Atlanta home prices fall 25 percent in past year

By MICHELLE E. SHAW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The median price for an existing single-family home in metro Atlanta has fallen 25 percent over the past year, pulled down by foreclosures and other distress sales, the National Association of Realtors says.

The metro Atlanta median price was $115,600 in the first quarter of 2009, down from $154,000 over the same period in 2008, according to figures released Tuesday by the Realtors association. While prices have taken a tumble, sales volume was down 6 percent year-over-year.

The decline does not mean the roof has caved in on Atlanta real estate, said Steven Fischer, president of the Georgia Association of Realtors.

"That 25 percent is taking into consideration all of the reductions in values of the sales we've had due to foreclosures and short sales," he said. "It is a true stat, but it doesn't mean as much to the people who are selling their homes that are not foreclosures or short sales."

Nationally, 88 percent of metro areas reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the first quarter of 2008, while 18 areas had price gains.

Deeply discounted distress sales -- including foreclosures and last-ditch sales by people forced to take lowball offers -- accounted for nearly half of transactions in the first quarter, the association reported.

The national median existing single-family price was $169,000, 13.8 percent less than the first quarter of 2008.

The median price means half sold for more and half sold for less. But distressed homes are selling for 20 percent less than traditional homes, according to the association.

Metro Atlanta was not among the best or the worst in sale-price changes over the past year.

The steepest decreases were seen in metro Akron, Ohio, 48 percent; Saginaw, Mich., 54 percent; and Fort Myers, Fla., 59 percent. The largest increase, 21 percent, was reported in the Cumberland, Md., metro area.

In metro Atlanta, Fischer said sale prices will bounce back when the foreclosures and short sales slow down and home-sellers no longer have to compete with such low prices.

"If you look at the resale properties that are not foreclosures or short sales, the median home sale price has not dropped near 25 percent," he said.