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Mid-Year Real Estate Report
Metro market still strong despite interest rate hikes, low inventory
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By Kathy Dean
Real estate markets have been thriving
across the U.S. for the last few years,
and the Atlanta scene has been especially
robust. Still, the local housing market has
been affected by the recent interest rate
increases, as has the rest of the country.
Compared to April 2022, the number
of sales in metro Atlanta, covering 11
counties, has dropped 33%. There has
been a 24% decrease in new listings and
an increase of 14% in total active listings.
Still, the average home sales price of
$497,864 has stayed the same since April
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2022.
We checked in with several area
professionals for the local perspective.
“The first half of 2023 has been
interesting, to say the least,” said Erin
Yabroudy, Lead Realtor, Erin Yabroudy
& Associates, Elarry Norman Realtors.
She and her team cover the Buckhead,
Intown, Sandy Springs, and Vinings
areas.
“When interest rates began to
approach 7% in late third quarter and
early fourth quarter 2022, the market
softened considerably. The overall
economic forecast seemed relatively
dismal, and buyers and sellers really
paused,” Yabroudy stated.
Rates are currently down from those
highs and buyers seem to have accepted
the new
normal, she
said. “We are
seeing even
more multiple
offer situations
and properties
selling above
list price
than we were
last spring.
Certainly, rates
are higher than
they were in
recent history,
but they are
far lower than historical highs — they
are actually lower than the average since
1971!”
According to Yabroudy, “Initially,
we were expecting historical seasonality
trends to continue in 2023, including
a slight pause in the market in the early
summer months when kids are out
of school. Elowever, the volatility of
mortgage rates and inventory constriction
felt earlier this spring has likely delayed
sales activity that I believe will re-emerge
during the upcoming summer months
as inflation and interest rates continue to
cool,” she said.
Multiple offers
Chrissy Neumann, Agent with
Neumann & Co., Ansley Real Estate,
covers the
Springs/
Buckhead
area. She
stated that
despite
news
reports,
those areas
have done
extremely
well.
“Inventory
is still low
and buyer demand is still high. Looking
at the $ 1 million to $2 million price
point in 30342, there are still only 16
Chrissy
Neumann
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4 | JUNE 2023
active homes, eight are pending and 32
have sold in the last six months.”
She said those numbers show that
there is still a large demand for housing
in the area. “The average days on the
market with that same data is only 19
and the average list price/sales price ratio
is 99.6%. In other words, if you put a
good home on the market that is priced
right, we are still seeing multiple offers
every time.”
Neumann said that the good news
is the slight increase in interest rates has
seemed to take the “insanity” out of the
market. “In spring 2022, all sense of
making offers based on market data was
thrown out the window. Buyers were
making offers, sight unseen, $100,000
to $200,000 over list price, waiving their
due diligence, appraisal, and finance
contingencies.”
While the demand hasn’t decreased,
things have settled back to a more
balanced market in which buyers may
only be competing against one or two
offers and being allowed to have a
due diligence to inspect the property.
“Overall, I think the rate increase was
very positive for our area and something
that needed to happen to ensure a more
balanced market,” she said.
Neumann expects inventory to stay
low for the foreseeable future and said
that there is
talk of a rate
cut. “You
couple those
two together
and I think
we might
actually
experience a
big surge of
activity in the
second half
— more than
even the first
half!”
Serious buyers or kicking the
tires?
The first half of the year has been busy
for Matt LaMarsh, Atlanta Real Estate
Advisor and Director of Communications
for Engel and Volkers Atlanta. Lie covers
the Sandy Springs area, and says “Low
inventory, bidding wars, and increasing
values still make the metro a great
investment.”
“The uncertainty of interest rates for
the last eight to 10 months has created
a separation of buyers between the
serious ones — those who have to move,
relocations and exhausted renters with
RoughDraftAtlanta.com
