Atlanta housing prices take hit in August

Median price up 5% over 2016; sales in Gwinnett most active.

The housing market in metro Atlanta took a hit in August, although prices were up compared to a year ago, according to the Atlanta Realtors Association.

The median sales price of a home sold last month was $250,000 – up 5 percent from a year earlier, according to the group’s report issued late Friday.

However, the number of sales during the month was 6.1 percent lower than in August of 2016, a continuation of a trend that has shaped the market for the past several years: a limited supply of homes for sale which keeps pushing prices higher.

“Atlanta’s new listings have lagged behind the number of homes sold, which is keeping the housing market competitive,” said Bill Rawlings, president of the Realtors group. “Nevertheless, sales are very strong, and we continue to be in a seller’s market in most price ranges across the city.”

During August, there were 15,237 units for sale, down 4.7 percent from the same month a year ago. That inventory represents about 3.2 months of sales, which is less half of a healthy, balanced market, experts say.

With schools reopening in August, the incentive to find a new home in the right school district has ebbed, so the month is typically less active for real estate than July.

That pattern certainly held true: from July to August, home sales dropped 5.5 percent and the median sales price edged down by 2.7 percent

Gwinnett was the most active market, with 1,111 units sold and a median sales price of $227,000.

However, Fulton County — which includes both Buckhead and Alpharetta — recorded the highest median home sales price: $328,000, the Realtors group said.

Fulton also had the second-most sales — 944, followed by Cobb with 936 and DeKalb with 717.

The second highest prices were in DeKalb, where the median home sold for $270,000. Thirdmost expensive was Cobb, where the median price of a home sold in August was $266,000, according to the Atlanta Realtors.

The data was collected for the Realtors by First Multiple Listing Service.