4th Qtr 2021 Housing Market Report for Atlanta

The curtain fell on 2021 and the housing market report for greater Atlanta can be succinctly summed up; crazy. In addition the last quarter being traditionally slow, the big influences on the market were inflation levels unseen in 40 yrs, supply chain shortages, labor issues and of course the rise and run of the omicron covid variant. That is best described as an endemic; like the flu it's evident that the covid situation isn't going anywhere. So despite all of that, we did have a 4th qtr housing market report for Atlanta and it read much the same as the rest of 2021; record low inventory and frustrated buyers.  What lies ahead for 2022? Well we know rising rates; as this is written in mid Jan, rates are already up from a few weeks ago and they will continue to rise.

The need to dig deep into the data cannot be overemphasized; things look one way when viewed as a block but often look an entirely different way when boiled down into micro markets. When that’s done, buyers and sellers will see that looking at data broadly by county, city or zip code is often different when looking at it narrowed by price range, school district or physical characteristics. Broad is ok, but going micro is best.

Here's a macro look at the real estate market in Atlanta and surrounding suburbs for the 4th quarter '21 compared to last year at this point. Click the image...

Key Points

• Broad data is fine but the only data that matters is what’s applicable to the current situation. A first move up home in Milton and an equestrian home on acreage have nothing in common other than a Milton address.
• Track the data by year and by quarter, compare and contrast the results with the “real world”
• Work only with professionals. Standards to get a sales license are comical; why are there more agents than homes listed for sale? (because the industry runs on fees, nothing more)
• Work with a professional and LISTEN to them. Buying or selling a home is a major business transaction, treat it that way. Who is handling your  hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Tags

• market conditions (32)
• housing market (7)