REAL ESTATE
‘Home ownership is at risk’ due to high prices, low inventory
(Special/PhotoMIX Company)
BY AMY WENK Home prices continue to soar as housing inventory dwindles, according to new data from the Sandy Springs-based Atlanta Realtors Association. “Home ownership is at risk for a lot of our citizens,” Karen Hatcher, president of the association, said in a market brief. “And it’s not completely out of our hands. Real estate professionals, sellers, developers and local governments all have a role to play in fostering balance in the market.”
The average sales price in the 11-county metro Atlanta area was $445,000 in February 2022. That’s up 17.7% from a year ago and 1.8% higher than January 2022. The median sales price jumped to $380,000 in February 2022, up 21.4% in a year. Meanwhile, Atlanta-area housing inventory totaled 6,095 units in February 2022, down 15.2% from February 2021. There’s now less than a month (0.9) of supply in the metro area, according to the At-
lanta Realtors Association. “We’re heading toward two years of consistently recording decreases of 20% or more in our inventory levels for metro Atlanta,” Hatcher said. She added that prices have surged by double digits each year since August 2020. And as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease and the spring market heats up, “we’re unlikely to see the shift we’re looking for in these trends anytime soon,” she said.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently released a housing analysis that illustrates just how unaffordable certain areas of metro Atlanta are becoming, estimating you would have to earn well over $100,000 annually to buy a house in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody or Brookhaven. And in Atlanta’s most expensive ZIP code — 30327, which includes affluent areas of Buckhead and Sandy Springs — that yearly income would have to exceed $260,000 to afford a mortgage, according to the article.
COMMUNITIES OF FAITH
HolY Week Northwest Presbyterian Church 4300 Northside Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30327 404-237-5539 nwpcatlanta.org 24 APRIL 2022 | REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
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