MLS Moments - Market Update

The market update for North Atlanta shows a continued positive trend first reported on June 3. The increase in the number of houses sold tripled the increase in the number of houses listed.

More simply, since June 3, there is a:

• 377 increase in homes sold
• 110 increase in houses for sale

Houses for sale in North Atlanta - 8331 with an average listing price of $580.917.

Houses sold, pending close - 968 with an average list price of $392,173. Average market time is 83 days.

Houses sold and closed year-to-date is 2729. The average list price is $386,962, compared to $368,544 average sold price. Average market time is 89 days.

Review all multiple listing market reports to track trends in our market area.

Weekly Market Reports

Real Time Price and Inventory Trends

MLS Moments: Atlanta Real Estate Market Review

MLS Moments: Atlanta Real Estate Market Review March 23

This week’s Atlanta real estate market review is based on last week’s MLS Moments. On March 17, Atlanta mls listings for sale numbered 7,356. I recorded 771 pending sales, and 788 North Atlanta homes sold through mls cooperating brokers.

In that same MLS Moment, I spent quite a bit of time looking at mls statistics by price range. But, it was very late at night - or I should say early in the morning - and my brain simply couldn’t wrap itself around the market data. So, I held off until tonight.

NOTE: All price ranges are in thousands. Pending sales are houses under contract. DOM is the average days on market. All findings are based on mls listing data, deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. These stats are compiled by Kathy and not First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) or Georgia Metro Listing Service (GAMLS).

	For Sale	Pending	Sold	DOM
<100	27	9	8	79
100-200	908	180	195	84
200-300	1674	249	217	87
300-500	1986	176	215	92
500-750	1178	79	89	101
750-1000	681	43	29	129
1000+	902	35	35	223
TOTAL	7356	771	788	94

Review our self-defined North Atlanta geographic zone by clicking here.

The chart tells us right away more than half (53%) of North Atlanta buyers are looking to buy a house priced less than $300,000. (This trend was first noted in our 2006 North Atlanta Real Estate Review with 58% for the same market area, and held true in 2007.)

The number of houses for sale priced less than $300,000 is only 35% of the North Atlanta houses for sale. If you have a house to sell valued at $300,000 or below, now is the time to sell. Call me; let’s talk about getting your house sold before school is out.

Now let’s look at the number of North Atlanta houses for sale in comparison to the number of houses that have sold, or absorption rate. What we are calculating is the time, in months, it will take to absorb the current number of houses on the market based on year-to-date closings. We are going to refer to this rate as the Current Market Index (CMI).

PRICE RANGE	CMI
<$100,000	6.75
$100-200,000	9.31
$200-300,000	15.43
$300-500,000	18.48
$500-750,000	26.47
$750,000-1M	46.97
$1M+	51.54

As you can see, there is more supply than demand in all price ranges. I anticipate a positive change in the CMI for Atlanta houses priced under $300,000 as we move into the spring market.

My prediction for the higher priced homes is not positive. Even with 4-years of existing inventory on the market, I see builders continuing to build homes priced $800,000 and above.

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MLS Moments

We are far enough into 2008 to have some solid mls real estate sales information to begin tracking patterns and trends. Before we get ahead of ourselves, I think it’s important to review some basic mls sales data from the past few years. This will establish a baseline against which we can compare our analysis for 2008.

The chart below shows the total number of single family homes listed in the North Atlanta MLS Listing Area that sold in 2005, 2006 and 2007. As we track the number of 2008 mls sales for the same real estate market area, you can refer back to this baseline. (Note: This information is not compiled by the Atlanta mls real estate services.)

In 2005, (according to my research of the mls listings) the total number of single family homes sold in North Atlanta was 11,663; in 2006, the number increased slightly to 11,909. The total number of North Atlanta mls listings sold in 2007 dropped 19% to 9,622.

Looking at the average sales price during the same time period gives us a different perspective on the strength of the real estate market in North Atlanta.

You can see in the chart here that the average sales price increased 9% – from $345,503 in 2005 to $377,793 in 2007 — while the volume decreased over the same time period. It will be interesting to learn if the trend of increasing sales prices will continue into 2008.

Another real estate pattern to note is the average days on market (DOM). In the North Atlanta market, the average DOM has increased from 61 days in 2005 to 72 days in 2007 — a rise of 18%.

So, what do the 2008 mls listing statistics tell us today?

There are 362 single family homes reported as sold through the multiple listing service in January 2008, with an average of 95 days on market. The average price range in the North Atlanta Market Area for January is $402,158.

The reported year-to-date numbers through February 2008:

• 7062 7230 7352 active mls listings (updated: 3/7/08; 3/15/08)
• 742 776 771 are “under contract” pending closing (updated: 3/7/08; 3/15/08)
• 574 664 788 sold and closed (updated: 3/7/08: 3/15/08)
• $385,703 $380,929 $377,198 average sales price (updated: 3/7/08; 3/15/08)
• 95 94 average days on market. (unchanged: 3/7/08: 3/15/08)

Okay, the baselines are set. What I want to do now is track these 5 markers on a weekly basis. I’ll strike through the changes as new listings, pending contracts and closings are reported to the multiple listing service.

If you have a proficiency with spreadsheets and graphs, and want to contribute a meaningful display, be my guest.

How to Handle Real Estate Data Overload

This morning, I was reading a blog post from Chris McKeever, Center for Realtor Technology in which he stated:

…as a consumer, part of how I would choose an agent is that they can outperform me on finding the perfect property by having access to more area knowledge, refined searching techniques and experience I just can’t gain through even the best website. Just cause I use one website to search, doesn’t mean that is the broker/agent I have decided to use.

In his post, Chris makes a good point that an individual agent, or broker, is going to be hard-pressed to compete on technology with the big boys with deep pockets. On the other hand, the big boys with deep pockets are aggregating data on a national level. Real estate is, and always will be, a local issue. 

So, it doesn't really matter what website works for your personal search for Atlanta real estate. Ultimately, if you choose to work with an Atlanta Realtor, you want someone whose knowledge and expertise moves beyond the aggregated data.

You also want the Realtor to incorporate technology into their business model to enhance the exchange of that knowledge at a personal level. Do they respond to email in minutes, the same day, weeks later or never? Can they text listing information in a mobile format? Do they have an online network of specialists, vendors and colleagues who are also technologically proficient?

One place to start your search for tech-savvy Realtors with in-depth knowledge of the local market is the CyberStars network.  The Allen F. Hainge CyberStars® is an international organization of over 200 top Real Estate professionals who are committed to providing the highest level of service and expertise in the industry, while using technology to provide the highest level of customer service.