Atlanta housing decline continues, report says

A new federal report shows the Atlanta area’s housing market continues to decline.

Data gathered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development examined housing construction in the 28-county Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan area.

The U.S. Housing Market Conditions report shows that during the 12 months ending February 2009, permits were issued to build 10,100 single-family homes, a decrease of 64 percent from the same period last year.

New and existing single-family home sales totaled approximately 48,700 units, down 14 percent from the previous 12-month period.

Rising inventories of unsold condominium units and vacant apartment units led to a sharp decline in multifamily construction.