The sun shined down on the metro Atlanta real estate market for February, 2010 with a positive year-to-year increase according to Steve Palm of Smart Numbers. Although the increase was slight, 1.6% ....the news is still promising.
Additionally, according to the Case Shiller Index, our metro Atlanta market hit "bottom" in March 2009. And since that time, Case Shiller is reporting metro atlanta home values have risen 5.8%. As for our new home inventory, it is at an all time low. And, although we are beginning to see a few (a very few) builders begin developing new subdivisions (at least in the gwinnett County/suwanee area) new construction inventory is not expected to return anytime soon; and as a result, this is helping to absorb our foreclosure, short sale and resale inventory. 
What the future holds for metro Atlanta's real estate market is yet to be seen. Although in a recent blog post I wrote, I spoke to the predictions from the Census Bureau saying Atlanta will lead the nation in job growth and Fortune Magazine points to a substantial growth in our population. These are all good indicators for a strong housing market. However on the flipside as a result of excessive federal government spending and our high national debt we may be poised for potential inflation which in turn will result in higher interest rates.. And higher interest rates could potentially put the breaks on any housing recovery. 
Here is what we do know: The First Time Homebuyer tax Credit and the Seller Tax Credit ends April 30, 2010. These will not be repeated and will not be extended. So the overall concensus for metro Atlanta's real estate market in March and April is that we will see an increase in demand and overall sales.
And, as you see February, 2010 ended up looking pretty good.
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