Atlanta Housing Universally Positive in March

by Peter Thomas Ricci

April 14, 2015

March proved a very positive month of real estate for Atlanta, according to new research.

March proved a most sensational month of housing activity in the ATL, with home sales rising 13.8 percent year-over-year and a whopping 32.5 percent from February to March, according to the latest numbers from the Atlanta Board of Realtors, which covers the counties of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Fayette, Henry and Paulding.

Inventory, Price Show Improvement

Home sales were hardly the only positive element in ABR’s report. Other positive trends included:

Inventory continues to improve throughout Atlanta. At 13,956 units, inventory was up 5.2 percent from March 2014, while new listings totaled 4,906, which is down 1.1 percent year-over-year but up 23.42 percent from February.
Still, inventory remains historically low at a 3.6-months supply; it will be very interesting tracking inventory through the spring homebuying season, and gauging whether or not it improves.
Both average and median sales price, meanwhile, were positive across the board. From February to March, average price rose 6.5 percent, and median price rose 4.3 percent; year-over-year, average rose 7.7 percent, and median rose 8.5 percent.

“Robust Spring Season” on the Way

Ennis Antoine, ABR’s president, said that such numbers indicate a busy spring homebuying season for Atlanta.

“We are preparing for a robust spring season in the housing market,” Antoine said. “Consumer confidence levels are rising, and more buyers are entering into the market. I believe we will see strong buyer demand, median and average sales prices continue accelerating and favorable interest rates throughout spring 2015.”

Indeed, it’s a pattern that Atlanta’s housing market has followed the last two years – modest Januarys and Februarys followed by huge upticks in March, and an even stronger April to follow. In 2013, for instance, sales rose 28.5 percent from February to March, and in 2014, the increase was 38.9 percent.

What will April hold for 2015? We shall see!