Buying a Home in Dunwoody
Buying in Dunwoody follows standard Georgia closing procedure -- notably, Georgia requires an attorney at closing. Beyond that state-level mechanic, buyers should confirm DeKalb County and City of Dunwoody homestead exemption stacking and understand that DeKalb's effective property tax rate is genuinely harder to pin to one precise figure than some neighboring counties.
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Learn moreGeorgia-specific closing mechanics: an attorney is required
Georgia closing costs typically run 2%-5% of the purchase price (averaging around 3.22% per one 2026 estimate), covering title insurance, lender fees, recording fees, and prorated taxes and HOA dues. Georgia is one of a smaller number of states that legally requires both buyer and seller to have an attorney involved in closing -- attorney fees commonly run $700-$2,000+, though flat-fee closings in the $750-$1,250 range are also cited. Georgia also levies a state real estate transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 of sale price (commonly paid by the seller) and a separate intangible recording tax on financed transactions (commonly paid by the buyer).
Homestead exemptions stack across county and city layers
DeKalb County homeowners receive a standard homestead exemption of $12,500 off school-tax assessed value and $10,000 off county-levy assessed value, with no age or income requirement. City of Dunwoody residents additionally receive their own city-level exemption -- a basic $10,000 off assessed value plus a standing 1-mill reduction -- awarded on top of the county exemptions, not instead of them. A senior exemption (age 65+, with $15,000 or less Georgia net income) adds $14,000 plus the same 1-mill reduction at the city level. File promptly with DeKalb County after closing to ensure these stack correctly.
DeKalb's county-level assessment freeze has real limits worth understanding
A property assessment freeze applies to properties with a homestead exemption for DeKalb County assessment purposes specifically -- but this freeze does NOT extend to school, city, or state tax assessments, per DeKalb County Tax Commissioner guidance. This is a real, worth-disclosing limit: a homesteaded Dunwoody owner should not assume their full combined tax bill is frozen just because the county-levy portion is.
A genuinely wider effective-rate range than some neighboring counties
DeKalb County's effective property tax rate is cited across a real 0.95%-1.22% range depending on source and specific assessment area -- wider than the disclosure gap in some neighboring Georgia counties in this dataset. Confirm the specific combined rate (city + county + school) for a given parcel directly with the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner before finalizing a purchase budget.
Key takeaways
- Georgia closing costs typically run 2%-5% of purchase price (around 3.22% on average); Georgia uniquely requires an attorney at closing (commonly $700-$2,000+, or a $750-$1,250 flat fee); the state transfer tax is $1 per $1,000 of sale price.
- DeKalb County's standard homestead exemption is $12,500 off school-tax assessed value and $10,000 off county-levy value; City of Dunwoody adds its own $10,000-plus-1-mill-reduction exemption on top (with a larger $14,000-plus-1-mill senior exemption for qualifying owners 65+).
- DeKalb's homestead assessment freeze applies only to the county-levy portion of a tax bill, NOT to school, city, or state assessments -- a real, disclosed limit on what the freeze actually protects.
- DeKalb County's effective property tax rate is cited across a genuine 0.95%-1.22% range depending on source -- confirm the specific combined city+county+school rate for a given parcel before finalizing a budget.
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