Atlanta market vital signs

After enjoying a solid first half of 2006, the Atlanta housing market lost a little steam over the last few months—even when factoring in the typical fall slowdown.

Contrary to what some say, resales were not the culprit though. It’s new construction—or the availability thereof— that has caused metro Atlanta’s housing inventory to exceed 90,000 for the first time in the area’s history.

In September, the months supply of single family detached resales actually went down - from 7.4 to 7.3. Condo and townhome resales fared even better with the months supply of inventory declining from 9.5 in August to 9.1 in September.

However, the months supply of inventory in single family detached new construction went from 10.0 in August to 10.5 in September. The months supply of condos and townhomes new construction fared only slightly better, rising from 8.4 months in August to 8.8 months in September.

Dac Carver, Director of New Home Services at Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, says builders and developers have simply overbuilt. But he thinks inventory levels will go back to a more acceptable level as soon as the rest of the country recovers from the housing market correction.

“We continue to see buyers in our subdivisions that want to move here from other parts of the country but they can’t sell their house back home,” Carver said. “They will eventually move here because of our job growth and affordable housing, but until then most of our buyers will be local move-ups.”

Information on the state of the housing market was provided by Smart Numbers. The firm also reported that the average sales price for single family detached closings in metro Atlanta was $258,278 in September, an increase of 1% from a year ago. The average sales price for condos and townhomes was $193,338, an increase of 1.2% from the same month in 2005.

While month-over-month closings were down nearly 15% in September, the Atlanta market will end the year with positive sales growth once again – a far cry from other parts of the country suffering double digit losses on a year-over-year basis.

Looking ahead, Smart Numbers predicts a “soft landing” for the Atlanta housing market heading into the winter with another upswing by mid-2007.

Metro Brokers/GMAC Real Estate, established in 1979, has 22 metro Atlanta offices and offers a wide range of real estate services including residential and commercial sales; pre- and post-license training; corporate relocation; new home sales and marketing; and insurance, mortgage and title/closing services.

The company is the largest GMAC Real Estate franchise in the world and the 33rd largest real brokerage company in the country in terms of units sold. The company has more than tripled in size over the last five years with more than 2,800 licensees, making the company the largest license holder in the state of Georgia.

To contact Metro Brokers, call 404.843.2500 or visit metrobrokers.com.