Atlanta Realtors has released its latest report on the Metro Atlanta housing market, and with its release, we now have a clear picture of the region’s 2016 housing market.

Below, we have spotlighted four of the most remarkable stats from a most busy year of real estate:

1. The Perspective on Home Sales – From month to month, Metro Atlanta’s home sales bounced up and down the scale. In Dec. 2016, for instance, sales totaled 4,086, a 2.6-percent decline from November and a 6.2 percent decline from a year ago.

Those monthly gyrations, though, obscured what was actually a very positive year for Atlanta housing. According to year-to-date stats from Atlanta Realtors, there were more than 56,000 home sales in all of 2016, a strong 7.91 percent increase over 2015.

2. A Rise in Valuations – One thing that has been perfectly consistent is Metro Atlanta price growth, both on median and average terms. Through December, the median sales price in the region was $239,000, a 6.2 percent increase over Dec. 2015; meanwhile, the average sales price, which closed the year at $300,000, was up 6.0 percent.

3. The Complicated World of Inventory – Housing inventory was a most complicated topic in 2016, and the latest Atlanta Realtors numbers only continue that ambiguity. First, the good news: there were 14,738 active listings in Metro Atlanta in December, which is a 6.49 percent jump from a year ago. The good, though is outweighed by the bad: not only were new listings down 2.8 percent yearly and 23 percent monthly, but despite active listings increasing, the market’s supply still declined to just 3.1-months; for a remarkable 17 months, now, Atlanta’s inventory has been below 4-months.

In his comments accompanying the association’s report, President Bill Rawling’s connected low inventory to other market forces.

​“Low inventory continued to be an issue for Metro Atlanta throughout 2016, with inventory still hovering at just over 3 month’s supply,” Rawlings said. “As a result, median home prices continue to rise … While there are still concerns over potential interest rates, we remain bullish about the housing market outlook for 2017.”

4. Positivity at the County Level – Finally, Atlanta Realtors broke down December’s sales at the county level, and it found that among Metro Atlanta’s most populous counties, Cobb was the market leader with a strong 7.42 percent gain over November’s sales; Gwinnett, meanwhile, saw the most overall sales at 898.

Our chart below breaks things down further: