The pace of mortgage applications fell 7.7% in the week ended Feb. 10, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. 

Builder confidence rose for the second consecutive month in February with a seven-point increase that brought it to its highest level since last September, the National Association of Home Builders said. 

The 30-year fixed rate fell for the fifth week in a row, giving a lift to lending activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

The median sales price of homes sold in January was up 2.3% year over year. 

The median sales price of a new home was down on a monthly basis but up on an annual one. 

Total housing inventory rose 45.9% from December 2021 to 10,547 units, while new listings fell 26% to 3,845. 

House prices, however, continued to rise, marking the 130th consecutive month for price gains, the longest streak on record, the National Association of REALTORS® said.   

The U-Haul Growth Index showed Georgia was a net importer of residents based on the number of one-way truck rentals to and from the state. 

The increase in builder confidence breaks a string of 12 straight monthly declines in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. 

The firm said 147,881 multifamily units are in some stage of the development process in the greater Atlanta market. 

The median sales price of homes sold was $370,000, up 2.8% from December 2021 but down 1.1% from November, according to the latest Georgia MLS Housing Market Snapshot. 

Geographically, the largest home-price increases took place in the Southeast, led by Florida (18%), South Carolina (13.9%) and Georgia (13.6%), CoreLogic reported, citing its November Home Price Insights report.    

Regionally, the pending-sales index fell 7.9% month over month in the Northeast, 6.6% in the Midwest, 2.3% in the South and 0.9% in the West. 

At the same time, the median sales price of a new house slid to $471,200 from $484,700 in October and $430,300 a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. 

The month-over-month decline in sales came as prices rose for the 129th consecutive month, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

New-home permits fell 11.2% month over month, while housing completions jumped 10.8% in what one observer said could have “worrisome” long-term consequences for the nation’s housing supply.