Atlanta average home sales price reaches all-time high for July; home sales poised for rebound

The number of homes sold in Atlanta – now well into its third year of decline – continued to disappoint this summer just as the average home sales price reached a new all-time, pre-recession high. Housing experts blamed both conditions on inadequate housing inventory but the number of homes for sale remained on the upswing.

The single family detached average home sales price in the five-county metro Atlanta area (Cobb-DeKalb-Forsyth-Fulton-Gwinnett) was $311,514 in July, which surpassed the previous all-time high for July ($306,303 in 2007). The milesScreen Shot 2014-08-28 at 9.25.03 AMtone culminated a three-year, 41.3% climb from July 2011 when the average was $220,505. The average home sales price in Buckhead, $1,092,062, also topped out in July. The average was $753,175 in July 2011, a difference of 45%.

The resurgence in home prices began in mid-2012 and accelerated in September of that year with a long string of double-digit monthly gains. At the same time, housing inventory hit its lowest point. The rate of price increases began to slow this year and by last month the number of homes for sale in Atlanta was up more than 20% from two years ago.

Local housing consultant John Hunt of Smart Numbers, quoted in an August article of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said that a healthy balance between buyers and sellers is when there is six months’ supply of housing inventory. Hunt said “there is about 4.5 months of supply now, but that is picking up about a tenth of a point monthly, which means supply could be balanced within a year.”

National Association of Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun told The Wall Street Journal in August that the national inventory of existing homes available for sale in July was up 5.8% from a year earlier to 2.37 million, its highest level in nearly two years. “More inventory, in my view, will mean more home sales,” he said.

Beacham & Company, REALTORS®, which surpassed all previous monthly sales records in July with a 44.1% increase from a year ago, will release its quarterly market report in the coming days. Dac Carver, Vice President and Managing Broker, said the report will show a 2% decline in sales for the five-county metro this summer, while the average sales price increased 7%.

“Buyers are frustrated with the lack of inventory,” Carver said. “The opportunity for sellers to get the price they want may be greater this fall than it is next spring because of the inventory situation. However, a radical increase in mortgage interest rates could change that in a hurry.”

#    #    #

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 across the street from Buckhead Atlanta shopping district. With more than 90 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.