Market Pulse, 8–14 August: The Second-Smallest Mid-Month Week, and the Newest
1,301 new listings in the 8–14 August window — the second-lowest count in the comparable March–August series — arriving with the highest median asking price ($14,500), the newest median model year (2021) and the lowest uncleared share (52.5%) any of those windows has produced.
A thin week that arrived expensive
Between 8 and 14 August, 1,301 cars were first advertised in Georgia. Measured against the same seven calendar days of every month since March, that is the second-lowest count of the series — only April's 913, a window that fell across the Easter period and the first days of the new registration restrictions, was smaller.
The interesting part is not the count. It is that a smaller week arrived carrying a more expensive, newer and more locally-registered mix than any window before it. The median asking price reached $14,500, the highest of the six windows. The median model year moved to 2021 — the series had never left 2019 or 2020. And the share of cars advertised before Georgian customs clearance fell to 52.5%, its lowest reading.
A thin week that arrived expensive
Between 8 and 14 August, 1,301 cars were first advertised in Georgia. Measured against the same seven calendar days of every month since March, that is the second-lowest count of the series — only April's 913, a window that fell across the Easter period and the first days of the new registration restrictions, was smaller.
The interesting part is not the count. It is that a smaller week arrived carrying a more expensive, newer and more locally-registered mix than any window before it. The median asking price reached $14,500, the highest of the six windows. The median model year moved to 2021 — the series had never left 2019 or 2020. And the share of cars advertised before Georgian customs clearance fell to 52.5%, its lowest reading.
Share of the window priced under $10,000 and above $25,000
Both ends moved at once in August: the cheap end thinned, the expensive end grew.
The move is in the mix, not the price tag
A rising median is easy to misread as rising prices. It is not the same claim. The median describes the middle car of the week's supply, and the middle car changed.
The share of the window priced under $10,000 fell to 25.1%, from 28.6% in July and 35.3% in March — the thinnest cheap end of the series. At the same time the share above $25,000 rose to 22.5%, its highest reading. Both ends moved in the same direction at once, which is what a composition shift looks like: fewer old cheap cars entered the market this week, not a market-wide markup.
The mileage reading points the same way. The median odometer of the window fell to 84,320 km, the lowest of the six windows and roughly 13,000 km below March's 97,600 km.
The move is in the mix, not the price tag
A rising median is easy to misread as rising prices. It is not the same claim. The median describes the middle car of the week's supply, and the middle car changed.
The share of the window priced under $10,000 fell to 25.1%, from 28.6% in July and 35.3% in March — the thinnest cheap end of the series. At the same time the share above $25,000 rose to 22.5%, its highest reading. Both ends moved in the same direction at once, which is what a composition shift looks like: fewer old cheap cars entered the market this week, not a market-wide markup.
The mileage reading points the same way. The median odometer of the window fell to 84,320 km, the lowest of the six windows and roughly 13,000 km below March's 97,600 km.
Share of the window priced under $10,000 and above $25,000
Both ends moved at once in August: the cheap end thinned, the expensive end grew.
Fewer import-lane cars is the likeliest cause
The uncleared share is the cleanest single explanation available. Cars advertised before customs clearance are the import lane; cars already cleared are, for the most part, local resale. In the 8–14 window that split ran between 53.5% and 60.8% uncleared for five months, and this week it broke below the range to 52.5%.
A week in which the import lane contributes proportionally less will mechanically look older and cheaper, because uncleared stock skews newer — except that this week looked newer, not older. So the import lane did not simply shrink: what did arrive was concentrated at the newer end, and the cleared side contributed relatively more of the middle. Both effects push the median price up.
One week is a data point, not a trend. The 8–14 windows of September and October will show whether the 2021 median year holds or whether this was a single unusually clean week.
Methodology
AutoBridge listing database.
1,301 listings first published 8–14 August 2026, compared with the same calendar window of every month since March.
Windows of 8–14 March through 8–14 August 2026.