The median sales price of an Atlanta home was up 20.6% from a year earlier, at $409,400, Georgia MLS reported. 

Home sales and days on the market in Atlanta both declined.

Nationally, the index posted its highest annual increase ever.

The county far outpaced its neighbors in terms of housing starts, closings and lot deliveries in the first quarter, according to a new report from asset manager and developer St. Bourke. 

Nevertheless, home prices are expected to continue rising through the end of the year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

The record-high price for Atlanta real estate was set in April, as home sales fell 13.8% from a year ago. 

The rate of new single-family home sales fell 16.6% from March’s revised number, while the median sales price jumped to $450,600 from March’s revised median house price of $435,000. 

The inventory of unsold homes increased in April, while the median existing-home sales price rose, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

“Builders are responding to higher mortgage rates and are chasing rising rents, with fewer homebuyers and more renters being forced to renew their leases.” — NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun 

The release of the monthly survey from the National Association of Home Builders comes as the Biden Administration unveiled a housing-supply action plan that aims to boost the supply of affordable apartments and new homes. 

The data illustrates the struggle for first-time homebuyers trying to get a foot in the housing door in the country’s largest markets.

Despite a slow start to the spring homebuying season, prospective buyers are showing some resiliency in the face of higher mortgage rates, as seen by two weeks in a row of increasing loan applications. 

Active listings in the Atlanta area rose 19.9% compared to March, while the number of homes sold fell 6.1%, Georgia MLS reported. 

Seventy percent of the 185 metros surveyed by the National Association of REALTORS® saw double-digit price gains in the first quarter, compared to 66% in the preceding period. 

Days on market dropped to 41 from 51, while housing starts rose from 3,627 to 4,419.

Overall mortgage-application volume was at its lowest level since 2018, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.