With the strength of the Atlanta housing market, headlines continue to pop up talking about how now is a good time to sell. Just recently, two homes sold in just four days: a Morningside bungalow for $150,000 over the asking price, and a home in Milton for more than $75,000 over the asking price. Welcome to the residential real estate landscape of 2021 where demand is high and inventory is low.
With high demand and limited supply, it is no surprise that the average sales price continues to rise. The average sold price in metro Atlanta in the first nine months of 2021 was 19% higher than the same nine months of 2020. Big homes can sometimes drive-up average prices, however, in 2021 the average price per square foot of homes sold also grew by 19%. Meaning that regardless of the size of the home, the value growth was notable.
When we look at short-term sales trends, we regularly look at market performance month-to-month or quarter-to-quarter. However, as the year rounds out there is also interest in how the year as a whole has performed compared to last. Looking at the first nine months of the year (Jan-Sep 2021) reveals long-term trends that can sometimes tell a different story than the month-to-month peaks and valleys…although, in the case of 2021 it has been more like peaks and peaks as the Atlanta market consistently climbed, and continues to climb, to new heights.
The number of homes sold from January to September in metro Atlanta increased 8% compared to last year. While it’s true more transactions took place at the lower end of the market due to profound inventory shortages in that price range, the greatest percentage growth in unit sales came at the higher end where homes exceed $1M. The number of homes sold over $1M increased by an astonishing 79% compared to the same period in 2020. The luxury real estate market was quick to pause when the pandemic hit in 2020. And while it was a slower comeback, the market came back fast and strong. This bounce back contributed to the significant annual growth of $1M+ home sales we saw from January to September of 2021.
Homes continue to sell fast, in fact, even twice as fast! The year-to-date average days on market is half that of last year. January to September saw a market-wide average of only 22 days on market compared to 43 days last year, which is still low based on the 45-60 day benchmark that is historically considered balanced. For high-demand areas and price points, even 22 days felt like a long sales period as numerous homes went under contract within 24 hours, and that’s before a sign even went in the yard!
If you would like to understand more about the housing market, Harry Norman, REALTORS® recently published a Year-To-Date Market Update. This report looks at different areas and drills down the metrics by price point. To find out more about this report or other trends in the market, contact your Harry Norman REALTOR®.
[Source: the data captured in this article is from Trendgraphix (Jan to Sep 2021 compared to Jan to Sep 2020 — FMLS 6-Core Counties.) Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.]