Home prices in January were a robust 9 percent higher than a year earlier, even with a seasonal dip from December prices, according to a report released today.
The median price of a home sold last month was $212,000 – down 5.5 percent from the median in December, according to from Re/Max Georgia, which issues a monthly report on the market.
“The greater Atlanta housing market is off to a strong start this year,” said Susan Goiser, vice president of Re/Max Georgia.
All in all, it is getting to be something of a familiar story: the market has a relative shortage of homes for sale and a solid – if unspectacular -- flow of potential buyers. The result has been a steady trend of higher prices.
“The area is increasingly a seller’s market,” Gosier said.
There were 3.1 percent more sales in January than there were the same month a year earlier. But as good as January might have been for sellers, it was nowhere near as busy as December, she said: There were 3,673 transactions closed in January, compared with 5,421 transactions closed in December.
So it’s good news if you are selling a home, especially if it’s a desirable area. But nearly nine years after the burst of the housing bubble, the overall market metro Atlanta’s market is still limping back toward normality, the balance of supply and demand still out of whack.
Inventory – that is, the number of homes listed for sale – is still very weak. In January, that number represented 3.1 months of sales – just about half of what most experts consider the supply in a healthy market.
Even more troubling, the inventory in January was down 22.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Re/Max Georgia.
“It’ll be interesting to see how rising interest rates affect the market,” Gosier said.
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