The most-recent Atlanta Housing Scorecard also shows improvements in the local unemployment rate and the number of days Atlanta homes spent on market.

The pace of new home listings is gaining steam, a welcome development in the face of high demand from buyers, Redfin reported.

“Given the situation in the market — mortgages, home costs and inventory — it would not be surprising to see a retreat in housing demand.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun 

“Builders are entering 2022 with backlogs that they are having a hard time completing due to material and labor shortages, and new-home prices are sitting near a historic high.” — First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi

The decline was on a month-over-month basis, while year over year, prices were still up by double digits. 

Mortgage applications fell more than 13% in the most-recent week tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index, while interest rates continued to rise. 

“Production disruptions are so severe that many builders are waiting months to receive cabinets, garage doors, countertops and appliances.” — NAHB Chairman Jerry Konter 

The sales pace of existing homes surged 6.7% in January after falling in December, as buyers got off the fence and went shopping ahead of rising interest rates, the National Association of Realtors reported.

Single-family housing starts fell 5.6% from December’s revised estimate to 1,116,000, while multifamily starts slid 2.1% to 510,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration increased to 3.93% from 3.86%, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

Days on market for homes sold in Atlanta fell to 52 from 64 a year earlier.

Home-price growth is expected to average about 5% this year, far below the record-breaking pace set in 2021, RCLCO reported. 

Sales volume by dollar amount fell precipitously, declining 37.4% from $2.59 billion worth of transactions in December to $1.62 billion in January, Georgia MLS reported, citing its monthly Housing Market Snapshot.

Builders started to make headway against supply-chain issues that have hampered construction of homes in the face of high demand. 

Atlanta’s housing inventory fell 22.3% year over year in December to a record low of a one-month supply, Atlanta REALTORS® Association reported.

“December saw sales retreat, but the pull back was more a sign of supply constraints than an indication of a weakened demand for housing.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun