The Case-Shiller report covers 23 counties. It’s an index that charts values versus a baseline of January 2000.
Metro Atlanta’s home prices jumped 1.8 percent between August and July. They fell 6.1 percent between August 2012 and August 2011.
On a national level, the top 20 metro markets rose 0.9 percent between August and July. And they jumped 20 percent between August 2012 and August 2011.
Atlanta’s home prices are below the level they were at in May 1999 (at an index level of 95.8). But after five straight months of improvement, they are above a recent low in March 2012 (the index was at 82.54). At that point, home prices were at the same point they were during the 1996 Olympics.
Metro Atlanta’s home prices went up in August for the fifth straight month, according to a closely watched report released Tuesday, but the data indicated the sluggish market remains mired in one of the nation’s worst real estate slumps.
Despite the modest uptick over the last five months, home prices in August were down 6.1 percent compared to a year ago, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Price Index. Atlanta was one of only three major cities to post a negative annual return.
Atlanta is also one of only a few major metro areas where home prices remain stuck below their January 2000 levels, joining hard-hit Detroit and Las Vegas with that undesirable accomplishment.
Still, analysts and real estate agents found signs of hope in the recent uptick, which suggests a sustained rebound after nine consecutive months of double-digit declines from October 2011 to June 2012. The 1.8 percent increase in Atlanta’s home values between July and August outpaced the average national rate, which was about 1 percent.
“The sustained good news in home prices over the past five months makes us optimistic for continued recovery in the housing market,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Atlanta’s real estate problems are rooted in a range of issues, including a record-low inventory of homes, a high number of foreclosures, and many homeowners who are underwater — owing more than their house is worth.
Metro Atlanta's foreclosure rates are still more than twice the national average, according to real estate firm RealtyTrac. And a recent report by real estate firm Zillow indicated that 55 percent of mortgages here were underwater, forcing many homeowners who wish to move to either rent out their place until the market improves, or sell their house for less than they owe and make up the difference at closing.
The numbers, though, don’t reflect the whole picture. Many real estate agents say they’ve seen high prices and growing demand in pricier suburbs in desirable school districts, as well as intown neighborhoods close to commercial centers. But there aren’t enough homes for sale in these in-demand areas to significantly boost the average overall price for the metro area. “We have seen an increase in demand, but the challenge is a lack of inventory to sell,” said James Marks, a Redfin real estate agent in Atlanta. “We need to get to the point where more sellers can add inventory to the market.” More homes that have already been foreclosed by banks could hit the market soon, but Marks said the new inventory alone won’t solve Atlanta’s problems.
“It’s a story of what comes first — the egg or the chicken,” he said. “You have to have the inventory to sell the houses so that sales move the prices up. But you have to have the price go up before people can sell the house.”
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