Q3 2024 Market Snapshot
Across The Greater Atlanta Area
13,923 Homes Sold
$527,166 Average Sale Price
3.6 Months of Inventory
33 Average Days on Market
We closed out Q2 2024 with optimism that, in Q3 2024, Mortgage Interest Rates (MIR) would moderate, and Buyers and Sellers would reengage with the market. MIR did moderate in Q3 but, it did not have the effect on the market that we expected. For the first time since Pre-Covid, Pending and Closed Sales trailed down even as MIR declined, and we had a divergence of New Listings and Months Supply (MOS).
By the end of Q2 2024, MIR began a steady decline, closing out Q3 2024 at 6.35%. Despite the improvement in MIR, Closed Sales decreased by 11.43% (13,923), Pending Sales decreased by 15.98% (13,072), Active Listings increased by 15.80% (16,123) and New Listings decreased by 13% (22,238). The Average Sale Price slid a nominal 3.60% to $527,166, Average Days on Market increased 13.79% to 33 days and Months of Inventory increased 16.13% to 3.6 months.
Trends for data specific to the City of Atlanta and inventory Inside the Perimeter are in sync with trends for the Greater Atlanta Area suggesting that, overall, most submarkets are moving in the same direction.
“Itisimportanttopointoutthat,althoughwesawdeclines inthemarketthisquarter,thisdatadoesnotpointtoan unhealthymarket.”
Bearing in mind that a healthy/balanced market is defined as 6 months of supply, nearly all segments of the Greater Atlanta Area have less than 6 months of supply. The problem for most Buyers and Sellers is that the market does not feel healthy. The ease at which properties were bought and sold during the low MIR COVID era led to an unrealistic expectation that homes would and should sell within days of being listed. At that time, there was less than 1 Months of Inventory, and many properties sold within hours or days and for more than the list price. With 6 Months of Inventory, it can take weeks or months to sell a home and the Average Sale Price to List Price Ration is 96.7%. Buyers and Sellers are having difficulty reconciling this change psychologically.
In past months, we have pointed out that the two main drivers of the market were New Listings and MIR. As we closed out Q3, it became clear that those two factors were no longer driving the market. Referencing the Metro-Atlanta Pending & Closed Sales vs. Interest Rates chart on page 8, the reduction in MIR did not impact Pending and Closed Sales throughout Q3. In fact, this is the first time that we did not see a divergence in MIR and the number of Pending and Closed Sales. Referencing the Metro-Atlanta Supply Dynamics chart on page 9 we can see that since Jan-2022, Months of Supply has trended up and down based on the number of New Listings and the absorption through Pending and Closed Sales. By the end of Q2, New Listings, Pending and Closed sales decreased while Months of Supply increased eliminating New Listings as a market driver.
“Twofactorshaveemergedasdriversthisquarter: AffordabilityandPsychology.”
Affordability: For the Greater Atlanta Area, all product types, more than 60% of all New and Active Listings and Pending and Closed Sales were $500K<. Consistently across all these categories, approximately 25% were $500K to $800K and approximately 15% were $800>. The Average Price for the $500K< bracket was $342,886. For condominiums in the Greater Atlanta Area, an average of 86% of all New and Active Listings and Pending and Closed Sales were $500<. Across all these categories, an average of 10% were $500K to $800K and an average of 4% were $800K>. The Average Price for $500< was $294,770. This data demonstrates that affordable product made up the majority of the market in Q3. Additionally, a plethora of new rental options have become available in the for-rent market, bringing down rental rates, making renting more affordable and more appealing than making a home purchase.
Psychology: The word recession has been used to describe the state of the real estate market in 2024. We would disagree and suggest that we are experiencing a “Great Pause”, not a recession. Many Buyers and Sellers are frozen. Sellers have incredibly low interest rates on their existing homes and will not or cannot move. Since rates began to increase in 2022, prognosticators have predicted interest rates would decrease in 2023 and 2024 so, Buyers have been on pause, waiting for lower rates. As previously mentioned, lower rental rates on new rental options have given would be homebuyers a lower cost of living option than owning. This fact, combined with higher rates, has given Buyers another reason to pause. 2024 is a deeply polarized election year, giving Buyers and Sellers one more reason to pause. In addition to these factors, Buyers and Sellers are bombarded with daily news about the state of the real estate market, what will happen with rates and “Is now a good or bad time to buy or sell”. Psychologically, people are fatigued and have everything on “pause”.
“Ultimately,thereareSellersthatmustsellandBuyersthat mustpurchaseso,themarketisstillmoving.”
As previously stated, most submarkets in Metro Atlanta are trending in line with the Metro Atlanta data; however, there are outliers that trail the market or exceed the averages. There are opportunities for Buyers where they can negotiate prices and concessions. In contrast, in strong Seller submarkets, it is not uncommon for Buyers to experience multiple offer situations.
The rest of this report provides a snapshot of key metrics by home type (single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums) and submarket, including neighborhoods and cities Inside the Perimeter (ITP) and Outside the Perimeter (OTP).
To learn more about homes selling in your neighborhood or dream location, reach out to your Engel & Völkers Advisor for more detailed information about trends in your area and determine if now is the time for you to make your move.
Christa Huffstickler Founder and CEO, License Partner
Source: FMLS InfoSparks, Greater Atlanta Area, All Home Types, January 2022 - September 2024
Inside The Perimeter
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$582,500
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
$689,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3
(7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$469,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$300,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
$342,500
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$397,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$263,800
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
$425,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
2
$237,500
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
$637,500
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
$517,000
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
$446,500
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24)
Source: FMLS, InfoSparks, Q3 2024 (7/1/24 to 9/30/24
The following key indicators are used throughout this report to describe market trends:
Properties that are currently listed for sale on FMLS. Additional properties may be for sale at any given time— such as for-sale by owner homes or off-market listings— but are not included in the count of “active listings” in this report if they are not in the FMLS database.
New listings are those that have been added to FMLS in a given month. They do not include active listings that were entered in previous months.
Closed sales represent homes that have sold and transactions have been finalized. This indicator tends to lag market trends slightly because properties typically close one to two months after an offer has been accepted and buyers have locked their interest rates.
Pending sales are properties that have accepted an offer from a buyer and is in the due diligence period. The sales transaction has not happened yet. This is a leading indicator because it give us insight into how buyers and sellers are reacting to the most current market conditions.
The sale price is the final amount paid for a home. It is measured as either an average or a median, with the average price tending to be skewed higher by the highest priced homes. It does not reflect seller concessions, such as closing costs that may have been paid.
Days on market (DOM) measures how long it takes from the time a home is listed until the owner signs a contract for the sale of a property. This tends to vary based on the desirability of a given property, market conditions, and season.
The sale price to list price ratio (SP/LP) indicates if a home sold at (100%), above (>100%), or below (<100%) the listed asking price. The sale price to original list price ratio (SP/OLP) compares the sale price to the original asking price, as the current asking price may have reflected price changes.
Months of inventory indicates how long it would likely take to sell currently listed homes, if no new inventory were added. It is measured as a ratio of active listings to homes sold. 5 to 6 months of inventory is considered a balanced market. Less than 6 months supply tends to favor sellers, and more tends to favor buyers.
