WHY are Atlanta home prices rising? With an almost 23% increase in home prices in Atlanta compared to 2021 the supply for homes is unable to keep up with the demand. Get a jump on the market and schedule a call to get funding now.
Hedge funds and corporations have been buying up houses in metro Atlanta, adding fuel to an already hot market in which buyers are frequently bidding against each other as they try to find their next home among the shrinking options.
“There is a complete imbalance of supply and demand,” said Kristen Jones, owner of Re/Max Around Atlanta Realty. “I don’t think we will continue to see the double-digit appreciation that we have seen over the past two years, but prices will continue to rise.”
Atlanta home prices in January was $350,000 – up 23.5% from a year ago, according to a report released Thursday by Re/Max.
In the 28-county area covered by Re/Max, 5,463 homes were sold in January. That’s down 15.4% from last year, mostly because fewer houses are for sale, real estate agents said.
Georgia Multiple Listing Service, which covers a smaller, 12-county area of metro Atlanta, found a 22.8% increase in prices from a year earlier. The number of sales decreased by 17%.
While prices in the region have risen steadily, houses are still a bargain compared to many cities in the North and West. That has attracted investors, especially hedge funds and real estate investment trusts, which are looking to buy homes in order to lease them.
About one-third of the homes sold in the region are purchased by investors, both individuals and groups of people who pool together money to make big-ticket investments, according to a study by Redfin, a national real estate firm.
Among metro areas, Atlanta now ranks No. 1 in the percentage of houses sold to investors.
Percentage of homes purchased by investors, by metro
1. Atlanta: 32.7%
2. Charlotte: 32.1%
3. Jacksonville: 29.8%
4. Las Vegas: 28.2%
5. Phoenix: 28.4%
Most money spent by investors buying homes, by metro
1. Los Angeles
2. Phoenix
3. New York
4. Atlanta
5. Anaheim
Metro Atlanta housing, Jan. 2022 compared to Jan. 2021
Median price: $350,000 (up 23.5%)
Number of sales: 5,463 (down 15.4%)
Listed for sale: 8,733 (down 17.5%)
Sources: Re/Max, Redfin
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The highest price doesn’t always win. Sellers generally prefer a cash offer to one in which they must wait for a mortgage approval.
Michael E. Kanell, Home prices up 23.5% from a year ago, with investors fueling the surge