Home prices regaining stability

By Michelle E. Shaw

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stability in metro Atlanta home prices at the end of 2009 is a good omen for this year, according to one housing industry expert.

Atlanta’s average price in December fell nearly 1 percent over November, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, released Tuesday. But that slight decrease shouldn’t be seen as a negative result, said Cameron Findlay, chief economist for LendingTree.com.

“You want to see that,” he said. “You don’t want to see huge spikes in value changes, which we are seeing in other places.”

He said Atlanta’s trend is “nice and even” and its continuous improvement will be attractive to investors and consumers.

Another good sign: the year-over-year price difference, which shrunk to 4 percent in December, according to the data.

Since June, theyear-over-year gap in the Case-Shiller Index has steadily declined. In June, prices were 14 percent lower than a year earlier. By August that number was 11 percent, and by November, 6 percent.

"It doesn't mean all is well, but that the precipitous declines are likely behind us," said Adam York, an ecomonist for Wells Fargo Securities.

Findlay said Atlanta housing prices are in a good position for recovery, noting that the market doesn't have the price volatility of places like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

“The difference there is, generally what you have in California is a lot of speculators who will come in and create price volatility, as opposed to in Atlanta you’ve got people who are more apt to make a decision and stick with it,” he said. “So in Atlanta, when you do see improvement in pricing, it is probably going to stick.”

Nationally, home prices in the Index edged up .3 percent in December from November, but they were about 3 percent lower than in December 2009.