Housing rebound
The Atlanta Board of Realtors, which tracks sales in 11 metro counties, released sales and price data for February for single-family residential transactions.
Median sale price: $211,000, up 17.2 percent from February 2014
New listings: 3,975, up 2.8 percent from February 2014
Total sales: 2,810, down 0.8 percent from February 2014
Total for-sale inventory: 13,618, up 9.9 percent from February 2014.
Source: Atlanta Board of Realtors
Average home sale prices and the number of houses on the market in metro Atlanta jumped in February from the year before as buyers and sellers rev up for the spring buying season.
The median price rose 17.2 percent in February compared to the same month last year, and new listings in the period were up 2.8 percent as more sellers ventured into the market, according to a report Monday by the Atlanta Board of Realtors.
Atlanta Board of Realtors President Ennis Antoine said more sellers have listed their properties, drawn into the market by price gains, low interest rates and higher demand.
The region’s inventory of available homes is still low by historical standards — about three and a half months’ worth of sales, compared to six months’ normally. The market also remains skewed “underwater” owners who owe more than their homes are worth and tighter lending standards.
“February was another month of concrete price growth for Atlanta,” Antoine said in a statement. “I believe the statistics are suggesting that the housing market is on a solid foundation and ready to progress in a stable fashion. As we move into the spring season, sales continue to show strong improvement month over month.”
Metro Atlanta is still digging out of a housing and financial crisis that resulted in a historic spike in foreclosures, wrecked property values, eroded household wealth and pummeled local and state government coffers.
The Atlanta Board of Realtors report tracks actual monthly sales in 11 metro counties.
Another benchmark report, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which tracks prices on an index, most recently reported that metro Atlanta home prices had returned to 2004 levels after falling as far as mid-1990s levels.
Price growth is uneven, however. Neighborhoods generally north of downtown — both inside and outside the Perimeter — remain the strongest markets, while other intown neighborhoods and many southern ‘burbs continue to feel the hangover of the real estate collapse.
Realtors have hoped price gains over the past few years would lead to more homes for sale, but the market has moved in fits and starts.
Roger Tutterow, a Kennesaw State University economist, said more owners who were underwater and thus “locked in” are now able to sell without paying cash out of pocket. The median price jump for the month, he said, also could have to do with the mix of houses sold.
The Atlanta Board of Realtors reported that total sales fell by 0.8 percent compared to February a year-ago, though the total was up from January by 11.6 percent.
The number of new listings was not as strong as what was seen in January, however, with the February figure dipping about 9.1 percent from the prior month. But year-over-year growth still suggests stronger seller sentiments as overall metro prices grow.
Atlanta reached peak prices in July 2007, but then values crashed when the financial crisis hit.
Also on Monday, real estate research firm Equity Depot released its monthly report on foreclosure notices.
Foreclosure notices grew 5.5 percent in March compared to the same month in 2014, but the number of properties at risk of being taken back by lenders remains well below the recessionary highs, according to a report released Monday.
The jump in foreclosure notices is likely the result of a fifth week in March for lenders to advertise foreclosures, said Barry Bramlett, president and CEO of Equity Depot.
Equity Depot said 2,356 properties were advertised for foreclosure in March. That was up about 22 percent from February and 39 percent from January, when the number of listings hit a 14-year low.
“If anything, I think it shows the numbers have clearly settled at this level,” said Barry Bramlett, president and CEO of Equity Depot. “Whether there will be any increases we’ll have to wait and see. I can’t imagine them falling any lower than they are now since they’re as low as 2002 levels.”
The decline in the number of foreclosure notices is in part a sign of an improving economy, but also a result of mortgage companies and loan servicing firms, which process payments and handle foreclosures for lenders, slowing the foreclosure pipeline after facing stiff state and federal regulatory action.
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