The 2021 Atlanta Real Estate Market Statistics: Property Forecast

Covid-19 struck with near blinding speed in 2020. Improbably, Atlanta’s housing market took off in the process. And now, with a scarce supply of houses, prices rising and historically low interest rates falling. Maybe it is a good time to take off your mask, but is this really a good time to sell your home?

A flourishing real estate market during a global health crisis may seem counterintuitive, but there is some interesting rationale behind it, particularly as it relates to Atlanta. The pandemic impacted supply and demand. Due to falling mortgage rates, the cost of borrowing money to buy a house has been very low, notwithstanding some recent rate spikes. But everything accelerated in 2020 before reaching a record low this past January. Previously non-committed buyers, and now young professionals in particular, are entering the market, contributing to the growing flood of potential buyers.

According to one estimate, last fall, homes sold in about 16 days, which was down from 28 days during the same time frame just one year earlier. But there’s more: about two-thirds of consumers who bought a home in 2020 made an offer — without even walking in the front door.

The Atlanta real estate market in Georgia has enjoyed nearly a decade’s worth of positive growth. Since the depths of the Great Recession, just about every indicator has improved dramatically. However, it is worth noting that the presence of the Coronavirus nearly brought nine consecutive years of progression to an end. “Shelter-in-place” orders issued in the wake of the pandemic presented real estate in Atlanta with its first real test since the first quarter of 2012. Fortunately, the Georgia city appears willing and able to come out of this crisis stronger than when it went in. While the Coronavirus has certainly taken a toll on the Atlanta housing market, the city’s unemployment rate, median sales price, and demand have all fared relatively well. With fewer people claiming unemployment than the national average, the city’s economy should be able to position itself at the forefront of recovery. This article has been updated to reflect the latest trends in the Atlanta real estate market in 2021.

Latest Atlanta Property Trends In 2021

Housing Demand: In March, residential sales were at 6,952, an increase of 7.3% from the previous year. The number of homes sold in March ranged from 1,045 in DeKalb County to 1,836 in Fulton CountyWe shall now do a quick recap of the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Atlanta housing market. With social distancing becoming a way of life across the country, Atlanta’s tourism industry has taken a considerable hit in light of this deadly pandemic. Many big events like the NCAA basketball tournament were canceled to avoid the spreading of infection among huge crowds. The local businesses are feeling the brunt of the outbreak, too. The economy is bound to be hit in the short term. However, Atlanta’s housing market showed a quick recovery.

The single-family residential housing market in metro Atlanta got impacted by the pandemic with home sales plummeting from April onward. There was a significant reduction of 25.8% in sales for April as compared to last year’s numbers. According to the latest report from Atlanta REALTORS® (ARA), residential sales continued to decrease in May as well.

The housing market in Atlanta experienced a 25.8% decline in sales for April as compared to last year. New listings dropped by 32.2% compared to April 2019. April’s new listings decreased more than 18% compared to March’s new listings as sellers decided to back out in this crisis. Housing inventory in the metro Atlanta area housing market decreased by 13.4% from April 2019. In Fulton County, there were 744 units sold in April at a median price of $405,000 and an average price of $506,000.

Total home sales in May in the 11 counties of metro Atlanta dropped by 37%. The drop in May was steeper than the 25.8% decrease recorded in April. The median sales price in May was $291,000, an increase of 0.3% from last May. The average sales price was $351,000, down 0.6% from the previous year’s average of $353,000. As you can see the Atlanta housing prices are holding strong with hardly any decline due to the ongoing pandemic. However, compared to last month (April), the median sales price dropped by 3.6% and the average price dropped by 3.3%.

. Home sales will likely increase in the upcoming summer peak buying season. Considering the impact of the pandemic and the continuation of work from home culture, there could be more home sales in suburban areas than in big cities.  

Home Prices: High demand is met with low inventory and a constrained housing market, driving a sustained upward trend in Atlanta home prices. The result is that the average and median sales prices continue to gain traction and outpace 2020’s figures, with positive gains. The median sales price in March was $330,000, an increase of 15.8% from last March. The average sales price grew at a similar rate of  15.9% to reach $396,500. Among Atlanta’s largest counties, median sales prices ranged from $313,500 in Gwinnett to $366,500 in Fulton.

Housing Supply: The metro Atlanta housing market has been leaning in favor of sellers for several years, and the shortage of homes has been even more acute during this pandemic. Housing inventory in the Atlanta area totaled 7,426 units in March, a decrease of 55.8% from March 2020. New listings totaled 8,767, down 7.4% from March 2020 and up 25.4% from the previous month. The month’s supply over a 12-month period decreased to 1.1 months, which means sellers still cannot meet buyer demand. Experts consider the market balanced when the number of listings is equal to about six months of sales. 

Listing Prices: Realtor.com’s April 2021 report shows Atlanta is a seller’s real estate market, which means that more people are looking to buy than there are homes available. Home prices have been surging largely because of limited supply and fierce competition for available homes. The median list price of homes in Atlanta, GA was $379,900, trending up 16.9% year-over-year while the median sale price was $345,500.

The median listing price per square foot was $248. Sale-to-List Price Ratio: 100%, which means that Homes in Atlanta, GA sold for approximately the asking price on average in April 2021. Ideally, a buyer would prefer a sale to list price ratio that’s closer to 90% while a seller would always prefer scenarios that can yield a ratio of 100% or higher.

There are 205 neighborhoods in and around Atlanta, GA where Realtor.com has listings. Morningside – Lenox Park has a median listing price of $899.5K, making it the most expensive neighborhood. Pittsburgh is the most affordable neighborhood of Atlanta, with a median listing price of $265K.

Days on Market: On average, homes in Atlanta, GA sell after 50 days on the market. The trend for median days on market in Atlanta, GA has gone down since last month, and slightly down since last year.

Rental Trends: About 50% of the households in Atlanta, GA are renter-occupied. Atlanta rent prices plunged during the most severe period of the coronavirus outbreak when much of the city’s economy was locked down. It is supposed to have ended eight years of steady rent growth in the Atlanta housing market. Average rents were down 2.2% from March through May for the entire metro Atlanta market. The declines were sharpest in areas of Buckhead, Lindbergh, and Emory, Midtown but the suburban markets did not suffer much.

But the latest market reports show a fast pace recovery from the effects of the pandemic. According to Realpage.com’s analysis, there’s been a record apartment demand in Atlanta. In fact, the whole Georgia market claimed the nation’s top spot for apartment demand. Atlanta’s 3rd quarter demand tally of 9,008 units accounted for 87% of the market’s annual absorption in the year-ending September.

The rent prices are up whether you compare them annually or monthly. As of May 17, 2021, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Atlanta, GA is currently $1,495. This is a 5% increase compared to the previous year. Over the past month, the average rent for a studio apartment in Atlanta increased by 1% to $1,429. The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment increased by 3% to $1,495, and the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment decreased by -1% to $1,929.

• Two-bedroom apartments in Atlanta rent for $1,929 a month on average (a 7% increase from last year).
• Three-bedroom apartment rents average $2,086 (a 25% increase from last year).
• Studio apartment rents average $1,429 (a 5% decrease from last year).

Is Atlanta is going to remain a seller’s real estate market in 2021?

These numbers can be positive or negative depending on which side of the fence you are — Buyer or Seller? While many have lost jobs, making them ineligible for a home mortgage, some sellers have taken their homes off the market. The decrease in the number of active listings indicates that new sellers are still not willing to put their homes on the market until the pandemic or its threat is completely over.

At the same time, the industry is adapting to the current environment by conducting business using technologies such as virtual showings and e-signing to help buyers and sellers with their housing needs in the face of these challenges. While some economic activity will resume as the state gradually reopens, the housing market is expected to remain sluggish for the next couple of months until the economy opens up completely. Sellers, brokers, and homebuyers seem to be adjusting to restrictions imposed on the real estate industry because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The constraint on available inventory and a decline in new listings is keeping the Atlanta real estate market skewed to sellers. Atlanta and the entire metro area market is so hot that it cannot shift to a complete buyer’s real estate market, for the long term. The Atlanta real estate market benefits from a large and robust economy.

According to the data insights provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Atlanta metro area was the tenth-largest in the U.S. and among the top 20-largest in the world (as of 2020). The housing demand in Atlanta is still high across the 11-county metro area. To counter the effects of this ongoing crisis, FED did an emergency rate cut which put rates at their lowest level in the last 50-year span.

The low interest rates are already leading to an increase in mortgage applications. Buyers looking for this opportunity to invest or buy a house. Low interest rates coupled with Atlanta’s solid job market could be a boon for the local real estate market even in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Keeping aside the short-term effects of Covid-19 which would hopefully end, the Atlanta housing market is strong. There are no signs of weakness in the Atlanta real estate prices.

In a balanced real estate market, it would take about five to six months for the supply to dwindle to zero. In terms of months of supply, Atlanta can become a buyer’s real estate market if the supply increases to more than five months of inventory. And that’s not going to happen. This housing market is skewed to sellers due to a persistent imbalance in supply and demand.

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, timing your local market is an important part of real estate investment. For buyers in Atlanta, the mortgage rates are at their lowest. So they should take advantage of scooping up their favorite deals which otherwise are taken away by seasoned investors in the bidding wars.