Atlanta home re-sales tumble for month, up for year

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By Misty Williams

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sales of existing homes in metro Atlanta fell last month but still were up from January 2011, as lenders continued to offload foreclosed properties at big discounts, new data shows.

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Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com Atlanta home sales dropped in January 2012 but were still beat the number of sales in January 2011.

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The region saw a roughly 25 percent drop in sales in January at 2,568, compared with nearly 3,500 in December, the Atlanta Board of Realtors said Wednesday. The median sale price – the point at which half cost more and half cost less – also fell to about $108,000, a nearly 10 percent drop from December, the group reported. Overall sales in 2011 were up roughly 15 percent.

Despite the monthto-month dip, sales are still up nearly 27 percent from January 2011, board president Mitch Kaminer said.

“That’s a good sign," Kaminer said, adding that February and March are shaping up to be good months for sales.

Nationwide, the housing market is showing some signs of recovery before the typically busier spring season.

Existing home sales rose 4.3 percent in January compared with December, to an annual rate of 4.57 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The rise marked the third gain in the past four months.

The national median existing home price was $154,700, down 2 percent from January of last year.

The supply of available homes has steadily fallen since last summer, which could help boost home prices. Meanwhile, more first-time buyers -- key to a market recovery -- are getting back in the game.

Record-low mortgage interest rates, bargain home prices, rising rents and sustained job creation are helping to spur sales, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the national industry group.

"We're cautiously optimistic that an uptrend will continue this year," Yun said.

Atlanta real estate agents and builders are also hopeful the region may be seeing the first glimmers of a sustainable housing market recovery -- reporting increased interest from potential buyers in recent months.

The drop in home price here is largely a reflection of the increasing sale of foreclosures -- which typically cost less than $100,000, Kaminer said. Foreclosures drag down home values, so getting rid of them is critical to returning to a healthy market, he said.

Foreclosed homes owned by banks made up 53 percent of metro Atlanta sales in January. Nationally, foreclosures and short sales made up 35 percent of sales.

"We've got to get them on the market, get them sold and move on," he said.