Brokers remain optimistic despite a low home inventory, the ongoing pandemic and iBuyers.

The 12-county metro region saw home sales jump 21.7% to $1.97 billion during the month, as the median sales price rose 15.7% to $295,000, according to Georgia MLS.

It is not “first comes love, then comes marriage,” but for many women, “first comes homeownership,” according to First American Chief Economist Odeta Kushi.

Atlanta’s median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $1,500 in March, placing it in a tie with Seattle for 16th place among U.S. metros, according to a report from the online listing agent.

It also ranks among the top 15 states in the economy, infrastructure, opportunity and fiscal stability categories.

Lenders issued $1.06 trillion worth of mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2020 with refis contributing to the boost.

“More jobs are very likely, due to the near certain passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package and from two million vaccinations per day,” National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a release.

The increase follows a decline earlier in February that cut the number of homeowners in forbearance plans to less than 2.7 million, the first dip below that threshold since April 2020.

New home listings nationwide fell 17% from last year, while median home sale prices are up 15%, according to a recent Redfin report.  

The all-time high for January comes as limited supply cut pending transactions on a monthly basis, the association said.

Atlanta was second only to Dallas-Fort Worth by number of multifamily deals between 2009 and 2020, according to CommercialSearch.

Atlanta saw a drop in bidding wars with 26% of Redfin offers in January compared to 34.8% in December 2020.

In Atlanta, 3.6% of last year’s Redfin searches were for homes priced higher than $1 million.

The study dispels a long-held belief that nearby homes lose value once low-income housing is built in an area.

January home sales in Atlanta were roughly flat on an annual basis as inventory plunged, according to RE/MAX’s most recent National Housing Report.

Median prices rose 15%, pending home sales were up 29%, and new listings fell 11% from the same period a year earlier.