Although home sales in the Metro Atlanta housing market rose in October, the area’s top four housing markets all showed slowing activity, according to a new report from RE/MAX of Georgia.
For the whole Metro Atlanta market, home sales rose 9.94 percent from Oct. 2015, while time on market fell 17 percent.
Meanwhile, things were a bit different in the Atlanta, Marietta, Cumming and Lawrenceville markets:
| Market | Oct. 2015 Home Sales | Oct. 2016 Home Sales | YOY Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 506 | 443 | -12.45% |
| Marietta | 289 | 258 | -10.73% |
| Cumming | 247 | 191 | -22.67% |
| Lawrenceville | 232 | 184 | -20.69% |
A seasonal slowdown is to be expected – Jeanette Schneider, the senior vice president of RE/MAX of Georgia said as much in her comments accompanying the report – but the YOY declines suggest Metro Atlanta’s top markets are slowing down from where they were a year ago, with low inventory being a possible explanation.
Home price moderation
Median home price in Metro Atlanta rose 6.34 percent year-over-year, and with one notable exception, price growth was slower in the region’s top markets:
| Area | Oct. 2015 Median Price | Oct. 2016 Median Price | YOY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | $295,000 | $310,000 | 5.08% |
| Marietta | $247,000 | $260,500 | 5.47% |
| Cumming | $285,354 | $299,000 | 4.78% |
| Lawrenceville | $174,000 | $194,450 | 11.75% |
In her comments, Schneider spoke positively of the moderating prices: “We also see equality in our market with Atlanta, Marietta and Cumming areas all seeing moderate 5 percent increases in median sales prices. The market provided a solid start to the fourth quarter.”