Forty-three percent of respondents to the first-quarter Zillow Home Price Expectations survey expect inventory to improve in the second half of the year, followed by 26% who expect it in the first half of 2022.

The housing supply shortage is expected to get more extreme as homebuyer demand continues to outweigh inventory levels, a new study found.

At the same time, sales activity continues to be strong, with volume rising 33.5% year over year in March.

Year over year, however, rents rose, the online listing agent reported.

Home prices posted monthly and yearly gains in January across the U.S. as well, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

Much of the year-over-year increase in home sales was supported by continued robust activity in the Southeast, which saw a 20.2% rise to an annual rate of 458,000 transactions.

The median sale price of a home in Atlanta was $286,000 in February, a 2.9% increase month over month and a 14.4% increase over last year.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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

The Atlanta metro area continued to see a healthy pace of home sales in January despite dwindling inventory, Georgia MLS said in its Housing Snapshot.

After a bumpy start to 2020, Georgia’s housing market shrugged off much of the initial pandemic-related disruptions to post a solid finish to the year, with major indicators pointing to strong demand and tight supply, according to the Georgia Association of Realtors’ annual report.