Home sales last month were a lot stronger in Atlanta last month than in November a year ago, especially in Gwinnett Country, according to a report released today.
Total sales were 20.1 percent higher than the same month of 2015, at least partly because so many people who had been holding back and waiting decided to jump off the fence and buy, according to the Atlanta Realtors Association.
"This increase was partially due to buyers' concerns over the potential rise in interest rates in the upcoming months and uncertainty over the Presidential election," said Lane McCormack, president of the group.
That is, as the political uncertainty evaporated, the interest rates climbed and expectations grew that the rates would keep rising in the new year. So apparently many potential buyers figured that if they were going to make the purchase anyhow, waiting longer would just make it more expensive.
Or limit their options: higher rates are generally seen as trimming the top price that a buyer can afford.
But the market been struggling with a supply-demand imbalance, and November sales did not dramatically change that, McCormack said: The number of homes for sale –the inventory – has remained relatively low."
That, of course, gives the buyers at a disadvantage since they may often be competing with a number of others for the same house.
“We continue to see a seller’s market in most locations with inventory still hovering at just over three month’s supply,” McCormack said.
That is, the current pace of sales would soak up the number of homes for sale in three months. Experts generally say that a healthy, balanced market has inventory of at least twice that.
The number of homes for sale was up 2.9 percent from a year ago, but that was not enough to shift the balance.
So, with sellers holding most of the cards, the median price of a home sold in metro Atlanta last month was $235,000, up 6.8 percent from November of 2015, the association said.
The association's report is based on data collected in an 11-county region by First Multiple Listing Service.
The data showed that among the region’s largest counties, Gwinnett continued to be the most active for sales: 884 transactions. Fulton was in second place at 686 and Cobb right behind that at 674. DeKalb was in fourth with 586 sales.
However, Fulton continued to lead the pack on price.
The median price of a home sold in Fulton was $355,500 in November. No other county even came close to the $300,000 on that measure.
Yet DeKalb sales were clearly loaded at the high end, so the average price for a sale in DeKalb was $321,000, the association reported.
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…………………………… Nov. 2016 …..Change from Nov. 2015
Total Sales ………………….. 3,984 ….………… up 20.1%
Median Sales Price … $235,000 ……………..up 6.8%
Average Sales Price … $295,000 …..………. up 5.4%
Largest Metro Counties Sales Comparison
……………….. Sales ……… Median price …..Average Sales Price
Cobb ……….. 674 ………. $246,000 ………. $285,000
DeKalb ……… 586 .……… $268,000 ………. $321,000
Fulton ………. 686 .……… $355,000 ………. $434,000
Gwinnett …… 884 .……… $205,000 …….… $214,000
Source: Atlanta Realtors Association
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