Atlanta home sales up from a year ago, but listings lag
Metro Atlanta home sales in August were up 11.9 percent from the same month a year ago, but the supply of listings faltered, according to a housing report out Friday afternoon.
With the peak of the sales season typically coming earlier in the summer, prices and sales were down modestly from July. However, the overall trajectory of year-to-year increases continued.
There were 7,038 homes were sold in the region, compared to 6,291 in August of 2014, according to a report released Friday afternoon by the Georgia Multiple Listing Service.
Homes prices were also up, MLS said.
The median sales price during the month was $187,000, a 5.7 percent increase from a year ago. The average sales price was $239,986 in August, up 5.2 percent from a year ago.
The month’s report was a sign that the market was still continuing its long, slow recovery from the devastating crisis that followed the burst of the housing bubble.
But one indicator remained a sticking point.
For more than a year, experts have been warning that inventories – that is, the number of homes listed for sale – have been an obstacle to complete recovery. Inventories in a healthy market should represent about seven months of sales.
Inventories in August were 4.1 months, up very slightly from July, but down from 4.49 months a year ago, according to MLS.
About the Author
Michael E. Kanell, the AJC's economics writer, has been reporting on jobs, housing and the economy at the AJC for nearly two decades. He has appeared on television and radio to analyze and report on business and economic developments.
