025. Resolution 2025-269 starts the pause on new subdivision and multifamily applications.
- June 2, 2026. Resolution 2026-120 extends it until the county adopts a revised code or December 31, 2026, whichever comes first.
- August 18. Commissioners grant one project an exemption. More on that below.
- December 31, 2026. The moratorium's stated end date.
- January–February 2027. The zoning rewrite's draft recommendations go to public open houses, according to the county consultant's project schedule.
- January–May 2027. Finalization and adoption of the new code, on the same schedule.
On the posted schedule, the moratorium ends before the code it is waiting for. As of late October, the county's Community and Economic Development page still showed the December 31 end date, and the October 13 work-session agenda did not include a presentation of the rewrite's draft residential code. In June, staff had asked for the extension "so that we don't unnecessarily open the floodgates." No one has said publicly whether the county will extend the pause again, let it lapse, or adopt part of the code early.
Whichever path the board takes, an application filed in January still has to go through zoning, plan review, land development and vertical construction before anyone can move in.
The Homes for Sale Now Were Approved Before the Pause
New construction you can buy in Jonesboro today comes from that earlier approval pipeline. As of late October 2026:
- The Collection at Walden Park by Rockhaven Homes is a townhome community priced from the mid-$200,000s. Move-in-ready homes were listed at $266,990 to $274,990 on Maple Grove Lane and Riverstone Road in 30238.
- The Retreat at Walden Park, also by Rockhaven Homes, sells single-family homes from the low $300,000s. Listings started at $319,990, including homes on Meadowbrook Drive and Harmony Ridge Court.
- Baxley Park by Centex lists single-family plans of 1,707 to 2,003 square feet starting in the upper $300,000s. Its sales center was marked "Coming Soon," with no quick move-in homes listed.
All three communities are working through lots that already exist. A buyer comparing them is comparing phases that will sell out, and in unincorporated Clayton, no replacement communities can enter the approval process right now.
Where the Slowdown Already Shows Up
Building permits come before closings, so they show the change first. U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey estimates for all of Clayton County:
| Period | Single-family units authorized |
|---|---|
| Full year 2025 | 399 |
| January–August 2025 | 300 |
| January–August 2026 | 136 |
That's a drop of roughly 55% in single-family authorizations over the first eight months of 2026. The figure covers the whole county, including its cities, so the moratorium can't be credited with all of it. Interest rates, builder schedules and phase timing also affect permits. The Census Bureau describes permits as an indicator of potential additions to the housing stock, not a count of homes started, and not every permit becomes a start. The number shows how few new homes are lined up behind the ones for sale now.
The resale side is moving the other way. Georgia MLS reported 140 single-family sales in Clayton County in September 2026, down from 171 in September 2025. The average sold price fell from $257,904 to $228,504 over the same period. That's an average rather than a median, and a few sales can pull it either way. Still, as of September, resale buyers faced less competition and lower closed prices, while the flow of new-home permits had shrunk by more than half. Today's prices don't yet reflect the thinner pipeline.
Inside City Limits, Different Rules Apply
The county moratorium covers applications that go through unincorporated Clayton's Community and Economic Development Department. The zoning rewrite is also limited to unincorporated Clayton County. The City of Jonesboro has its own zoning, so residential proposals there go before the city council instead.
The Jonesboro City Council agenda for October 13, 2026 included several residential items:
- A development agreement with Foxtrail 90 Lots, LLC for the Foxtrail subdivision. Templar Development's Foxtrail project page describes it as 90 townhome lots.
- A rezoning from C-2 to RM, plus a conditional-use permit and variances, for an age-restricted senior apartment community on 6.15 acres at 0 Tara Blvd.
- Minimum dwelling size variances for apartments at 106 South Main Street and for single-family homes at 129 Key Street and 0 Key Street.
These are agenda items, not finished projects. The council's minutes will show which ones passed and with what conditions. While the county route is paused, any new for-sale supply near Jonesboro will most likely come through the city.
The County Has Made an Exception
The moratorium includes a way out. Clayton News reported that at the August 18 meeting, commissioners unanimously exempted Dominium Acquisitions LLC so it could file a site development plan review application. The project is a planned 190-unit senior living complex on Bouldercrest Road and Anvil Block Road in Ellenwood. The company's attorney said construction would not begin until sometime next year. The county's chief staff attorney said the vote only decided whether the application could be accepted. Three people spoke against the exemption at the public hearing, and no one spoke in favor.
The exemption went through a public hearing and a recorded vote. Even with approval, the project is still about a year from breaking ground. Under the best conditions, that's how long it takes housing approved during the pause to reach the market.
What This Means When You Compare Builders in Jonesboro
When fewer new homes are on the way, the questions worth asking at a sales center change:
- How many lots are left in this phase, and is another phase already approved? A community that has its next phase entitled has room to keep selling. A community on its last phase does not.
- When did this community receive its approvals? Communities approved before December 2025 are the ones building now. If an agent or builder rep talks about a "future phase," ask whether that phase already has approval.
- How does the price compare with nearby resale? With Clayton resale averages lower in September 2026 than a year earlier, a resale home and a new build at a similar price can differ a lot in size and age. Both are worth touring.
- What happens after December 31? Watch whether the board extends the moratorium, lets it end, or adopts the residential code early. The draft code's public open houses are scheduled for January and February 2027.
This post reports on public county and city actions. It isn't legal, zoning or financial advice, so confirm the details of any property or contract with the right professional before you rely on them.
If you're weighing a Walden Park townhome against a resale home a few miles away, or trying to figure out which Jonesboro communities still have lots coming, Tiffany can go through each builder's phase status with you and handle the questions for the sales center. Contact Vision To Realty, LLC to plan your new-construction search before these phases sell out. Start Your Home Search with Tiffany.
