October 2026 DeKalb County tax sale: what the list shows

DeKalb County's next Georgia tax sale falls on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the courthouse in Decatur. BidWise analyzed 256 parcels on the published DeKalb list for that date: 94 residential, 1 commercial, 161 land, and no multi-family. One parcel carries the Top Deal label, the strictest gate BidWise applies. That analysis was generated on September 9, 2026, and the count falls as owners pay the delinquency before sale day.

The October 6 mix: 256 parcels, and most of them are land

Here is the analyzed mix as of the September 9, 2026 analysis date.

| Property type | Parcels | |---|---| | Land | 161 | | Residential | 94 | | Commercial | 1 | | Multi-family | 0 | | Total analyzed | 256 |

Two things stand out. The list is large by DeKalb standards: the September 1, 2026 sale carried 51 analyzed parcels and the July 7, 2026 sale carried 35. And it is land-heavy, nearly two thirds land against 94 residential parcels and a single commercial one.

Live status, the next statutory sale date, and the analysis date sit on the DeKalb County tax sales page. If you want to see the shape of the county's parcels before you subscribe, the free masked DeKalb sample shows street names with the numbers redacted, property type, taxes due, and an estimated-value band.

Why a land-heavy list is harder to underwrite

The BidWise score is a formula, not a black box. It takes after-repair value from comparable sales, subtracts estimated rehab derived from square footage and year built, then subtracts legal, closing, carrying, and selling costs. What is left is a margin, and that margin maps to a score from 0 to 100.

Vacant land does not feed that formula the way a house does. There is no square footage and no year built to price a rehab from, and comparable sales for raw parcels are thinner than comparable sales for three-bedroom houses. Every parcel on BidWise shows its calculation notes and a confidence indicator reflecting how much comparable data stood behind the estimate. On a list where 161 of 256 parcels are land, reading that indicator is the first thing to do, not the last.

Land also changes the exit. A redeemed parcel pays you what you paid at the sale plus a flat 20 percent premium for the first year or fraction of a year, whether redemption happens on day 3 or day 300. That math does not care whether the parcel holds a house or scrub pine. A parcel that is not redeemed does care: you proceed to barment and usually quiet title, and you end up owning something you must be able to sell or hold.

What the single Top Deal label actually means

One parcel out of 256 carries the Top Deal label as of the September 9 analysis. That label is not the same thing as a high score.

Top Deal is the strictest gate BidWise applies. To earn it, a parcel must be rankable at all, its after-repair value must rest on at least three comparable sales rather than an assessor fallback, its valuation confidence must not sit in the lowest tier, and its modeled return at the opening bid must clear a high bar. Vacant land is excluded by design, because the land model does not produce the comparable-sales evidence the gate requires.

That exclusion does most of the work here: with 161 of 256 parcels classified as land, roughly two thirds of the roster cannot carry the label whatever its economics look like. Read the single Top Deal as a statement about how few parcels arrive with full comp-backed evidence, not as a verdict that one parcel is worth a bid.

The deal score is the other half of the picture: it runs from 0 to 100, reflects modeled margin, and carries no evidence gate on top. A parcel can score well and still miss the label for want of comparable sales. Read both, alongside the confidence indicator, as how to read your deal score walks through.

On the same measure, the April 7, 2026 DeKalb sale produced 31 Top Deals out of 100 analyzed parcels, and that list was 80 percent residential. The September 1, 2026 sale produced 4 out of 51. A big list is not the same as a deep one, and October's volume is land.

For an October 6 bidder the consequence holds either way: be selective. Set a walk-away number per parcel before the sale and hold it, as setting your max bid works through. Bidding opens at the amount needed to cover the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and the costs of the sale, and that opening figure says nothing about what the property is worth.

The count will not hold until sale day

Counts on a tax-sale list move in one direction before the sale: down. Owners pay, payment plans get approved, and parcels come off. BidWise re-analyzes a county's list when the county amends it and prints the analysis date on every county page, so treat 256 as a September 9 reading rather than the roster you will hear called in Decatur.

Whether DeKalb holds a sale on any given first Tuesday, and what is on its list that morning, is governed by the county's official notice, not by this post. DeKalb publishes its notice through the DeKalb Tax Commissioner tax sales page, and Georgia sales are advertised in advance in the county's legal organ for four consecutive weeks before the sale.

How to prepare in the weeks before October 6

Georgia tax sales run on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse, typically between 10 AM and 4 PM. That leaves a short window.

• Narrow first, then dig. On a 256-parcel list, filter to the property types you can underwrite and ignore the rest.
• Price the redeemed outcome, not just the ownership outcome. Run your intended bid through the redemption calculator so you know what a 12-month redemption returns before you raise a hand.
• Do the title work. A tax sale does not extinguish every interest; some liens and claims survive or carry their own redemption rules, which is why quiet title exists.
• Confirm payment terms on the county's official sale notice. Certified funds, accepted methods, and same-day deadlines are set by each county and are not something to learn on the courthouse steps.
• Check the other counties the same week. The statutory first Tuesday is the same date everywhere, and the Georgia tax sales hub shows each covered county's next sale date and analyzed-parcel count side by side.

Remember what you are buying. Until the right of redemption is barred, or title ripens by prescription, you hold a defeasible tax deed, and during the redemption period you generally do not have the right to take possession. Confirm how that applies to your parcel with a Georgia real-estate attorney before you bid.

Frequently asked questions

When is the October 2026 DeKalb County tax sale?

The next statutory first-Tuesday sale date is October 6, 2026, and DeKalb County tax sales are held at the courthouse in Decatur, typically between 10 AM and 4 PM. Whether the county holds a sale that day, and what remains on its list by that morning, is governed by the county's official notice. Confirm the date and the terms on the DeKalb Tax Commissioner tax sales page before you travel.

How many parcels are on the analyzed DeKalb list for October 6, 2026?

As of the September 9, 2026 analysis, BidWise analyzed 256 DeKalb parcels for the October 6, 2026 sale: 161 land, 94 residential, 1 commercial, and no multi-family. One of those 256 carries the Top Deal label, which requires comp-backed evidence and excludes vacant land. Counts fall between analysis and sale day as owners pay the delinquency, so treat the figure as a reading with a date on it.

Why does a land-heavy tax sale list produce fewer Top Deals?

Two reasons. The BidWise score works from after-repair value minus estimated rehab, legal, closing, carrying, and selling costs, and vacant land has no square footage or year built to price a rehab from. On top of that, the Top Deal label excludes vacant land by design and demands an after-repair value backed by at least three comparable sales. On the October 6 DeKalb list, 161 of 256 parcels are land.

What do I get if a DeKalb parcel I buy is redeemed?

The redeeming party pays you what you paid at the sale plus a redemption premium of 20 percent of that amount for the first year or fraction of a year, and 10 percent for each additional year or fraction of a year. The premium is flat, not an annual rate, so it is the same on day 3 as on day 300. Taxes you pay afterward and certain allowed costs are recoverable as well.

Does buying a DeKalb tax deed give me the property outright?

No. Georgia sells redeemable tax deeds, so the former owner and other interest holders have a 12-month right of redemption running from the sale date. Until that right is barred, or title ripens by prescription, you hold a defeasible tax deed and generally do not have the right to take possession. Some liens and claims can survive the sale, which is why barment, title work, and quiet title exist.

Georgia tax sales convey a redeemable tax deed, not clear title. Every figure in BidWise is an estimate produced from public records and comparable sales — not an appraisal, and not investment, legal, or tax advice. Confirm every parcel against the county's official notice, and talk to a Georgia real-estate attorney before you bid.