Atlanta’s Housing Market Will Lead U.S. in 2023

The Georgia capital is looking at modest price growth around 5%—surpassing stagnant prices in the wider U.S. market, according to the National Association of Realtors

Atlanta is forecast to be the U.S.’s top property market of 2023, according to a report Tuesday from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). 

The Georgia city topped the association’s list of markets to watch next year based on its performance in 10 key metrics—including housing affordability, employment conditions and population growth—when compared to the national average. 

Among the 179 metro areas analyzed by NAR, it was the only one to meet all 10 indicators.

“The Atlanta metro area continues to be more affordable than most areas across the country, with more than 20% of the renters able to afford to buy the typical home in the area,” the report said. “The job market is robust, with many major tech companies from the West Coast opening offices, such as Apple, Microsoft and Visa. As a result, the area experiences substantial migration gains and fast population growth.”

“The economic conditions in place in the top 10 U.S. markets, all of which are located in the South, provide the support for home prices to climb by at least 5% in 2023,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist and senior vice president of research, said in the report. 

Outside of those hot spots, annual median home prices are expected to tick up just 0.3%—following a 9.6% gain in 2022—to reach $385,800, NAR said. 

“Half of the country may experience small price gains, while the other half may see slight price declines,” Mr. Yun added. “However, markets in California may be the exception, with San Francisco, for example, likely to register price drops of 10% to 15%.”

Existing-home sales, meanwhile, are expected to total 4.78 million, a 6.8% drop from this year’s 5.13 million transactions.