The best year for Atlanta real estate continued in the third quarter of 2011. Home sales were up 30% from the third quarter of 2010 with areas such as Alpharetta, Atlanta Intown, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Dunwoody, East Cobb and Sandy Springs leading the way. More than 40,000 homes have sold in 2011, the most since 2007. Even with such robust sales, home prices continue to fall. The average sales price for a home in metro Atlanta is down 12% from the third quarter a year ago. In this issue of The Beacham Insider, we take a look at what falling home prices and historically low interest rates have done to the average monthly mortgage in metro Atlanta. The monthly cost to purchase a typical home in metro Atlanta is now half what it was just four years ago. We also look at the importance of listing a home early in January to take advantage of the huge surge in home searches on the Internet.
