Low mortgage rates and low inventory levels are making the demand for homebuilding more attractive to buyers in Atlanta.

The NAHB attributed the monthly increase in its construction spending index to single-family construction and single-family improvements, both of which rose by 2% on a monthly basis. Multifamily construction, meanwhile, declined 0.3% after falling 0.9% in February.  

Georgia MLS’s monthly survey of the 12-county metro area also found that sales volume was strong, up 44.2% year-over-year to $2.64 billion.

In 40% of metro areas analyzed, first-quarter home prices hit new peaks or tied previous ones, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ first-quarter 2021 U.S. Home Sales Report. 

Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted housing index rose 1.1% month over month in February and 12% year over year, up from monthly and yearly increases of 0.8% and 11.2% in January, respectively.

The median sales price fell in March to $330,800 from $345,900 in February and rose relative to March 2020, when the median price was $328,200.

Inventory of existing and new single-family homes for sale is at its lowest since 1982, according to recent data from the National Association of Realtors.

Atlanta’s supply of homes for sale in March was 7,426 units, representing a 55.8% drop from a year earlier.

Since 2016, millenials have comprised the largest share of home-purchase mortgage applications, rising even higher in 2020, when they made up more than half of overall applications, according to a recent CoreLogic report.

Nationally, home sales were brisk, with an average of 38 days on market, just two more than the record 36 days set in November 2020.

Privately owned housing starts jumped 19.4% from February’s revised estimate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,739,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development

The National Association of Homebuilders expects continued growth in single-family construction through the rest of 2021, although at a slower pace than that of 2020.

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.