“Homeownership in Savannah isn't just about buying a home,” says Liza DiMarco, luxury specialist at Compass and member of Savannah Area REALTORS®. “It's the lifestyle.” That lifestyle centers around the Georgia city’s 22 squares, most of which are surrounded by majestic oak trees and well-preserved historic homes. “The squares add something important,” DiMarco says. “They give people the feeling of community and tranquility.”
Savannah was America’s first planned city, founded in 1733. The squares didn’t come about by happenstance; the city’s design was modeled after military camps, explains local historian and tour guide, Savannah Dan. When British General James Edward Oglethorpe designed the city, his goal was to protect nearby Charlestown, S.C. (now Charleston)—the wealthiest city per capita in the British colonies—from the Spanish.
Oglethorpe planned the city as a system of grids with squares. Originally, the squares were militia rallying points. Men in the homes surrounding each square would convene in these common spaces, then dirt lots, before defending their turf. Back then, the spaces were left empty to stop potential fires from spreading (more of an issue since homes were built of wood).
These firebreaks helped preserve the city’s original footprint. So did Savannah’s beauty. In their 1864 “March to the Sea,” General William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops “cut a … swath of destruction from Atlanta to Savannah,” Dan says. They reached Savannah a few days before Christmas, but Sherman chose to leave the city intact.
“You’ll hear a variety of reasons why Savannah was spared,” Dan says. “You ask any veteran, ‘Here are your choices in December of 1864: You can spend the next two months on the ground in a tent among the ashes of the city you just burnt down, or you can spend them in a feather bed next to a fireplace in a mansion.’ And that’s exactly what Sherman did. He stayed in the Green-Meldrim House on Madison Square. I believe in my heart Savannah was spared the torch because they decided, ‘Let's all sleep in a nice bed and call it a day.’”
Locals have played a key role in preserving the city. In the 1950s, when suburban sprawl spawned efforts to tear down historic downtown properties, a group of women founded the Historic Savannah Foundation, using a revolving fund to buy, restore and resell old homes in the historic districts. Since then, homeowners have maintained the Colonial, Georgian, Victorian, Romanesque, Gothic Revival and Greek Revival residences, many of which feature high ceilings, hardwood floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The houses stand today as a reflection of the country’s history. “You can look at those houses and visualize when that house was being built,” Dan says. “What was going on in America at the time? Was it during the Revolution? Was it during the War of 1812?”
“Homeownership in the historic districts is very unique,” DiMarco says. “These houses could have been built in the 1700s all the way to the early 1900s. Everybody wants a slice of it. There’s a sense of pride and satisfaction that people are not only buying a home in a historic district; they are buying a legacy.”
Real estate professionals who sell in historic Savannah must be well-versed in the rules around these one-of-a-kind properties, explaining to buyers that exteriors cannot be changed and renovations must be approved. “We work hard to help new homeowners understand how we keep the integrity of Savannah alive and thriving,” DiMarco says.
Kelly Holcomb became a Savannah resident in 2023, when she moved from California to an historic home in Forsyth Park. “Real estate is one of those things that's got continuity, and it's rare in America to have continuity,” she says. "This house is a living, breathing, continuous thing from one family to another. It's had 135 years of people that cherished it; 135 years of happy families were here, and you feel it.”
Like each historic home, each square in Savannah is unique. “There’s a lot of pride around squares and neighborhoods based on who lives there, and some of them are generational,” says Dan.
Matching the square to the homeowner is key, DiMarco says. “We have 22 beautiful squares in Savannah, 18 of which are residential. Every single one of them is gorgeous. Some are highly rated, maybe more so than the others, but in my opinion, no square is a bad square. If you find a home right on a square, you are lucky because they are few and far between.”
DiMarco admits Monterey Square is her favorite. Dan said he’s partial to Jones Street, with its oak trees, flower-filled gated courtyard and flags representing residents’ various heritages.
Just as they did in the 1700s, these squares provide a sense of community. But instead of facilitating defense, now they enable fun and relaxation, helping prove why Savannah was nicknamed “the hostess city of the South.”
In the squares, residents gather to walk their dogs, attend concerts, decorate Christmas trees, sip cocktails and smoke cigars in the evening—and even marry, Dan says.
“Knowing your neighbors is part of what makes Savannah so beautiful and unique because everybody is your friend,” DiMarco says.
Each week, Holcomb attends a ladies’ coffee, and her husband participates in a men’s breakfast. “Guys like it because there's no women allowed,” Holcomb says. “Some of them say it's the best hour of their week.”
She raves about the walkable lifestyle. “It's a dream. … I take my dog for walks every day. We walk through the squares. We walk down to the river. We get a coffee and croissant. Sometimes in the afternoon, I stop and get a craft cocktail, and it's open carry. So, you walk your dog with a craft cocktail. How cool is that? There are little bespoke shops and farmer's markets throughout town.”
As Savannah grows, home ownership remains the “cornerstone that strengthens the community, gives this beautiful city its vibe, preserves history and ensures the longevity for generations to come,” DiMarco says. “Past, present and future all come together to create the most amazing city.”
Fortunately, parts of the city of about 150,000 residents remain affordable. As of May 2026, citywide, the median listing price was $399,000 (down about 6% from the previous year) and the median sale price was $350,000 (down about 2.8% from the previous year). The price per square foot was $229, down about 4.6% from the previous year. There were 2,144 active listings, up about 24% from the previous year. The median number of days on the market was 59, up about 20% from the previous year.
Homes are priciest in downtown Savannah (median price: $943,500), North Historic District ($959,900), South Historic District ($1.2 million) and Ardsley Park/Chatham Crescent ($1.164 million). Prices are lower in Windsor Forest ($228,000), Georgetown ($344,950), West Chatham ($340,000) and New Hampstead ($351,390).
Regardless of where homeowners reside, this city full of squares is anything but square. “Living in the historic district is the most fun I've ever had,” Holcomb says. “It's like being seven and living in Disneyland. This is Disneyland for the adults.”
