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.

The trend of purchasing a second home has sent home prices in seasonal towns skyrocketing in value by 19% for the year ending December 2020.

Fence-sitters thinking of buying a home beware, says a new study from Zillow, which notes that waiting could mean a much higher mortgage payment down the road.

“Homeowners will see the value of their homes rise, but first-time homebuyers will face tougher competition from out-of-towners with big budgets.” — Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist

It was the 5th best month of the year and outperformed most of 2019.