Our new construction market, according to new data, is among the nation’s best.

Through September of 2014, Atlanta had the No. 7 new construction market in the country.

According to fresh numbers from Dodge Data & Analytics, Atlanta’s construction starts for the first nine months of 2014 totaled $6.60 billion, an incredible 176 percent increase over the same period in 2013.

Indeed, such numbers are completely consistent with what we’ve been hearing from Atlanta-area agents. As Shirley Horah, a branch manager for Coldwell Banker in Cumming, explained to us, things have roared back to life

“When building stopped, everything fell apart in 2008, but everything that had fallen apart has come back strong here,” Horah said. “Land has become a premium, though, especially now that builders are able to market their property and sell it … In the spring of 2013, we actually had lotteries taking place for the lots, because people wanted new homes so badly; we’re not seeing that now, though, and builders are once again offering invectives for consumers and agents alike.”

See our graph below for some perspective on how Atlanta compares with the nation’s other top construction markets.