It’s becoming a familiar story: Atlanta home prices are up, but the number of homes for sale is down.
The median price of a Metro Atlanta home was up 4.9 percent in May from the same month a year ago, according to a report issued Thursday afternoon by the Atlanta Realtors Association.
That median in May was $258,000, according to the report, calculated for the association by First Multiple Listing Service.
As usual, Fulton County had the highest median price: $373,000.
HOME FLIPPING UP SHARPLY OF LATE
The month saw 5,860 homes sold in metro Atlanta, seven more than the same month of last year. The county with the most action was Gwinnett, which reported 1,207 sales during May.
Inventory – that is the number of homes for sale – has fallen from a year ago, when experts had already been complaining of tight inventories for a year. Now, that number is equal to 3.1 months worth of purchases, according to the association.
That is less than less than half the level expected from a healthy, balanced market.
HOME PRICE INCREASES ARE GOING TO SLOW, CORELOGIC PREDICTS
The inventory problem is tightest at the lower end of the market, said Bill Rawlings, president of the association. “Homes under $400,000 in highly desirable school districts are currently in short supply.”
Median sales price by county, May
Cobb $270,000
DeKalb $290,000
Fulton $373,000
Gwinnett $232,000
Source: Atlanta Realtors Association, First Multiple Listing Service
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