Has the tide begun to turn in the North Metro Atlanta real estate market? New construction inventory levels actually rose from last year. While the average sale price rose from last year, the August 2018 North Metro Atlanta Market Report showed that it actually declined from July 2018's average price. We'll need more than one month to see if this is a continuing trend.
August 2018 North Metro Atlanta Market Report
August 2018 North Metro Atlanta Market Report - Sales
According to the First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS), a total of 4304 North Metro Atlanta homes were sold throughout August 2018. That's a 3.2% decrease from the 4445 sold in August 2017. It's also a 6.6% decline from July 2018. The average time a North Metro Atlanta home spent on the market before going under contract fell from 40 days in last year to 37 days last month.
August 2018 North Metro Atlanta Market Report - Prices
Unlike sales, prices showed a definite increase. Buyers paid $362,244 on average for a North Metro Atlanta home last month. That marked a 5% increase over last August's $344,996 average. However, it is 4% less than the $377,334 average Atlanta area buyers paid in July 2018. That's the first time since February that the month-over-month average sale price decreased. Some parts of Fulton County showed an average sale price as high as $1,031,795. The list price/sale price ratio rose slightly from 97.7% in August 2017 to 97.9% last month.
August 2018 North Metro Atlanta Market Report - Inventory
New construction appears to be on the rise while available existing homes remained even. In August 2017, FMLS reported 6.4 months of new construction and 2.9 months of existing construction available at the time. Last month, they showed new construction increased to seven months of availability. Meanwhile, existing home inventory stayed exactly the same at 2.9 months. Inventory levels came in as high as 15 months for new construction in areas of Dekalb, Fulton and Cobb Counties. On the flip side, they reported just two months in other areas of Fulton and Dekalb Counties. For existing home inventory, it ran as high as six months in parts of Fulton and just one month in areas of Cobb County.
What Buyers Need to Know
With kids back in school, the busy time for the North Metro Atlanta real estate market has ended. That doesn't mean that buyers aren't looking for a new home, though. In fact, if they're searching out properties right now, it could be because they want to be in before the holidays. That's great news for sellers. Whether you're buying or selling a home, contact your North Metro Atlanta REALTOR® to handle all your real estate needs right now.
Laura Andersen, Keller Williams Realty Partners, your North Metro Atlanta REALTOR®
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