Both existing-home sales and housing inventory fell during August in Atlanta. But housing starts are up.

The median price of a home in Georgia dipped slightly in August but was up more than 18% from a year ago, according to a new report from Georgia MLS.

Atlanta homebuyers should brace themselves amid expectations the residential real estate market could see double digit growth next year.

Even as the real estate market is showing signs of cooling and more sellers are dropping asking prices, median home prices increased by double digits from last year.

Also during the month, the median sales price rose to $390,500 from $370,200 in June, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Much of the home-sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren’t seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter-homes available.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

In what’s been a historic, frantic market, homes selling for large sums over list prices have risen sharply since January.

You might be surprised by the results of this survey.

“The bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming report comes from the increase in the overall number of permits issued, which can signal how much home construction is in the pipeline.” — First American deputy chief economist Odeta Kushi

Following months of sky-high prices paired with manic competition — driven by limited supply — the frenetic housing market is starting to cool down. Somewhat.

Smaller, more affordable homes are hitting the market, helping moderate median list prices, according to Realtor.com.

The median sales price of homes sold in the Atlanta metro area surged by 22.5% on a year-over-year basis in July to $349,000, according to statistics from the Georgia MLS.

For the first time since early March, no new records were set for median-home-sale prices last month, ending the five-month streak of record-breaking home prices.

Just 56.6% of homes sold during the quarter were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $79,900, according to the National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

Meanwhile, housing starts rose to 3,485 from 2,397 a year earlier, according to Atlanta Agent’s July Housing Scorecard.

Affordability declined in 49 of the 50 major markets according to the May 2021 First American Real House Price Index.