Atlanta home sales remain strong as housing inventory reaches highest level in two years

PHOTO CAPTION: 3223 Andrews Court off West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead sold in late May for $1,350,000.

The number of Atlanta home sales in May was the second best for the month of May in seven years, aided by a surge in housing inventory to its highest level since 2012.

According to preliminary data provided to Beacham & Company, Realtors by First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS), there were 4,702 home sales in May in the five counties that make up most of Atlanta (Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett). That was 203 less sales than a year ago (4,905) but better than any other years except 2012 and the pre-bust, artificially-inflated years of 2006 and 2007. The number of sales could turn out to be higher as more May sales are reported later in the month of June.

The market also continued to show improvement year-to-date after a very sluggish start in January and February when sales were down 7% from 2013. Home sales are now just 3.3% off the pace set last year.

Home sales were helped the last three months by an increase in housing inventory, according to Dac Carver, Vice President and Managing Broker of Beacham & Company. In May, the number of homes for sale in FMLS reached the highest level in two years – 23,400 – and is up 42.4% since 2012. Inventory needs to continue increasing for Atlanta real estate to return to a more stable environment, he said.

“When the number of homes on the market in FMLS fell below 25,000 in 2012, we began to see a dip in sales as investors ran out of properties to buy,” Carver said. “We got down to as few as 16,500 homes for sale last year. In a city with more than two million households and growing, that just doesn’t make for a healthy market.”

Carver said the second half of 2014 may represent the last opportunity for sellers to take advantage of the strongest seller’s market in years.

“By next spring, we think the number of houses for sale could be a third more more than we saw this spring,” Carver said. “There will definitely be more competition for sellers who wait until next year to sell. That is an especially important consideration for sellers who want to downsize or want to move-up to accommodate a growing family.”

Home prices continued to post healthy gains in May. The average sales price of a single family detached home in Atlanta was $307,282, up from $276,710 in 2013, or a difference of 11%. The average in May was just $1,658 less than the all-time highest average sales price in Atlanta for the month ($308,940 in 2007).

#  #  #

Beacham & Company, Realtors is an independent, locally-owned, full service residential real estate brokerage firm that specializes in Atlanta luxury real estate. The firm is located in the heart of Buckhead at One Buckhead Plaza next to the St. Regis Hotel and has more than 80 licensed sales associates. Beacham is the top selling office in Atlanta by dollar volume of listings sold and its agents are the most productive by dollar volume of real estate sold.