|
Metro Atlanta's
Real Estate Update for August 2004.
September 20, 2004
There was a little bit of a slow down for housing in August. After lagged
closings are reported, the year-to-year
change will be up, but only slightly. The numbers being reported now are
5,008 closings for single
family detached, down 9.4% from the same year ago period. There were 656
closings for condos and
townhomes, which is up by only 4 closings from the same year ago period.
I believe there is some uncertainty in the market place,
i.e. Delta Airlines possible bankruptcy, rising gas
prices, large corporations still sitting on the sidelines for expansion,
Iraq woes, etc. Even though
closings were flat in August, other indicators were improving. The
months-of-inventory
dropped from 12.8 to 12.6 for condo & townhome resales and detached single
family resales dropped from
7.7 to 7.6. New construction did not fare as well. Condos and townhomes did
not change at 9.7, while single
family detached increased from 7.4 to 7.8.
The average sale price was almost unchanged for all
single family from August 2003. Condos and
townhomes had an average sale price of $180,637 versus last August’s
$194,178 or down 7%. The average
sale price for detached single family was up 1.2% at $246,276.
For the year, the average sale price for condos and
townhomes is down 1.1%, which can explain why almost
27% more condos and townhomes have closed this year compared to the same
time frame last year.
Days on market (DOM) had another year-to-year drop in August. All single
family closings combined to
average 72.5 versus the same year ago period’s 75.6. Condos and townhomes
dropped from 83.8 to 81.1 and
single family detached dropped from 74.7 to 71.3. We should have our first
year-to-year drop in DOM since
1998-1999. Again, even though
closings were flat for August, other indicators such as days on market and
months of
inventory improved not only from the same year ago period, but from the
previous month. The percentage
of expired and withdrawn listings increased in August. Expired listing
increased by 18%
over the same ago period (4,769 vs. 4,039). This is the largest percentage
increase since January’s 19%.
The percentage of withdrawn listings also increased to 18% from the same
year ago period. This was the
largest increase since March’s 31%. These could both be signs of the
consumer waiting to see what happens
with the elections and other uncertainties before committing to move.
September’s results could be an important gauge as to
what direction our housing market will take for the
rest of the year.
Thank you,
Steve Palm
Smart Numbers This document is copy protected by Steve Palm, Smart Numbers
and is reproduced with permission. No party may use or reproduce this
information without the express written permission of Steve Palm and Smart
Numbers.
© 2004 Smart Numbers
|
October 2004
