Home sales took an end-of-the-year jump – leaping 22 percent in December, according to this morning's report from RE/MAX of Georgia.
The month saw 3,940 closed transactions, up from 3,241 in November, said the monthly report. December sales were also 22 percent higher than in the same month of 2014, said RE/MAX.
The median sales price was also up, rising to $210,000.
That is 1 percent higher than the median in November and 5 percent higher than the median of $199,250 in December of 2014.
“December provided a very strong finish to the year which leads us into the new year in a positive position,” said Jeanette Schneider, senior vice president for RE/MAX of Georgia.
Compared to many strong markets nationally, metro Atlanta remains affordable, she said. “Atlanta is a market to watch in the coming year.”
To keep the market affordable, the market has to make up some ground on inventory – that is, the number of homes for sale. For more than two years, experts have been complaining that that supply of homes for sale was not large enough to match pent-up demand.
December’s combination of higher prices and hot sales is a sign that the higher demand came against a supply that was still somewhat constrained. That is borne out by the overall numbers from RE/MAX.
Listings of homes for sale in December amounted to 4.4 months of sales, up just slightly form the 4.3 months of inventory in November. However, supply had retreated compared to a year ago when inventory represented 5.6 months of sales.
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