Housing Trends 2013
Harry Norman, REALTORS® looks at Atlanta
A
tlanta is witnessing the return of real estate and all signs continue to point in the direction of recovery. Gains in the housing market will hold up through the end of 2013 and continue in 2014, but at a more moderate, sustainable rate. Existing-home sales are at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million in October and are 6.0 percent higher than the 4.83 million-unit level in October 2012. Sales have remained above year-ago levels for the past 28 months. The national median existing-home price for all types was $199,500 in October, up 12.8 percent from October 2012, which is the 11th consecutive month of double-digit year-over-year increases. In October of this year, our annual level was 2.06 million, 7.3 percent above October of last year. The median price in the South was $171,500, up 12.9 percent from a year ago. First-time homebuyers – typically around 40 percent of buyers – still only comprise 27 to 28 percent of the market, potentially due to enduringly
tough credit standards, but investors are stepping in and buying homes at unprecedented rates. Nationally, they comprise around 30 percent of buyers.
A
t Harry Norman, REALTORS®, we are finishing up this year on a superb note. Our sales are up 24 percent in units and 40 percent in volume from last year. By the end of October, we had already closed $665 million more than in all of last year. “It’s like a light switch has been turned on in the last 12 months,” said Harry Norman Realtor Bonneau Ansley III, who has sold over $85 million himself in the last 12 months. “Homes that are priced right for the market, intown,
have been selling within the first week. Sales prices in the Buckhead area are up 20 percent from what they were 12 months ago. Inventories and interest rates are at historic lows, which has resulted in a true seller’s market.”
I
n Atlanta, investors account for around 29 percent of home purchases in the region’s core counties. Among the 25 U.S. counties most targeted by investors, 13 are within Georgia. In the past 18 months, investors have purchased nearly 40,000 homes in metro Atlanta alone. Many are institutional investors and quite often their deals don’t go through the listing services so they have created
U.S. Housing economic outlook
Harry Norman, REALTORS® 1st Quarter Housing Trends 2013 | 1