Atlanta made it to the top four spot in an analysis by realtor.com of cities that are predicted to be boom towns for new construction this year. The piece used data from a February 2019 report from the Census Bureau showing which cities doled out the most residential building permits. Overall, the Census Bureau found a nationwide drop in construction of new homes, though Atlanta proved on of the few exceptions. The data included permits for single-family homes, condos, apartments, townhouses and duplexes.
Topping the list was Dallas with 63,421 permits for new residential construction, a 2.8 percent increase from last year. Coming in second was Houston with 57,021 permits for new construction pushed through, a whopping 33.6 percent increase from February last year. The two Texas cities were followed closely by New York, Atlanta and Phoenix. Atlanta gave out 39,132 permits for new residential housing over the last year, a 19 percent increase from the previous year’s number.
The current median home list price is $313,300, a decrease from 2018’s median list price of $315,000, according to Zillow. Reports have shown that housing affordability is the lowest it has been in years and the number of housing starts has decreased nationally, making it difficult for buyers to find affordable housing.