The number of homes for sale in metro Atlanta dwindled after the pandemic’s arrival.
But a robust batch of newly listed homes in May has led local housing supply to reach a milestone.
Nearly 8,500 metro area homes hit the market last month, according to data from First Multiple Listing Service.
It was similar to the bump in new listings metro Atlanta witnessed in April, and it helped push the local market’s supply to a nearly five-year high.
Metro Atlanta's 11-county core had enough housing supply to last 3.2 months based on the current sales rate, per FMLS data. The metro area hasn’t seen its housing supply surpass the 3-month threshold since September 2019.
Real estate professionals consider months' supply to be a key metric in tracking the housing market. Anything below 6 months' worth of supply is considered to be a sellers' market.
Metro Atlanta inventory fell to its lowest points in over a decade in 2021 and early 2022. These drops coincided with a surge in sales prompted by record-low mortgage rates and pandemic-era migration trends.
The housing market slowed in 2023 due to rising mortgage rates that were a byproduct of the Federal Reserve's attempts to manage inflation.
The national market witnessed one of its worst years for sales activity in almost three decades last year. The total number of homes sold across the United States fell nearly 20% from 2022 to 2023, per an analysis from the National Association of Realtors. High mortgage rates and home prices discouraged buyers with fixed incomes from entering the market.
But supply remained low because homeowners who bought properties while mortgage rates were much lower during the previous decade became hesitant to sell, which contributed to a lack of new listings.
With mortgage rates still elevated, many homeowners are choosing to list their homes regardless this year. The need to relocate has started to outweigh the advantage of a lower mortgage payment, according to a March report from national real estate company Redfin Corp. (Nasdaq: RDFN).
As a result, substantial supply gains are also evident on a national scale.
Last month, the number of active listings in the U.S. climbed to its highest point since December 2022, according to a Redfin report.
Full article: https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2024/06/06/housing-supply-inventory-may-2024.html
