Atlanta Home Sales Cool, Housing Inventory Surges

Metro Atlanta’s housing market is slowing down, with homes taking longer to sell, and sellers offering concessions as elevated mortgage rates and prices keep buyers on the sidelines.

July sales fell 4 percent year-over-year across the 12-county metro, according to the Georgia Multiple Listing Service, while active listings jumped more than 30 percent. Inventory ended the month at 4.8 months’ supply, up from 3.6 months a year earlier, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That marks a dramatic shift from the pandemic frenzy, when homes for sale barely lasted weeks on market and bidding wars pushed prices sky-high.

The median days on market have stretched to 28 — about four times longer than in 2021 — giving buyers more time and leverage.

The shift is showing up in negotiations. About half of all homes sold involve seller concessions, such as closing cost assistance, price cuts for repairs and other perks, said John Ryan, chief marketing officer at Georgia MLS. Buyers are weighing options instead of rushing.

The median sale price in July held steady at $415,000, unchanged from last year. Single-family homes have appreciated 1 to 2 percent, while condo prices are softening. “While the crazy appreciation has kind of flattened, prices haven’t dropped for the most part,” Kristen Jones of Re/Max Around Atlanta told the outlet. She cited pent-up demand as a floor under values.

Many would-be buyers are sidelined by affordability challenges, with interest rates still about double pre-2022 levels. Even though Freddie Mac pegged the 30-year fixed at 6.58 percent last week — the lowest since last October — homeowners locked into sub-4 percent mortgages are reluctant to trade up, feeding what economists call the “lock-in effect.”

If rates continue to fall, brokers expect demand to rebound quickly. But that could reheat competition and reignite price pressures. “Buying in a market where rates might not be as low as you want still puts you in a more powerful position,” because of buyers’ ability to negotiate rather than battle through bidding wars, Jones said.

— Eric Weilbacher