The months supply of housing inventory in metro Atlanta increased to 11.0 months in September (up 17% from April) according to Smart Numbers, an Atlanta firm that provides residential real estate information, analysis and forecasting.

While housing inventories are at historical highs in terms of actual number of homes available, some areas are in better shape than others. A look at the months supply of inventory by county currently shows that Barrow (8.0 months), Coweta (8.9 months) and Cobb counties (9.4 months) have the best housing market while Dawson (15.7 months) and South Fulton (15.6 months) have the worst.

Other observations about this month's inventory numbers:

· Of the 23 counties that Smart Numbers tracks, nine counties have months supply of inventory that is lower than the average for the entire metro area (11.0 months): Barrow (8.0), Coweta (8.9), Cobb (9.4), Forsyth (9.7), Cherokee (9.9), Fayette and Gwinnett (tied at 10.2), North Fulton (10.5), and DeKalb (10.7).

· The counties with the highest months supply of inventory (above 12.5) are Clarke-Oconee (12.8), Douglas (13.0), Clayton (13.2), Jackson (13.4), South Fulton (15.6), and Dawson (15.7).

· In the luxury market category ($500,000 and up), the inventory average for all counties is 20.6 months. North Fulton is the best at 15.4 months followed by DeKalb (16.9), Forsyth (19.4), and Cobb (19.5). The worst are Clayton (129.0), Douglas (91.4), Bartow (73.3), Barrow (54.5), and South Fulton (53.4).

· Gwinnett County had the most closings over the last 12 months with 13,445. However, Gwinnett also had by far the highest total inventory at 11,418 during the last year.

· Several counties saw a decrease in overall months supply of inventory over the last month including Spalding, Rockdale, and Clarke-Oconee. Although Clarke-Oconee posted one of the highest overall months supply number, the number is down almost 20% from last month, and is at its lowest since the beginning of the year.

· In both Coweta and Jackson Counties, inventory priced $300K and up has dropped an average of 10% since last month, the highest in that category.

· In Rockdale County, inventory priced from $176K-$275K dropped 13% since August.

· In Spalding County, inventory has dropped 11% in the under $200K price point, the biggest drop in the category.

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